Emily Carlson has made the brave and exciting decision to leave our studio and travel the world with Dave, her husband. I’m thrilled for her and am eager to follow her blog and see more of the world through her eyes. I’ve made a different decision. My focus is on my career. I’m fortunate that this creative work has allowed me to travel halfway round the globe and back—more than once.
Traveling to Italy is the ambition of every serious art student, so I was thrilled to learn I would be traveling to Rome with the studio. All those endless hours of studying reproductions of the masters’ works in college had not adequately prepared me for the overwhelming magnificence of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Michelangelo painted between 1508 and 1512. In a city rich in history and art smaller expressions also swelled my heart. Inside the Vatican even the window shutters are adorned with miniature paintings crafted centuries earlier by some forgotten artist. In Rome art is everywhere and you begin to anticipate the unexpected—those dazzling sunbursts of creativity.
My travel to China—I’ve visited several times—Thailand and Turkey were also artistically inspiring, but for different reasons. Each nation had its own pace, its own customs and its own priorities. I find when I travel abroad I am whisked out of my comfort zone and my mind opens. I have discovered that I can absorb culture; that it seeps into my awareness and broadens my perspective as unassumingly as a warm cup of tea soothes my soul. As St. Augustine said, “the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”
Regina Rubino and Robert Louey are wonderful traveling mentors and companions. Regina makes travel seem so easy and approachable. She’s lived all over the world and has been successful in combining art with an adventurous spirit and her example inspires me. Robert has such a keen eye. He always finds the most exceptional expressions of style and creativity—the best examples—he urges us to learn from. Every project we approach begins with a historical or cultural reference and our job is to authentically manifest those expressions creatively, in a modern sense.
When I made the decision to pursue a career in art my family was concerned I would not be able to make a living or have the same opportunities other professionals in the family might. I must admit, even I never anticipated my work would take me so far or provide me with so many wonderful adventures and experiences. How fortunate I am to be able to look out a window in Santa Monica, see a glorious California day, then go back to my designer’s job and see the world…
~ Christy Thrasher
