For the first time as an artist, I decided to stick through a full month of January prompts as part of the 64 Millions Artists January Challenge.
For many of the daily prompts, I stuck inside of my comfort zone, suing my sketchbooks and my fine liners to create against the sentence, or word that was given. I was introduced to the challenge by the Swindon Hub, where local people in Swindon are given a space to use, be creative, meet each other, or try something new.
The 64 Million Artists challenge itself is described as ‘an invitation to use creativity to spark confidence, conversation and connection’. The groups’ values spoke to me ans an artist and as someone who studied psychology a a degree level. They work with people – and artists – from all walks of life, to create and bridge the gaps that creativity can conquer. It is worth seeing what else they get up to, and if you’re able to join in, in person, in your area – 64 Million Artists.
Back to the challenge at hand though, and quite literally! I thought I would share a round up of some of my favourite days in the challenge, and how a couple of them led me down a different path to usual. I really enjoyed creating something a little different, and looking at the world in a new way each day. I would often see the prompts each morning, and create something in the evening to allow the daily flow to seep in to the little piece of artwork that I produced. There was even a tidy party somewhere in there.
Day 9 – Your warmest friend. Who is the warmest person you know? Think about what makes hem so warm. Maybe it’s their smile. Draw a simple picture of the warmest person you know, in any style you like. What colour do they remind you of? Add a splash of colour to represent what makes them such a warm person. Day 23 – Shape Shifting. Create a character using kitchen foil, a toy or magazine cutouts. Place them on a surface that you like and take a photo with a phone or camera. Move the character a tiny bit and take another photo, try to keep the camera in the same position. Repeat as many times as you want. Flick through your photos really fast and see your character come to life. Day 6 – A journey with a purpose. Imagine that you are going on a journey with a purpose. It is up to you to decide on what the purpose is, and where, and how you will be journeying. Draw the bag that you are taking with you, and label its contents.Day 12 – Make a FanZine. Today – we are creating a ‘FanZine’, out of a single sheet of A4 paper. Fill it with a list of things that you love – your favourite books, films, people, places, foods. You could do one thing per page, and include an illustration, cut-out picture, or a description of why you love this thing. Day 17 – An important date. Create a 2 by 4 grid of 8. In each box, write a number that represents a special date to you. Now – connect each number by drawing a line from the end of one to the beginning of the other. Each number should be connected to another one, and when you’re finished you should have an abstract looking design.Day 11 – Using your voice. Think of a song that you love or that is meaningful to you. Try singing or humming it, alone or with a loved one. Day 3 – Dots. Taking no more than 10 minutes. Use a circular stamp, your fingers, the end of a pencil, a brush or any other round object. Dip into paint, ink, or any other material available to you, and make your dots on a page. Create a pattern or recreate an image of your choice.
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