Back in the 1980s, this right here was the pinnacle of my art supply dreams:

I don’t remember if the jar pens were acrylic or tempera, but I think acrylic. Classic crayons (with sharpener) a basic set of markers, and a basic set of watercolors. I think I went through a couple of these, and am still chasing the thrill. My father was a fine and commercial artist, so I had been borrowing his supplies since I was tall enough to reach them. His father was also a fine artist (and structural engineer) and fine artists abound on his side of the family. Since I am adopted, I don’t share their DNA, but the art love came from somewhere in my genes.

Lately, I have been turning to my art supplies and journals to help me navigate the big life changes that come with a huge change in family dynamics. With all the chaos that comes with that sort of change, I crave order even more than I usually do. The caddy came to mind easily and I suspect that memory is going to stay. I don’t have one of these caddies right now, and it seems to be among the retired products, which is fine. Crayola is still The Stuff when it comes to crayons, according to me, and while my watercolor horizons have expanded, I still like the basic Crayola watercolors for casual journaling use. As soon as my great-niece is big enough, I plan to be the auntie who shows up with cool art supplies and is happy to join her in exploring them.

In the meantime, the complete overhaul of my living area includes room to spread out my art supplies and organize them in a way that makes sense. Some supplies are staying, others are going, and yet more are moving from the “maybe someday” to “burning daylight here, let’s try them.” I like working in art journals because I don’t have to show my work to anybody. There are no expectations, and if I don’t like the result, I can gesso over it, glue pages together, or collage on top. I would say tear out a page, but I don’t do that with bound books, which are normally what I use for this purpose.

What, you might ask, is this purpose? Isn’t this a writing blog? Well, yes. Writing, reading, pens and paper, journals, planning, mental health, grief, and all that stuff. It’s a multimedia experience right now. This week, I am writing scripts to relaunch my YouTube channel, where I can blabber about the things I do with ink (and other things) and paper. That about covers things.

Enter the modern variation. Well, one of them. These days, I like making kits for specific purposes. Above, is my mental health journal bag. The pink book is my mood tracker, with a year’s worth of inserts. The green book is therapy notes. I like being able to pick up one thing and have all I need for that purpose with me, no looking for needed supplies. Having a limited selection of supplies helps me focus not on the things, but what I can do with the things. For me, that shifts the focus from the tools to the expression, and that carries over well to writing.

For those wondering if I have considered looking for the OG Crayola Caddy on the secondary market, I have indeed, and let’s say it’s a collector’s item. That’s okay. My chosen art supplies have evolved, and so have I, so it makes sense that my storage needs will be different. What I use isn’t as important as how I use it.