TRAVEL ART SUPPLIES

At the end of August 2026 we set off on a family adventure to travel around Europe for 10 months. On leaving our little house in South Australia, there was a large dose of trepidation mixed in with feelings of excitement from all members of the family. My husband and I traveled a lot in our 20's and early 30's through Europe, Asia and North America but this is the first time we have done a long trip with our children H (12) and F(9). 

When speaking to our children about their nervousness at leaving our home, we discussed how privileged we are to have both a safe and comfortable home AND to be able to leave it, by choice, to explore the world. 

Whilst on our travels, we will still be making art and craft, so I prepared a (slightly excessive) selection of essential art supplies to carry with us. Over the following months I will share what we used most along with when and how we created art.

TRAVEL ART SUPPLIES: (not an ad)

• Good quality set of colouring pencils - we chose Lyra brand
• Duel tip coloured markers - Staedtler brand
• Acrylic paint pens - Posca brand with 3mm tip
• Compact set of water colour paints
• Tubes of acrylic paints in basic colours, black and white
• Masking tape
• Glue stick
• String
• Paint brushes
• Pair of scissors
• Ink brush pen
• Black fine liner pen
• Black permanent marker
• Drawing pencils
• Selection of sketch pads and note books
• Small pad of coloured paper
• A few activity and sticker books
• Clip board
• Folder to keep loose artworks in

DATE - 6th Sept:

After a short stay in Singapore, which was filled with tasty food, and a stop in London to visit family, we have now made our way to Croatia. For the first 3 months of our travels we are staying on the island and taking part in the Field School of Hvar, which is an alternative school offering a place-based learning and enrichment program for world schooling/home educating families. We will be delving into the local history and culture, visiting ancient archeological sites, harvesting olives, building boats, sailing, swimming in the ocean and much more.

I was very excited to be invited by Field to take part in their fellowship program this term and will be offering a series of craft workshops to the community based around Hallowtide traditions. We will be making mini altars, up-cycled lanterns and paper flowers. 

During this initial transient period of our trip, our most used art supplies have been simple paper, pens and activity books. Traveling with a clipboard was a big win as you have a hard surface to press on in any location. My daughter (age 9) also loves an activity book, which kept her occupied for hours on our flights.

I will add more to this blog entry as we travel letting you know which of the supplies we most useful and which were just extra baggage to carry about!