LOOKING BACK: 28-Day Creativity Reset Wk 1

Hello & welcome to week one of our 28-Day Creativity Reset!

The theme for this week is “Looking Back” because I think that the best way to feel grounded and ready for change is to look back and review where you’ve come from. Each day this week, I have picked some foundational topics and created both writing and art prompts for each one. As always, take what you like, do as much or as little as possible, and be gentle with yourself. For a little more context, check out this post or this video.

You are receiving this because you subscribed to my Substack, and for this month, I’ll be delivering daily prompts in a weekly guide.

Without further ado:

• Swatch — Monday (day 1 of 28)

  • Meditation: I love to swatch colors in my notebook. It’s a wonderful way to bring immediate color to your page or notebook, and to get to know your materials more. You can try different pencils, colors out of the tube or mix them. Swatching, if you think about it, can signify change or invoke memory. Think about your last trip to a hardware store for paint chips, and how each color evoked a different expectation for the feel of your dining room or entry way. How the color could change the way you might move through the space. Let’s think about color and how it defines or transforms our lives.

  • Writing: If you were to swatch a moment of your life, what would you include? For example, I really love Squam Lake, a place that holds tremendous personal meaning for me. If I were to break it down by color, I’d include a deep hooker’s green, a rich blue, burnt umber, and a strong black and white representing the mysterious loons. What colors would surface for your moment? Take 10 minutes and write down the sampling of color and vibrancy would grace your mood board.

  • Art: If you are inclined, add swatches from your watercolor tin, neocolors, or markers that match to what you have written, or set up the colors you’ll likely rely on most in the days to come. If you prefer, go to your paper stash, junk drawer, or recycling bin, and cut up 10-20 squares with different colors that appeal to you in the moment. Glue down a 3x3 grid of your favorites as a collection of collage swatches.

    

• Paste — Tuesday (day 2 of 28)

  • Meditation: Pictures are worth 1,000 words, as they say, but I want 1,000 more. Today is about finding what is meaningful to you — distilling it down to just one image. Something from long ago or as recently as yesterday, and exploring in more profound way.

  • Writing: Find a photograph that is meaningful to you — it could be a family photo or a landscape from a favorite holiday. Even photographs from magazine can be hugely evocative. Quirky is good. Stare at the photo and then write down why you chose it. What is the significance? Is it because it is beautiful or because it represents someone who is dear to you or soemone you have lost? Write about that person, place or thing. Describe it in words. Where does the photo fall short? Where is it strong.

  • Art: Paste, or paper clip, or staple the photograph into your journal. If you feel like sketching — draw an element from the image on the side of the page. For a landscape you could extend the horizon line, if a porttrait you could do a messy single-line outline of the side of the face. This is not about perfection or even verisimilitude. This exercise is about remembering and observing.

    

• Throughline — Wednesday (day 3 of 28)

  • Meditation: Throughlines are connecting themes, plotpoints or characteristics that weave through a story or narrative. In the story of your life, what are your throughlines? For me, there is the importance of family, of course, a love of the outdoors, curiousity and travel, crafting and making art, and trying new things. I am sure there are more, but these are what spring to mind. Exploring your throughlines can help you determine what you value, how you want to proceed, and what you best avoid.

  • Writing: Think for a few minutes about the throughlines of your life. What has been with you from childhood, what have you let go? Make a list of 5-6 throughlines in your life. If you have some additional time, pick one and explore it more deeply. Write a paragraph or two about this particular throughline.

  • Art: Today I want you to pick up a pen or a pencil, find an object in your house (a stapler, a mug, a beautiful vase, an ugly toad sculpture, etc.) and set a timer for four minutes. Place the pen the paper and create a single-line drawing of what you are observing. Do not lift your pen until you are done with the drawing or the time expires. Admire your connected, messy creation.

    

• People — Thursday (day 4 of 28)

  • Meditation: As much as we feel we alone carve our paths, people make a huge impact on the direction of our lives. It’s not always clear who has made the biggest impact — of course there are parents, or parental figures, grandparents and siblings, but what about thos others? A teacher perhaps or a librarian? A camp councelor or baby sitter? Maybe someone a generation behind you at work, who taught you something truly new?

  • Writing: Think about some of the people you have admired — known directly or appreciated from afar. List 5-7 of them, then pick one and describe them. What have they done that you admire? What would you bring into your own life from their example?

  • Art: I’m a real fan of trying rough and sketchy portaits. Use a pencil or ink if you are feeling brave, and draw quickly a sketch of the person you have in mind. It’s okay if the sketch bears no resmblance. Add props like glasses or signature clothing. What are other ways that a person can be identifiable beyond their features— what about the context? If yours is a music teacher, add the piano or cello, etc. Stick figures can be totally charming!

    

• Artists — Friday (day 5 of 28)

  • Meditation: Every day I come across artists that inspire me — this is both the blessing and the curse of social media. Today, let’s appreciate those artists that have inspired us to push ourselves in new directions. These don’t have to be only visual artists by the way: are there musicians, dancers, youtubers and podcasters that have deeply affected you? What have they done that has captured your attention? What sets them apart from others who occupy similar space?

  • Writing: Name three artists, recent or from many years ago, and describe why they have captured your attention. What aspect of their craft would you most like to emulate and why?

  • Art: Pick one old master artist and do a masterstudy of their work — you are welcome to sketch in pencil to simplify a complex painting, or to interpret a musical piece as a visual exercise depending on what you chose. If you are studying an artist who is very much alive and practicing: define four elements that the artist you selected incorporates and then create an original work that incorporates those elements but in a totally new way.

    

• Books — Saturday (day 6 of 28)

  • Meditation: If you have followed me for a while, you might know that the only thing I have been doing longer than writing in a journal is READING. To say that books were my first friends is a radical understatement. My love of books goes deep and long. This week I want you to think about the 8-10 books that have helped to make you who you are.

  • Writing: Write the 8-10 books down. Then review the list and write about one of the books, or the collection you have now curated. Would you share this list on social media a carousel? Would you give this list to your son or daughter as books they should read before leaving for college? If so, why? And if not, why not?

  • Art: Pick one of your favorite book covers and create a loose master copy in your notebook or create an alternative original book cover as imagined and designed by you.

    

• Education — Sunday (day 7 of 28)

  • Meditation: Many of us define education as the classic school, university, possibly grad school or a professional degree progression. But I feel my real education has taken many turns and pivots. Sometimes the least resume-building of activities can bestow the greatest educational advances on a personal level. Some of the hardest moments in our lives can provide the strongest leap in learning.

  • Writing: Write for 10 minutes about your education — both formal and informal. Where have you learned and grown the most? What educational experiences met or exceeded your expectations, which fell short? If you had/have children, what would/do you wish for them in today’s world? Are you considering further education now — and if so what do you help to gain? And most importantly: think of an experience that was a true education but maybe not in the traditional sense. What happened and what did you learn?

  • Art: Think about a moment where you learned an important lesson. Draw a detail or an overview of the scene. The week my father died, I drew several spreads about his life in my journal, and as hard as they are to remember, I love them because it was a way to capture that time together and appreciate his memory. I also learned so much from the staff at the hospital about how to care and show love for someone in their last days.

    

Have a wonderful week! Can’t wait to see what you create.

Keep writing and drawing!

Amanda