What is Travel Create Repeat?

Roxanne Patruznick: Hello, my name is Roxanne and I thought I'd take some time to share with you about Travel Create Repeat. Travel Create Repeat is a three-part website, a blog, an art shop, and a podcast. It was created after many years as a full-time traveler in Europe. What makes my experience unique is that I'm not just a traveler, but an artist who travels. My husband and I left the U.S. and went to Europe at the end of 2017. We had traveled a few times to Europe before that for vacations, but in 2017, it was an indefinite departure. We wanted to see how long we could live away from the U.S. We thought it would be for a year, but that year turned into eight plus years as continual travelers. We've lived in over 50 cities and slept in over 100 beds. It's been a beautiful and strange experience. Sometimes it's been challenging, missing friends, ⁓ dealing with different kinds of country bureaucracies and changing travel rules. But it's been well worth it for the experiences and people we've met along the way. ⁓ When I first left the U.S., ⁓ I began my journey of redefining ⁓ what home is. I've written a little bit about that in my blog. I've also done some exploration on what family is while being a nomad. The education I've received as a constant traveler has been a blessing. As I said at the beginning, I am more than a traveler. I am an artist who travels. As I travel, I create. While traveling, I paint oil paintings. I have an ongoing personal series and take painting commissions as well. I also write both fiction and nonfiction and I dance. Wherever we go, I try to find conscious dance to create ephemeral creative movement as well as connect with people and make friends. Both travel and creativity are often bigger than we realize. I always have a creative project going. I'm currently exploring a deep dive into what travel is and what creativity is. Travel is more than going from point A to point B. It's more than just a vacation. And creativity is more than making a thing. We are constantly creating. creating things because we all are inherently creative beings. So the three parts of travel create repeat. First, the blog. I didn't start the blog until I'd spent seven years on the road. Around that time, I realized that I was finally ready to share my experience with others. There was a kind of traveling gestation period, and then the egg finally hatched with an outpouring of stories, insights, and experiences. I want to inspire others, other people to travel. And I want to share something for people who are just maybe interested in travel. Travel is a huge dream for many people. And sometimes all you need is a little encouragement and to see someone else doing it. One of my early travel inspirations was a paper newsletter called International Living. I remember picking it up at the Santa Monica co-op back in the early 2000s. I used to read that same essay about two people who retired young and lived as nomads way before that was even a thing or a term. I read that essay repeatedly whenever I wanted some inspiration. And the magazine is still around online catering to people who want to move abroad and retire abroad. My blog is about my personal experience traveling. I offer insights about various places, things I've learned, as well as reflections about where I'm from. I've been on a journey of redefining home and family. I've also traveled through some personal, mental, and physical challenges. My husband, Johnny, and I have both explored places we never thought we'd go, but are now so glad that we did. Johnny also contributes to the blog, bringing his own brand of insight infused with humor. Everyone is different in the way they travel and what they like. I am sharing from my own experience. However, I have occasional travel tips and recommendations, which you might find helpful. One of the challenges with the blog and offering helpful travel tips and info is that a lot of travel is a moving target. Rules change constantly. The Schengen Travel Zone is growing and shifting. For those who don't know, the Schengen is a travel zone within the EU. I may write about it in the future, but you can also do an online search to find more about it. My main intentions with this blog is to share inspiration, insights, stories, and maybe a few helpful evergreen tips and resources. So next, my art shop. I've been making art for over 30 years. My art shop is all about sharing the art that I have created before and during my travels. I create original oil paintings from my personal series about gummy bears, as well as art based on my favorite films. And sometimes I do a series based on nature. I sell prints of most of my art in my shop. I also take commissions, painting portraits of people and pets and really anything else. I have plans to create more art that connects back to travel somewhere in the future, coming soon. And ⁓ ⁓ with the... ⁓ podcast is to highlight other creative people who are also connected to travel in some way. I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who are fascinating people and who create really interesting work. In the podcast, I want to have conversations with fellow visual artists, writers, musicians, dancers, filmmakers, actors, chefs, meditators, and really anyone else creating something. Many of the people I want to talk with work across multiple creative mediums. I'm interested in how travel has shaped my creative friends, how travel inspired their work, and if they have travel stories. Travel can be an integral part of some creative people's process. And other times, it's a respite or a retreat. And sometimes the best part of travel is returning home to take the inspiration gathered on the journey and put it into the next creative project. I'm new to podcasting. It has been something I've been thinking about for a while, and I'm excited to learn this new art form. I have some intentions and goals, but I'm also open to letting it take on a life of its own and allow some room for discovery. Along with interviews with fellow artists, I also plan on creating a solo series based on exploring what travel is and what creativity is and our perception of what travel and creativity can be. and why it's important for us. I have many exciting plans for the future of travel, create, repeat, blog, art shop podcast. It's a living project ⁓ created from ⁓ my to yours. hope you'll join me for this journey. If you'd like to come along and receive updates on new blogs, ⁓ art and podcasts, please up to my email. on my website, travelcreaterepeat.com. It's free. And when you subscribe, you get a free digital download of my ultimate travel guide. The guide has over 40 evergreen travel ideas that can be applied to almost anywhere, even where you currently live. So thanks again for listening, and I hope to see you soon.