I’m a creative, experienced, multi-purpose artist and art director
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Sunday, July 14, 2013

"Travel"

I made this map when someone insisted I’d like nothing more than creating free art, in her words “for your portfolio!” Sure. Thanks. Never mind the closet full of good stuff I made for paying customers that I can’t fit in my portfolio, or that I repeatedly said “NO!” I caved because I was pretty sure she’d hound me into the afterlife if I didn’t give in. Aside from saying “never again!” and skipping over the part where I wasn’t told they cancelled the project until after it was completed, or that she never apologized…

Okay, I had a map and thought about places I’ve been and those maps I’ve seen on the backs of RVs. I don’t know if people on other continents keep maps on the backs of their RVs, or even if they have RVs, but some people in America do. They’re usually old people with enough money to have an RV and enough leisure time to fill in a map, which for the record, I’ve never had enough of either of those things at the same time to indulge in such things.

I started coloring in states where I’ve been. I think I’ve covered a lot of ground for a dedicated homebody. I haven’t been to Texas yet, but I’m going this fall, so I pre-colored it in too. I even did international travel because I went to the Bahamas and covered a lot of ground in Canada, but Canada doesn’t feel very international except Quebec.

While much of Canada is extraordinarily beautiful, that circle bar up there at the top is a place nobody in their right mind wants to go. It’s freezing in August. We should leave it to the bears. I put more circle bars at other places I’m never willingly going to go to again. I think you can tell my ranking system is east of the Mississippi and below the Arctic Circle.

I realize my rating system may not suit everyone’s tastes. At a truckstop halfway between Cleveland and Indianapolis I met a woman traveling in the opposite direction. She absolutely hated Cleveland. Just goes to show some people are nuts, but I suppose home is where your heart is. She thought I was nuts when I said I hated Indianapolis. We suggested trading husbands so we could each live where we wanted to live. Who knows? Maybe I’d still be married if I had her husband instead?

The husband I kept for the time and one of my brothers rhapsodized over the “big skies” in all those big rectangle states while I vowed never to return to a place with a “Mad Woman’s Creek” every couple hundred miles or so. There was a reason those women were mad. Too much sky, not enough trees, and no water anywhere. Give those states to the bears too.

I claimed the whole state or province for every place where I’ve put my feet or seen out of a car window, and then I prettied up my map some. I didn’t count seeing the Grand Canyon out of the plane window because that seemed like cheating. Someday I’ll get over the big water and see Europe. There are a lot of paintings to see in person on my bucket list.

Where have you been, and where do you want to go? What would your map look like, and what places do you think I should reconsider?

17 comments:

  1. Your country is just enormous Linda compared to the UK...I am sure it would take a lifetime to see it all. I think that's a cool idea to colour in the states you have visited. The only parts of your country I have visited are Florida and New York but I have a great friend in Virginia who one day we will get to visit. We are lucky to have europe so near and yes you must come this way....Florence, Rome, Venice (you can see I love Italy) are all must sees, as is Paris but strangely enough as a home bird my favourite city in the whole world is London. Now my Hb and I have not even covered the whole city yet and he works there every day! Have a great week, Jane x

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  2. Cool map! I like this idea.
    I think people are a lot like plants. Home becomes where the heart is, and some shrivel when they leave. If I had an RV with a map on it, I'd have a few states colored in, mainly as a result of traveling back "home".

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  3. I understand COMpletely how "too much sky, not enough trees, and no water anywhere" could drive you mad. I need the lush forests, the snow-covered mountain ranges, and the abundant teaming-with-life rivers of Hokkaido to keep my sanity. Even though I am physically unable to travel, and even though I live in an urban area, I can see these things from my windows every day. With just the right amount of sky. :)

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  4. I keep track of my travels via photos of the Teddy Bears. We have been to St. Lucia, Jamaica, Hawaii, Texas, and many other places. The Bears love to travel, but I am afraid that some over-zealous TSA person will pull their stuffin' out, looking for who knows what.

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  5. Maybe we should instigate a teddy bear protection act? And maybe I'll get to Japan someday too, though that's really on the other side of the world, and I'm pretty sure people fall off on that side? I like the idea that everyone's map would show all the ways home for them :)

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  6. Linda, if you plan to visit the Netherlands, I will tell you where to go, okay? Maybe we will be able to have a coffee or tea together. Wow, that would be wonderful.

    Your maps looks impressive.



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  7. I haven't seen the Grand Canyon yet either. But it is on my all american bucket list.

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  8. It would be so much fun to travel the world and visit my blogging buddies. Thanks for the invite Paula! You're welcome in Cleveland for a cup of tea or coffee too :) Thanks for the comments!

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  9. I'll bet if you made a map of where your work has been seen in the world, especially the work and words on this blog, that it would be a color filled extravaganza, Linda. I'm all for traveling but need to have a clear destination and people I know to meet when I get there. Otherwise, as the old saying goes, all those foreign places are full of foreigners... (joke).

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  10. What a nice visual to get the full impact of your travels. You've done okay and there's still time. :)

    Me - never been across the pond either, but when I see my daughter's photos of Spain and France in a week when she comes home, I'll live vicariously through her.

    My farthest trips were to Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Canada, California, and Texas. The rest have been in your neck of the woods and up and down the east coast. Oh, I forgot about Aruba and the Bahamas. I have more notches on my belt than I thought, travelwise, of course. :)

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  11. I like the idea of making a map of where my art has been seen. It was easier to answer that before the internet. I remember when I was happy when my art was seen throughout the county, then nationally, then international. It's not that anybody else was really aware of it the same as me because it's not like my art is famous, but I knew it was out there.

    I'm also liking the idea of remembering more travels the more we think of it. They're good memories we need to remember. Wishing everyone happy travels and a good week!

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  12. I always love to see where people have been, I also did a map of my visited places (but I used an app...).

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  13. Another fab post, Linda! (And no worries - I still get suckered into the freebie every so often!) I HAVE been to Texas (twice on business- one time that landed me in an emergency clinic, & at Hooters against my will & the other a demonstration on how to breed a horse - ah! Fond memories!!! Thank God I was getting paid!!) & the Grand Canyon, but overall you've covered a bit more ground than I have! Love your anecdotes!

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  14. Notes to self: avoid Hooters in Texas and consider getting apps instead of PhotoShop :) Thanks for the comments!

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  15. heh, if we had places called Hooters here in oz they would get burnt down with a name like that (well I don't think we have them anyways). Love your joking about the husbands Linda, and the Mad Woman's Creeks - nothing like that here in oz, we are so sedate I guess. Travel - I'd recommend Tahiti - it looks nice from the air and on the ground and they have nice black pearls and the locals seem to like tourists - just tell them you are from oz, the and of the ordinarily named creeks - and that you don't surf :) Hope you are well,and your plumbing is good! hugs from here

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  16. PS don't go to America it is full of guns

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  17. Funny you mentioned plumbing Andrew. The basement backed up last night in a storm, and that's especially lousy because my brother is storing a lot of his stuff down there. Oh well. sigh. Tahiti sounds great. Wonder if I can pull off an Oz accent for the locals :)

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