A summer challenge for artists who want 12 days of playing, experimenting and seeing what happens.

Creative Sparks is a short, accessible challenge for artists who want to experiment, try things out and follow unexpected possibilities.

Each day, I’ll send you one prompt by email.

You can use it lightly or dive in more deeply. You can spend ten minutes, half an hour, or longer if something catches your attention. You can use whatever materials you already have.

The point is to experiment, explore and see what happens.

It’s to try things, notice what happens, and gather a few fragments, tests, marks, colour notes, surfaces or odd little beginnings that might become useful later.

Think of it as play for your summer studio.

12 days. 12 prompts. £12.

What we’ll be doing

New ideas often begin with a small “what if?”

What if I changed the scale?

Used a new material?

Repeated one mark?

Worked over something I had already made?

Changed the surface?

Used a colour I don’t usually reach for?

Over the 12 days, the prompts will invite you to make small experiments and see what they begin to suggest.

Some may go nowhere. Some may open something up. Some may simply give you a useful ten minutes of making without needing to know the outcome in advance.

And that can be enough.

What you might get from the challenge

Creative Sparks can help you:

• generate new starting points through small experiments
• try marks, materials, surfaces, colour or composition
• interrupt familiar habits
• notice useful accidents, fragments and unexpected possibilities
• make without needing to know where the work is going
• gather material that may feed future paintings, series or projects

You don’t need to spend hours working each day.

Most prompts can be explored in 10–30 minutes, though you can take them further whenever something catches your attention.

No special materials are required.

What’s included

• 12 daily prompts sent by email
• practical experiments that can be adapted to your own work and materials
• short reflection questions to help you notice what each experiment reveals
• a live introductory session before the challenge begins
• an optional Facebook community for sharing work and reflections
• a live wrap-up session at the end of the challenge
• continued access to the prompts after the challenge ends

Who it’s for

Creative Sparks is for artists with some experience of making who would enjoy a short period of experimental practice.

It may be especially useful if you:

• want more play, curiosity or looseness in your studio
• would like some fresh starting points
• enjoy prompts but don’t want anything too prescriptive
• want to explore materials, marks, surfaces or composition without committing to a finished outcome
• would like to make alongside other artists for a short, focused burst

You can take part in whatever way suits you. Share in the Facebook group, come to the live sessions, or work quietly on your own.

How it works

The challenge begins with a live introductory session on Saturday 11 July at 3 pm UK time.

The daily prompts run from 12–23 July.

Each day, you’ll receive one prompt by email. You can follow them daily, catch up when you have time or return to them later.

You’ll also be invited to share your experiments and observations in the Art Fluency Facebook community. Sharing is optional, and you can take part privately.

The challenge ends with a live wrap-up session on Friday 24 July.

If you can’t make the live sessions they will be recorded so you can watch later. 

Want to take it further?

Creative Sparks also introduces some of the ideas explored more fully in Creative Play Lab.

The challenge gives you a short, practical taste of experimental making: trying things, noticing what happens and following what feels alive.

Creative Play Lab takes this further, looking more deeply at play, uncertainty, experimentation and how they can become part of a sustained studio practice.

You’ll hear more about Creative Play Lab during and after the challenge, but there’s no obligation to continue.

Join the challenge

Click below to join Creative Sparks.

After purchase, please look out for your order confirmation email. It will include a link to complete your Creative Sparks email sign-up.

This extra step makes sure you receive the daily challenge prompts, plus information about the live Introduction to the Challenge and Wrap-up Sessions.