AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 24
Memory
Masterpiece
A professional painter inspires cruisers to discover the art of travel
By Jen Tota McGivney
The moment didn't only inspire the memory of a lifetime, but
the souvenir of a lifetime. Among the group that day was Kirah
Van Sickle, a professional artist from Wilmington, North
Carolina. Even while the travelers' jaws still dropped open and
they could barely speak, they took out notebooks and cameras.
Van Sickle guided them in creating sketches while professional
photographers led them in wildlife and landscape photo
techniques. Later, in a private classroom aboard the cruise ship,
Van Sickle helped the group turn those sketches and photo
inspirations into paintings using a variety of media - including
watercolors and acrylics - as well as prints.
Art of Travel
" As artists, we have an explorer mentality, " she says. " Travel
is a disruptor, and a disruption for artists is what feeds us.
When you're traveling, you see things differently and open up
to a different perspective. You experience life in a much more
mindful way. "
Van Sickle's life isn't a rotation of travel and art. She travels
the world, sometimes as a traveler and sometimes as a teacher,
to experience the totality of a place - the food, the sounds, the
colors, the culture. She spent three months exploring Europe,
including an artist's residency in Venice, as she completed her
Master of Fine Arts degree in painting. She's been an artist-inresidence at Yosemite and Denali national parks. She's led art
workshops in prehistoric caves of France.
" By consciously recording travel, we tap into our creative
selves, " she says. " It makes us human. We all have that desire to
say, 'Hey, I was here.' "
As a frequent traveler, Van Sickle became a fixture in AAA's
Military Cutoff branch in Wilmington, where she exchanges
currency, purchases travel insurance and gets her car serviced.
While there, she would often visit with Karen Thomas, an
KIRAH VAN SICKLE
Imagine it: You stand on the bank of a glacial river that's aqua
blue and crystal clear, flowing over boulders and cascading into
falls. On the other bank are two mama grizzly bears and their
four cubs. You have no reason for fear; the bears seek salmon for
dinner, not you. The mamas catch leaping fish from the air with
their giant paws while their cubs wrestle and splash in the water.
For most of us, this is the scene of a National Geographic
documentary. But for 24 travelers aboard Holland America
Line's Land+Sea Journey in September 2018, it was a scene
they experienced first-hand during an excursion to Alaska's
Chilkat River.
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AAA Traveler - Winter 2021
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021
Departures
Because Someday
Travel Buzz
Costa Rica
Places We Love
AzaMazing Experiences on Sea & Land
Scandinavia
Under the Tuscan Spell
Italy
Agent Spotlight
Trip Notes
A Ship for the Senses
Art Imitates Life
Memory & Masterpiece
Ride the Rails from the Rockies to the Red Rocks
Colorado
Switzerland
Alpine Adventures
Idyllic Islands
Bermuda
The Road Less Traveled
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - AAA Traveler - Winter 2021
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Cover2
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 1
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Departures
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Because Someday
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Travel Buzz
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Costa Rica
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Places We Love
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 7
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Scandinavia
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 9
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 10
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 11
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Italy
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 13
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 14
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 15
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - NCover1
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N1
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N2
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N3
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N4
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N5
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N6
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N7
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N8
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N9
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N10
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N11
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N12
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N13
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N14
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - N15
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Agent Spotlight
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Trip Notes
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - A Ship for the Senses
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 19
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 20
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 21
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Art Imitates Life
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 23
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Memory & Masterpiece
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 25
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Colorado
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 27
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 28
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Switzerland
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Alpine Adventures
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 31
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - Bermuda
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - 33
AAA Traveler - Winter 2021 - The Road Less Traveled
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