The Artist Date of the Era

48-hours in Germany to see Taylor Swift

As you know, this Substack is called Home Making, and I’m interrupting my own planned posts about home to share this post about making—about creativity, delight, art, joy, community. This one is for my daughter, Hannah. May she one day wear a vintage Eras tour t-shirt and tell this story as she lives out her own remarkable adventures.

Our plans come together like a fever dream.

“I’m throwing out a really crazy idea … Taylor Swift is playing in Germany this Friday night… ”

I’m sitting in a mall parking lot waiting for my two youngest kids to wake up from their car naps when I listen to

Ashlee Gadd

’s vox. It’s 12:53 on Monday afternoon.

“Also, Jenna Brack said we can stay with her Saturday and Sunday night—she’s got a guest house with two beds. IS THIS CRAZY? I don’t know.” (footnote)

The Tuesday night show in Hamburg would work better for me, I vox back. Hypothetically.

On my phone, I look up flights to Frankfurt. I tell Ashlee I’m a little afraid to fly out on my own. My neighbors were considering flying to London for one of the Wembley shows. Let me check with them, I say.

When I text my neighbors, “Just throwing this absolutely insane idea out there … ” I expect them to balk at the idea. Instead, Alicia asks, “Everyone’s passport up to date?” “The key thing is there are no kids so we could all power through,” Metthika says.¹

We call our husbands. Miraculously, they all agree to take off work or otherwise manage childcare. We’d fly out from Los Angeles on Sunday and return Wednesday of the same week.

It’s hypothetical, this plan. Until it’s not. Until suddenly, after a flurry of texts and Voxer messages, concert tickets are purchased and flights are booked.

By 4:50 p.m. on Monday, the plan is in place: Ashlee, two of my neighbors and I are going to Germany to see Taylor Swift in the Eras Tour. In a serendipitous, spontaneous Exhale Creativity² (footnote: the best place on the internet opens up for enrollment in September! get on the waitlist). meet-up, we’re meeting two of my favorite never-met-in-person-but-I-adore-them writers—

Jenna Brack

³ and

Joy Nicholas

—in Hamburg for the concert. Total time in Germany: 48 hours.⁴

Julia Cameron coined the term “artist date,” which, by her definition, is "a festive expedition to do something fun, something that enchants or interests you. Self-elected fun, an Artist Date refills your inner well.” Technically, it’s a solo activity, but does it have to be?

The fun was being together—sharing lipstick and friendship bracelets, donning matching gold eye masks and pajamas to recreate a TikTok reel. Then later, at the concert, all of us, singing our hearts out. Waving arms adorned with a light-up concert band and friendship bracelets, arms in sync to Betty. Holding out the flashlights of our phones against yellow and orange balloons for makeshift orbs in Willow. 

The entire whirlwind trip was a collaborative artist date. A living adventure. An enchanting, whimsical, once-in-a-lifetime grand gesture in the name of art.

I would never have traveled all that way on my own. Still hungover from the magic, I’m reminded that we don’t enjoy art or make art in isolation.

What if our best creativity is collaborative? What if we need each other to live out the best possible stories, the wildest stories, the ones you couldn’t make up if you tried? 

It was enchanting to meet them—these writers I’ve admired from a distance, from this online but also sometimes in-person (!!) community of writers and artists and creatives. I was wonderstruck that we made this spur-of-the-moment trip to experience art together. Those four magical days? It was rare, I was there, and I remember it all too well.

1. Find yourself friends who will go on the distance—international flights, high-speed trains—for adventure and art.

2. The best place on the internet opens up for enrollment on September 6! Get on the waitlist at https://www.exhalecreativity.com/join-us. p.s. This post is a version of the one I wrote as an intro to Exhale’s August newsletter.

3. Jenna showed up at the Frankfurt airport after our flights landed just to help us book our trains to Hamburg. Her hospitality was one of my favorite things about the trip.

4. It was momentary insanity to plan/do the wild thing, but I’m so glad we did because what a gift it is to be alive and what a privilege to be able to go on this trip.