Q: Travel clearly plays an important role in your practice. What does it give you? (Question from “Pastel, Passion, and Perseverance: An Interview with Barbara Rachko” in .ART Odyssey: Healing)

With friends at a Buddhist Monastery, Gangtok, India

A: Travel is the spark. It opens you up, makes you think differently, introduces you to people everywhere.

It makes you realize that people are the same wherever you go – which in turn makes all the political divisions and wars feel so senseless.

The work itself gets made in silence, but those bright sparks from travel feed that silence. Countries like India and Bolivia are full of character and color. They shift your perspective, and you bring that back to the studio.

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About barbararachkoscoloreddust

Barbara’s thoughts on art, the creative process, soft pastel, the inspiration she finds in travel, what it’s like to be an artist in New York City, and other wisdom for artists as we travel our solitary and sometimes lonely roads.

Posted on July 25, 2026, in 2026, An Artist's Life, India, Travel and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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