The first prompt for this month is… |
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Welcome back! :) Whether you took a break, continued to create (I've seen some beautiful and interesting 100 Day Projects!), or did a little bit of both, I hope you're feeling refreshed and are ready to get into our first prompt for March! Going forward (until the next 5 week series, the Summer Sketchbook Un-Slump) we will have 2 weeks to work on each prompt. You'll get the prompt on a Friday and the check-in email the following Friday. (I'll be updating the calendar PDF to reflect these updates.) I'll continue to share inspiration from our community in the check-in emails so please feel free to send photos of your work and tag me on Instagram! I hope this will give you more time to explore, pay attention to details, work a bit slower, and allow you to immerse yourself in your creative practice in a different way than you did during the more intensive 5 week series. Let's get started! |
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How will you use gather in the pages of your sketchbook? |
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- Gather verb 1. come together; assemble or accumulate. 2. bring together and take in from scattered places or sources.
noun a part of a garment that is gathered or drawn in - “Creativity requires input, and that's what research is. You're gathering material with which to build.” – Gene Luen Yang
- Make a living journal page. Gather random things you come across throughout your week (receipts, stickers on produce, a flier from the mail, post it note you were going to trash, newspaper clipping, etc.) and use them to make a collage. Jot down a few sentences (what you did, something memorable or things that made you smile) or words to describe your days. This TikToker has been doing this for 4 years and here's a second example from TikTok
- Week 1: spend time gathering ideas and inspiration: take lots of photos, write down notes, make rough mini drawings/sketches/paintings. Week 2: take a look at what you've gathered and see what still calls to you. Expand on it.
- Create a mosaic. Use paper, dried flowers, cut outs and colored cellophane, hole punch dots--here's some inspiration.
- Gather objects from around your home and use them for a still life. Try sketching or painting, or using this as a model for your mosaic, or tearing pieces of paper to recreate this scene.
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- “Sound as medium has an incredible elasticity. So, of course, it is tempting for artists of other fields to try something with sounds. Why not? We are living in the age when there is no limit in gathering all forms of art and music to mix it together if you so desire.” – Yoko Ono
- Listen to: Gather - Jack Johnson, Gather ‘Round The Stone - Ben Harper, We’ll Gather Lilacs In The Spring - Frank Sinatra,
- Go outside and gather materials to use for your piece. (Sticks to make imprints, leaves for a collage, flowers to make paint with…)
- Gather in a place that inspires you. Take your sketchbook and create on site or soak in the atmosphere and surroundings then create when you return home.
- Synonyms for gather: reunite, crowd, meet, collect, converge
- Inspiration for “crowd”
- Antonyms for gather: scatter, disperse, divide
- Gather your thoughts: try stream of consciousness journaling--write the first words or thoughts that go through your mind without actually planning or consciously thinking about what you're writing. Try filling a page, writing until you feel like you're at a good stopping point, or setting a timer for 5 minutes. Once you're done, check in with how you feel and what you feel inspired to create. Or use these pages as the first layers of your collage or mixed media piece.
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How do you want to use the 2 week time frame? You can try… - Creating a little bit each day
- Using one week for brainstorming and another to execute your ideas
- Going with the flow and taking cues from how you feel each day to see what you feel inspired to do
- Noticing which days or time of day you feel more inspired to create and make a flexible schedule with that in mind
There's no right or wrong way to approach this and you can change your mind at anytime--see what works best for you and your schedule. (I do suggest thinking about it and coming up with a very loose plan, just so the days don't slip by!) I'd like to incorporate some type of creating to my every day so am thinking of scheduling in 15 minutes for a daily sketchbook practice plus a longer block of time towards the end of the week/weekend. |
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During our break I've been on a road trip driving from LA to Cincinnati, stayed in Ohio for about a week, and am currently driving back to CA (hello from Amarillo, TX!) I took my sketchbook and supplies but this trip has been more of a gathering of inspiration and soaking in of the experience. It's kinda funny because I had this prompt planned prior to the trip and it ended up really aligning with how I've been feeling…or maybe it's because I've had this word in my mind that I feel a connection? 🤔 I look forward to going through the photos, videos, and things I've collected to see what it inspires once I get back home! I'm excited to see what this prompt nudges and inspires in each of us.
Talk to you soon, |
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