Vacation With An Artist
Step by step: planning a vacation, preparing your suitcase, shopping, packing your essentials and travelling to a new destination. It can be overwhelming to think of everything you need to do to get ready for your trip. We want to help you avoid that stress and make the planning easier by providing you with an infographic that illustrates the process so you can savour every moment of your vacation with an artist!
It is said that the man or woman who doesn’t create art is not truly living. It’s also a challenge to be an artist these days, with most people fixated on making money and climbing the corporate ladder. Do you ever wish you could combine making the art you love with seeing fascinating places?
The greatest goal of an artist is to pierce the darkness of ignorance. It is equally important that they can fulfill their journey without letting it hamper their aesthetic qualities. – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor
Over the years I have had many different types of vacations. Sometimes it was with family, and other times I would travel by myself. Another time my wife and I rented a car and drove onto the east coast of Australia. I tell you this to make one thing clear: I like to vacation.
It’s a brain teaser. The artist has made you a part of the painting and your job is to find & click on the correct color. It uses a principle called visual perspective (also known as forced perspective).
Vacation With An Artist
Rattan weaving with a second-generation master in Malaysia? Learning the 13-step process behind Indian block printing? Tea with an artist in Japan? This may not sound like your typical vacation agenda, but to art and design enthusiasts, they’d be dream experiences—and one creative company is making them possible. Vacation With An Artist is a different kind of travel company, where, instead of booking you a spa treatment or a theme-park pass, the company sets up in-depth, one-on-one apprenticeships with artists and makers all around the world.
As an architect and designer, Geetika Agrawal often got to visit artisans along her travels—but she realized that wasn’t exactly a standard offering to most travelers. “I realized how much I wanted to do more of that,” she tells House Beatuiful. “But there was just nothing out there that lets me do that.” At the same time, though, Agrawal noticed “more and more people were going for ceramic classes or doing painting and sipping wine, and I think as a society, we’re all craving that. And I just saw that opportunity.”
Iria, a sculptor in Spain.JESUS DE LEON
So, she took a yearlong sabbatical where she traveled the world to find expert artisans. Upon her return, she founded Vacation With an Artist, which connects these talented creatives with curious travelers.
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Trips last anywhere from four to seven days—it all depends on how long it will take to learn the entire process behind the craft at hand—during which visitors shadow artists in their studios. Experiences can be booked in a fashion similar to Airbnb, with calendars listing certain artists’ available days. Travelers book their own travel and accommodations, but VAWAA tailors the apprenticeship experience to their specific interest and skill level (individual sessions are encouraged, though the company will arrange for a couple, relatives, or close friends to share an experience upon request).
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Block printing in India.Vacation With An Artist
Though the official itinerary blocks out partial-day sessions with free time for exploring or other travel plans, Agrawal says that “in most cases, the artist becomes your friend, and they end up taking you around you to their home or to visit their friends or see their city.”
Gerard, a printmaker in France.Vacation With An Artist
There are currently 69 artist experiences available on the site, and new artists apply every day. “What we hear from everyone is they love this kind of cultural exchange and sharing of knowledge,” Agrawal says. “It gives them the ability to share the knowledge with people from around the world. And I believe that they receive inspiration back. Because as artists, it can be really lovely to be working alone in a studio all the time. So they really love this one on one exchange with another person who is interested in learning from them.”
Jigisha, a felt-maker in India.Vacation With An Artist
Visitors are equally moved by the experience. As one VAWAA participant in Nepal shared in a blog post, “although I’m still a visitor during my experience, the persona of a student takes precedent while the traveler fades into the background. In that space, I can be what I am, learning from another human, as they are. I am a guest in their life experience. Through their craft, I have the opportunity to imagine a life lived as another person.”