Every week there will be a theme for the prompts. Each prompt is followed by a short paragraph to help you begin. (If you need some help with what and how to fill in your section, please refer to prep post 2.) Prompts are open to your interpretation and optional to use! Feel free to use them all, a few when you need them, or not at all. Let's get started!

Let's kick things off by paying attention and immersing ourselves in the world around us! Each season and day comes with its own sights, smells, sounds, textures, and so much more that I thought we could take some time to focus on those that grab our attention and spend a little more time with them.

 

If you like the idea of embracing the current season you're experiencing / plan on doing a project each season (I'll be hosting this project four times this year during each), keep in mind things that are specific or associated to this time of year!

Did you read the I SPY children's books growing up? They are known for their detailed photographs and riddles that support visual learning, memory, and observation skills. What do you spy today? What scenes, details, objects, colors, shapes, lines, patterns, fonts, etc. do you see? Get up close, zoom out, notice what catches your eye.

 

Tune in to the sounds around you. Cars driving by, the pitter patter of paws walking across the room, airplanes above, birds chirping, people chatting. Or turn on the radio / put on a favorite song or something you enjoy hearing this time of year. Capture the creator or source of the sounds you hear, find inspiration in the lyrics, album art, or musician, or translate what you hear into something visual like Kandinsky.

 

What fruits and vegetables are currently in season? Is there a recipe you love to make or eat this time of year? What did you have to eat or drink today? Hone in on a specific taste (sweet, savory, bitter, sour, etc.). Play with your food: use dried items (pasta, beans, etc.) to make imprints or as your brush, use potatoes or carrots to create stamps, use the color from fruit and spices to make paint.

 

Cozy, festive, gloomy, lively, peaceful--what's the energy, aura, ambience, vibe like? Create a collage and express this prompt with color, words, or patterns you associate with it. 

 

Focus on the different textures and surfaces you come into contact with: velvety, squishy, soft, rough, smooth, slippery, course, etc. Recreate it with a sketch or drawing, use an element from it (for a soft sweater use a piece of yarn as your medium or for spiky thorns make a pattern using triangles), take a zoomed in photo to use. 

 

Take in all the different scents you breathe in today. What is the source of these smells? Illustrate those different components, use one element from it, or literally add it to your project by spraying something with it then adding it to your section. For example: if your perfume smells like citrusy and floral with a hint of vanilla, draw a pattern using slices of oranges, flowers, and vanilla pods. Or take the floral aspect and use pressed flowers.

 

Use all of your senses today and take it all in! Observe what you're drawn to and use that as your inspiration for your section. Maybe it's something visual like from day 1 or a combination of different things. 

At the top of the PDF is a tracker made up of shapes that mimic our sections. Color in a shape after you complete a section. Below the tracker is a list with 21 lines. Use this to add the date and a description of the section you created. Click here to download. 

I created a group Flickr page where we can upload photos we want to share! I find that seeing what others are creating is very inspiring and wanted to make a space for that. Click here to go to our group Flickr album. Feel free to upload a snapshot of what your 21 sections looks like before we begin filling them in!

Have fun and happy day 1!

Talk to you on Thursday for a quick check-in,

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