The Travelling Artists’ Bundle
‘‘You have no need to travel anywhere, journey within yourself.
Enter a mine of rubies and bathe in the splendor of your own light.’’
~Rumi
My earliest memory of carrying Potlis [bundles of cloth] filled with art supplies, treasures found while playing outdoors and hot food is from around aged six. Each year my family and I would spend our Spring break at my Father’s ancestral home in the cantonment town of Attock, in Northern Pakistan. Spring days were hot so we spent a lot of time by the river Indus that runs through the village. I remember the women of the family tying up hot food filled terracotta pots in large squares of colourful cloth to take with us for a picnic. My cousins and I would wrap up our colouring books, crayons and colouring pencils.
It was always scorching hot and I remember the walk to be a long one, but worth it; the cool turquoise water was a welcome break from the heat. Once cooled off, we’d settle down on the pebbly banks of the river to fill in our colouring books until the nibs became blunt, only to be sharpened again with a knife by my grandfather, the best way to sharpen a pencil don’t you think?
Whenever I travel I always take a bundle of my favourite art supplies with me, in recent years I’ve been keeping one of these bundles wrapped up in my studio so that I can quickly grab all my art and writing paraphernalia. I often take my bundle to bed, that’s where I like to journal most, cosy in fresh bed linen, a hot cuppa, music, art and bit of writing, my second favourite place to take my artists’ bundle is to a coffee shop.
I first made one of these bundles for myself, now I make them for others
around the world who love bundled things as much as I do.
‘ Muslin & Bundle’
words that make me feel
grounded, cosy and remind me of…
My paternal grandmother’s white muslin scarf, the one she kept aside for prayer time, it always had the scent of natural soap and her own pure earthy scent lingering between the soft threads.
A baby. That feeling when your whole world stands still when embracing an infant swaddled in muslin.
The warm embrace from a loved one when you need it most, the kind that makes you feel grounded and safe to be your truest self.
Fun and creative days spent by a river with family, wholesome food and my bundle of art supplies.
SPOT THE BUNDLES BY THE RIVER
1980’s
A series of photos from our Spring holidays spent at my paternal grandparents
farm house in Northern Pakistan and our picnics by the river Indus.
I spent the best part of my childhood with my toes dipped in two different cultures and entirely different worlds, in the east and west.
MADE FOR THE…
Wayfaring Field Note Taker.
Park Bench Sketcher.
Museum Hopper Studying The Masters.
Cafe Dweller Writing A Novella.
BUNDLE CONTENTS
Beautiful art supplies any discerning artist would love, wrapped up in unbleached cotton or vintage textiles.
One Everyday Watercolour journal hand bound with cotton rag paper with a blank paperback cover. 22cm x 15cm x 1cm.
Pack of 10 sheets of handmade cotton rag watercolour paper - 16 cm x 11cm.
One A5 handbound sketchbook with lightweight Fabriano paper suitable for cartridge fountain pens. 21cm x 14.5cm x 1cm.
One Lotus Blu Safa paint palette handcrafted from marbled glass and pure copper.
Set of 5 earth-friendly, pigment rich watercolour paints in 5ml tubes from the Vintage colour range by Wallace Seymour, makers of exceptional quality paints. The 5 all natural colours are:
Potters Pink - Davy’s Grey - Lakeland Slate - Bohemian Green - Sasso Rosso [Italian Earth].
One handmade Japanese paint brush with bamboo handle.
One Blackwing Pencil.
One Aqua reservoir paintbrush.
I see these bundles as a call to slow down, unwind and take a moment to be at one with our creative longings. When I think about all the mark making and scribbles of words in journals that have left my hands, it fills me with immense joy. Knowing that the art and words will out live us, a creative legacy we are all leaving behind. We’re all part of the circle!
‘‘Life is short, art is long.’’
~Hippocrates
