Photos of Germany and Holland

This year has been quite the year for travel in my family. As of now, we have spent a total of FOUR MONTHS not at home since January. I feel quite sorry for Dad, who's off on another trip very soon. Anyway, all that to say, on our last trip, we flew to Germany and then Holland, and it was just too beautiful not to post pictures.

This was the view from our balcony in the room we stayed in. 

  Our place of boarding was a three minute walk from the train station.

 This was the old town gate. I would have loved to climb those stairs, but there was a padlocked grating at the bottom.

 There was only one old church building in the very small town, but it was a beautiful one. (the church we attended didn't meet there though)

 Above, this was the old Latin school, and though I can't quite remember what date it started, it was a long time ago.

 We visited the remains of a sort of fortress.

 This museum was only open on sundays and holidays, so unfortunately we didn't go to it.

 My sister, some friends of ours and I built a fort up in the woods in our spare time.

 We took the train quite a fair distance through Germany to get to Holland.

 We stayed in a small town with some friends.

On one of the days, we took a trip to Amsterdam to visit some art museums. It's a lovely city. 

I think we all had a nice time on our trip, but as always it's great to be home. The flight back went pretty much without a hitch, so we were all very thankful for that after our outgoing flight had been such a hassle.

Battling Against Artist's Block

Artist's Block. Oh, the terror. You're in a happy, creative mood, but then, as soon as you open up your sketchbook, pencil in hand, your mind goes blank. No matter how hard you try, you can't come up with a single thing to draw. It happens to the best of us. Sometimes, it's not that you can't think of anything to draw. Every once in a while I fall into the "I want to have something new in my sketchbook, but I just don't feel like drawing" doldrums.

Well, I have come up with a list of things to do when evil Artist's Block strikes.

1- Look at other peoples' art. Art museums are a great place to do that.  My family went to a few the other day, and I have tons of new ideas. Pinterest is also full of art in various forms. It encourages and inspires me to see what others are capable of creating. If they can do it, how hard can it be? Eheh. Art takes effort. But seeing how other people have poured themselves into it can be quite refreshing. However, often I need to remember not to compare myself or my own art to others.

2- Take a walk or go somewhere new. Fresh air does wonderful things to you, as do new places and sights. Walks are good ways to unwind and have a time to just think. Seeing new things can spark your imagination and lead to lots of new ideas.

3- Ask people for ideas. Seriously. Walking into the next room and asking a family member isn’t so hard. You can ask your friends too. I recommend doing art swaps. Find a fellow artist, and each of you request a specific drawing from the other. Then you draw what the other requested. It’s quite simple, and a great way to encourage friends in art as well.

4- Do something abstract and scribble a bit. Just grab a paintbrush and spread color over a blank piece of paper. Take your pencil and drag it in random directions all across your page. For one, it’s therapeutic, and you might even get something cool looking out of it.

5- Take time to notice the colors, lines, and shapes of everyday life. Train your artist’s eye, observe things. Look closer at things than you normally do. Just enjoy the things you see.

If you have any more ideas on how to overcome Artist’s Block, please leave a comment! :)

~Alexandra S. Grey

Our Travels so Far, Pt 2

Yeah, we're home. I am exceedingly delighted about this after three months, but I'm also feeling a bit sheepish for *cough* not posting pictures more than once. However, I am here to do that now! Hopefully it doesn't take forever to get them all on here.

We left off in New Mexico, I believe.

This is what most of NM looks like.

 We took a hike to see this stone. It's about four feet tall, and is inscribed with the Ten Commandments in Ancient Hebrew.

 On the hike there were also piles of rocks that could have once been houses.

 Another inscription in Ancient Hebrew.

 The view from the top.

 We met several Horned Toads on the hike.

 In California, we stayed with a couple who had ships like this one displayed all over their house. They also had a fabulous collection of random things in the room I stayed in.

All of the above pictures are from a beach in CA.
I still have more pictures to sort through, but another set of pictures should be posted fairly soon!

Our Travels So Far, Pt 1

Many of you know that I'm on a long road trip with my family. Since I haven't posted any pictures a month and a half after we left home, I thought it was high time. :)

 The view from the window in our first stopping place, TN.

In Memphis, we made a short stop at Sun Studios, which apparently Elvis Presley was affiliated with. (I'm not really interested in that sort of thing, but Dad wanted to stop)

 Little Rock, AK.

 Someone we stayed with had this cross collection.

 I was quite taken with these almost-black pansies.

This was in TX.

 On the way into Albuquerque, NM.

We're doing well enough, and don't worry, there are definitely more pictures to come. It's been interesting seeing the different parts of the country, although we've already been through most of them on previous trips. Still, there are always new places to see. I've also been inspired in various ways, to draw, write, and other things. I do miss being home though, and am counting the weeks until we get back!