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Welcome to a new month of the Creative Spark Challenge! Below you'll find the prompt card, ideas and inspiration, this month's extra and playlist, and details for a free postcard making virtual workshop!

If this is your first month joining in on the challenge (welcome & hello!)--here are answers to some FAQs that are helpful!

JUNE PROMPT CARD

ENVISION & EXPRESS

Here are some ideas and inspiration to help you get started! If you're having some decision fatigue, the number in the spark symbol on the prompt card can help: use the text prompt that coordinates with that number which would be 1. ethereal. 

All of the below is open to your interpretation! Feel free to adapt, change, and adjust as needed based on how you feel and what you feel inspired to do.

Click here or on the image below for this month's mood board:

ETHEREAL

• • Light, delicate, celestial, otherworldly. The ancient Greeks believed that the Earth was composed of earth, air, fire, and water, but that the heavens and its denizens were made of a purer, less tangible substance known (in English transliteration) as either quintessence or ether. Ether was often described as an invisible light or fire; its name comes from the Greek verb aithein, meaning "to ignite" or "to blaze." When ethereal, the adjectival kin of ether, debuted in English in the 1500s, it described regions beyond the Earth or anything that seemed to originate from them.
  • Explore transparency literally (use tracing paper, tissue paper, loose weaving, etc.) or figuratively (what parts of you are transparent? what parts of you do you want to hide?)
  • Ethereal characters What character(s) evoke a sense of this trait for you? I think of the Elves from Lord of the Rings. A few more examples: fairies, mermaids, and other creatures found in fantasy and mythology.

SPLATTER

• • How many ways can you splatter paint? Brainstorm a list of ideas of how you can get paint onto your paper. What different and unconventional tools can you use? Think outside of the box, GET WILD AND FUN WITH IT! :) Then create a space / go to a space where you can try some of these ideas out!
    • If you need a bigger piece of paper to work with than your sketchbook, get a larger sheet from a local craft store and you can always cut a piece(s) out to attach to your sketchbook and create another piece of art with it!
    • A few suggestions: pop a paint covered balloon, throw paint covered cotton balls or wet paper towels with paint, use rubber bands, mix paint with carbonated water, shake, and spray, use an eyedropper. And if making a huge mess (or the idea of cleaning up a big mess) isn't going to work, creating splatters on a smaller scale is fine and just as fun! 
    • Looser/paint that is more watery usually works better than thick paint but feel free to play around with viscosity too.
    • Here are a few inspo videos: Watercolor Splattering Techniques, Billie Eilish making splatter CDs, Eyedrop Splatters, 

QUICK

• • Create quick sketches throughout the month. Have a notebook and pencil handy and whenever you have a pause, are waiting, have a moment, do a quick sketch of something in your view. It can be small, it can be unfinished, it won't be perfect and that's OK. At the end of the month look at this record you've created--the different things you've sketched, what they remind you of, what you enjoyed and didn't like about this practice, and what you learned from it.
    
  • 10 Minute Urban Sketching Watch this tutorial and give it a try!
  • Quick Animation Make a flip book.
  • The Making of the Perfect Martini by Guy Buffet Take a look at how Guy created speed and movement with the blurring and brush strokes.
  • Would you like to do a quick watercolor and pen piece together? Vote for the workshop you'd like below!

LAYER

• Try watercolor glazing. Here is a great explanation and video example. I tried the technique with just one color in my sketchbook.
• Here are 2 artists using layer in different ways: Eiko Ojala and YoYo Lander
• Mix it up and play around with layering different papers, colors, paints, watercolor, pen, marker, embroidery, gold leaf. Start with the base layer and consider what may get covered and what you'd like to remain seen and at the surface.
• Would you like to create a layered piece today for our workshop? Vote below!

BOLD

• Play with a bright color palette, exaggerated shapes, wide brushes and marker, eye catching patterns
• Loud and clear: make a statement! Pick a word or quote that resonates with you and make it front and center in your piece. I love @snooze.one's work!
• Tufting Art David Nott uses yarn to create bold and colorful wall art 

CUBISM

• Learn more about this art movement.
• Here are some kid-friendly projects and ideas to try (I love looking at these and seeing if I can make a grown up version or sometimes it's fun to do the projects as is!)

COLORS ON THE PROMPT CARD:

Click on each for some visual inspiration

• • Yellow
    
  • Sky Blue
    

PATTERN ON THE PROMPT CARD:

• • Use the pattern as a starting point and make it your own by adding more elements, using different colors, adjusting the thickness of the lines and widths of the shapes, etc.
  • Use the pattern as is. Incorporate this pattern into your piece.
  • Work with a grid: create your own, use graph paper, tape up sections into a grid to paint within--see how you can use this in your piece.

And don't forget to consider the opposites of all the prompts above as well as synonyms and see where that takes you!

VIRTUAL WORKSHOP: VOTE--WHICH WORKSHOP WOULD YOU LIKE?

Two prompts gave me ideas for the monthly workshop: layer and quick. Which workshop would you be more interested in? Photo examples of both below to give you a general idea however ours may look quite different. Click on the link on the one you'd like to vote. Thank you for your feedback and I'll send more info once the workshop details are finalized!

A) Create a piece by layering different mediums and materials

B) Create a quick watercolor and pen piece using a reference image

Please vote by June 15th, thank you!

THIS MONTH'S EXTRA:
YELLOW & SKY BLUE COLOR SHEETS

Inspired by YoYo Landers' work shared for the "layer" prompt, I used the colors on the prompt card to create two sheets of different shades of yellows and light blues. Tear them up or cut them into smaller pieces to create a collage or use them in a mixed media piece or when you run out of colored paper in those shades. Please note colors may vary depending on screen and printer settings.

DOWNLOAD THE PDFS

CSC PLAYLIST #6

Happy creating all month long!