The Wonderful Words for this Wednesday are “Inchie Challenge”
Inchie Challenge
For the second year in a row, I’m participating in the Inchie Challenge that Amy Maricle hosts through her business called Mindful Art Studio.
Amy’s approach to art is right up my alley! She is all about practicing mindfulness with art and letting go of all the negative mindsets we harbor around our own creative being.
This Inchie Challenge offers an approachable way for anyone to come on board with getting creative. It is pure brilliance!
How it works:
You start by cutting up watercolor paper into a pile of small squares. I think she does 2″ squares but I do 3″ squares, you pick your inches, but keep it small because that is part of the magic.
She gives you a prompt everyday and you create as many pieces of small art around that prompt that you can given your time and ideas.
That’s it!
Why this is brialliance
Working small is magic. For one, you are WAY less worried about trying something because it’s not that bad to waste a 2″ (or 3″) piece of watercolor paper. During the first day, I discarded 4 attempts and kept 8.
I’m not afraid to show you my failures friends! Especially if it helps you feel better about getting in there and trying things out. Here are my discards:
It’s even easier to try something on these little squares than it is in a sketchbook!
Furthermore, you can complete a piece or art in no time! You can even complete MANY pieces of art in one session.
The prompt each day is smart because by narrowing your subject matter, you increase your creativity. Let me explain.
The first day’s prompt was “leaves”. There are many different types of leaves to draw, and one could simply draw each kind of leaf on an inchie and there you go! But what if we introduce various art supplies? Let’s try leaves in watercolors, acrylics, oil pastels, pen and ink, etc!
I stuck with watercolors and pen and ink (and I used some masking fluid). The day was done before I exhausted all of my ideas for this prompt. I think I could’ve spent all week on ONE prompt!
What do you do with your plethora of inches?
You can put them on a ring (like fabric samples for couches) or stack them and slap a rubber band around them. You can also glue them in a sketchbook. Whichever way you choose to store them, you can use them for future inspiration. Yes, that’s right, you can use your own art to get inspiration for future art projects!
Pro tip: I write what colors or medium I used on the back of each inchie. That way if you like a certain color palette you know exactly which colors you used.
Well?
If nothing else has seemed approachable, perhaps this inchie challenge will get you tuned into your creative self. I promise, you’ll be so glad you found your creativity whether you lost it and found it again, or you’re finding it for the first time. It’s wonderful for your mental health and your stress level.
Now cut up some paper and get going, it’s not to late to join in!
Amy Maricle is the author of one of my favorite books as well! It’s called ‘Draw Yourself Calm’ and you can find it here.
Find Amy on Instagram
Kimberly Snider, Virtuoso, Signing off
See more about creativity on my weekly BLOG and subscribe
Find me on Instagram
Find me on Facebook