Here are a few final things I wanted to share before we get started! They include details on the prompts, a note about sharing your work, our schedule / calendar for the year, and resource links that are available to you! You'll also find a few warm up exercises to try and a bonus project! And if you haven't filled out the survey yet, please do when you have a chance. Here's the link: 2024 CSN Welcome Survey |
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My intention with these prompts is to give you a starting point, to spark an idea, to encourage thinking outside the boxes we may put ourselves in, and to look at things from a different perspective. It's not about following a prompt exactly and there is no “right” answer. Go in whatever direction it leads you towards. Be open to whatever you feel inspired to do. The only thing you're not allowed to do is put pressure on yourself or listen to any critical self talk! Be present, have fun, and enjoy your process, however it may unfold! |
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I encourage (and hope!) that you'll share with our community your thoughts, ideas, process photos, and/or final sketchbook pages. All you have to do is reply to an email and I will include it in a check-in email. (If you'd like something to be kept between us, just let me know!) Sharing our work can be really scary but please know that this is an amazing group of kind and thoughtful creatives. There is no judgement, just an exchanging of ideas and energy to help encourage and inspire one another. It doesn't matter what level artist you are or how much experience you have, the unique way you interpret the prompts and the marks you make are valuable. Seeing what we are all making helps cultivate a sense of community that I really enjoyed in the past so I hope you'll consider sharing :) There is NO pressure at all to share on social media, please do what feels comfortable for you. If you will be posting, I'd love for you to tag me so I see it and share it! If you're using Instagram, please add the hashtag #creativesparkNL so we can easily connect and see our posts in one spot. |
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Our schedule is based on the different levels and flow of energy we have throughout the year. We'll be mixing more intensive 5 week series with less intensive months in between to keep things sustainable while still gently encouraging continuous creativity. We will also have some scheduled breaks. - We'll be starting 2024 off with a 5 week Creative Kickstart Series!
- In March, April, May, June we will have 2 prompts per month.
- In July & August we will have our second 5 week series, the Summer Sketchbook Un-Slump!
- Then in Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec we will go back to having 2 prompts per month.
The greyed out days are off days where you can rest, spend time catching up, or continue creating if you'd like! |
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- You can find all past prompts/emails and the calendar for the entire year at the Prompt Library
- Access the Resource Library where you'll find instructional videos, articles, podcasts, websites, PDFs, and more that cover a wide range of mediums, styles, tools, and topics here. I will continue to add more links throughout the year.
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WARM UP EXERCISE | SUPPLY TEST & INVENTORY |
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Take some time to look through your supplies and see what you have to work with. Test them out to make sure they work, throw away anything that doesn't, and donate or give away items you won't use. Get a feel for the items you'll be using and see what colors and textures they make. This can be a great way to break in your sketchbook. Start simple with some markings and get those first few pages going! Here are a few ideas to try: - Create a reference page
- Draw boxes and fill them in with your tool. Notate the medium and color to stay organized. Here is an example.
- Split your page into 6 sections and fill each one in with a tool / tools of your choice. I did this last year and used as many colors of each medium as I could! Image below.
- Go monochromatic
- Take all your black, green, blue, etc. supplies and fill an entire page using all of them! Below are a few examples I tried.
- Create a picture using your various tools
- It can be a landscape, a still life, a portrait, etc.
- Mix the different mediums throughout the entire image
- Or split the image into 4 sections, each one focusing on one medium (top left quadrant using markers, top right using watercolor, bottom left using colored pencils, bottom right using crayons, or whatever you would like to use!) Below is a self portrait I created using this concept.
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BONUS EXERCISE: YEAR OF MARKS |
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Inspired by a year of stitches, I thought we could create a year of marks to help us visually document our year! Below are some suggestions on how you can do this but feel free to interpret and execute however you'd like! - Use a large piece of paper, such as multi-media or watercolor that can withstand different mediums. Pick a size that's easy to frame so you have the option to do so later--11x14 would work well.
- Split the paper into 12 parts to represent each month.
- Use washi tape to create a border then peel off when each square is done or when the entire piece is done (so satisfying!)
- Split the sections up into circles other shapes besides a square/rectangle
- Keep it loose and less structured without any guidelines
- At the end of each month/start of the next month, fill in a section/add to this piece of paper. It can be a swatch of a color, you can draw/paint/doodle something, you can use your favorite tool or technique that you tried for that month, you can get inspiration from what's going on with your life / add mementos you've collected, write in the box, use different mediums--there are many possibilities! Do what ou are drawn to at that time.
- Put your year of marks sheet somewhere visible throughout the year. Tape it onto the wall, keep it on your desk, add it to a bulletin board so it isn't out of sight out of mind. This also helps you think about what you want to add next!
Here's my finished Year of Marks from 2023 (bottom left) and you can see each month come together and watch the process videos over in this blog post. I'm also sharing @Vanesawatercolors' Year of Marks (bottom right)! I love how different they are and the way they reflect our style and what happened in our lives last year. I went with a loose approach where the squares blend into one another and used a variety of different mediums. I was inspired by the things I created each month as well as major events that happened in my life. Vanesa created an image that represented each month. I love the variety as well as the neat sections she created. At the end of the year, she actually got her project printed onto cards to send out for New Years! I thought that was such a great idea! |
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I really love the slow pace of this project, adding a little bit every month, and seeing it get completed, one section at a time! It's such a fun way to capture your year and I think I will be making one of these for every year going forward! |
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Our very first prompt for Week 1 of the Creative Kickstart series will be sent out Friday, January 19th! I hope these first 2 emails help you get prepared and get excited for our year ahead! I can't wait to share our first theme and see what it inspires you to create. Happy Friday and talk to you soon! |
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PS: I'll be abbreviating Creative Spark Newsletter to CSN for future emails! |
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