Let's Play One Word-10 Ways | 3 of 5
Getting Ready for Wonder Series | How to Get the Most from Our Prompts for Your 100-Day Project
Yes, I made that game up.
True story. I’m the art student who doesn’t follow directions (usually). Like they’re suggestions, right?
And I really don’t like detailed prompts that get bossy and tell me how I should create. It’s right up there with anchovies and liver in my book—hard pass.
But I do like a prompt I can use like a diving board. Over the years, single-word prompts have become what works best for my creative process.
When I decided to do the 100-Day Project again this year, I didn’t want to do what I did last year again, paint 100 tiny landscapes. Instead, I wanted to explore imagery around the word WONDER, for obvious reasons. 😉
This is The Wonder Habit™ after all.
So, I made myself a list of 100 one-word wonder prompts. Then, I decided to invite all of you to join me, and here we are. Woot! 🎉 🎉
What Can You Do With a One-Word Prompt?
Let’s find out! Here’s the word for Day 1: Forest.
Spoiler: There are more than 10 ideas. I’ve been told ideation is kinda my superpower.
You do not have to do ANY of these. Just skim them and make a note if any stand out to you.
Here we go!
Paint a small, intuitive mixed-media painting. If you are wanting to explore abstracts or intuitive art, you could have a whole collection of pieces by the end.
Create a custom color palette based on the colors the word makes you think of. The one above I’ve entitled Spring Forest. How amazing would it be to have 100 color palettes to refer to?!?!
Practice color mixing and jot down the paints you used, like a color recipe card. This is perfect for those of you wanting to dive into a new art medium (watercolor, acrylics, etc) and get used to how that medium blends and behaves.
Paint a fast abstract landscape… or a slower, realistic one.
Create a page in a visual journal or sketchbook with thoughts on things like what has the forest taught you, or what could you learn from it. Writers and visual artists, this is such a fun one to do that can combine both creative actions.
Make one mark or a few marks (see photo above) that speak to you of the one-word prompt. By the end, you will have created an entire visual language and mark-making archive for your creativity.
Make collage paper that speaks to you of the word. Craft acrylic paint on basic copy paper is amazing for this. And it is very budget-friendly.
Make a collage piece based on the word.
Write one line of a descriptive starter in a journal you can come back to. The brooding clouds hung low over the forest as evening came…
Purposely paint the ugliest painting you can fathom.
Sketch a detail associated with the word.
Photograph something that reminds of you the word. And keep all the photography in an album on your phone or computer. Or in an actual album if you get them printed.
Take a macro photograph (a super close-up) of something associated with the word.
Imagine walking through a forest (or actually go walk through one ☺️ ) and describe the sensory experience. What do the leaves smell like? Has it just rained? Is the ground hard-packed or slippery? Are you near water? What do you hear? How is the temperature? This is such a good exercise for writing.
Good Ideas Michele. Now What?
I’m going to share some recommendations. These are not rules. You do not have to follow them. I trust you know what works best for you. You can’t get this wrong. Some of you may already have a clear idea of what you want to pursue. Awesome. For those who don’t, here are a few suggestions.
Grab a paper and pencil. Go back and look through the ideas above. Notice if one or two stand out to you or spark your curiosity. Write them down AND any other ideas that come with them.
Consider the time, space, and supplies you have on hand.
Know you can change what you are doing. You aren’t stuck. No one is going to come and scold you for changing your mind.
I will say the magic in this practice is in doing a repeated creative action for a duration of time. That gives you a series that shows the journey. It gives you traction. It allows you to experience the muddy middle which is like creative strength training.
That said, if 100 paintings or 100 of the same action is overwhelming… try doing 4 series of 25 instead.
Have FUN. This is about connecting with childlike wonder and joy and play. About letting your creativity loose to explore and discover new things. There is no grade to make or test to pass at the end.
Because we are coming from so many different experience levels and backgrounds, I’m structuring the rest of this post like a Q&A so you can easily scan it and find the parts that are interesting and helpful.
Why Do One-Word Prompts Work So Well?
Based on my experience, because they are flexible. They are simple. They are a diving board into inspiration, not a fish tank of restriction. They provide both freedom AND focus. And they give us a way to work on the same kind of themes together while still pursuing the creative expressions that light us up.
Do I Have to Use the One-Word Prompts to Participate Here?
No. You don’t. Even though we are doing this together, this is your time and your project. Use them if you like, but you certainly don’t have to.
I think many, if not most of us will be using them as a starting point. That excites me because how fun will it be to see other people interpreting and creating from the same word in entirely different ways?
But we are going to celebrate your creativity regardless.
What if I Start Late, Miss a Day, or Get Behind?
I have a couple of thoughts here.
Jump in on the day we are on. Don’t try and play catch up. (That’s a fast bus to overwhelm city.) At the end, you can circle back around and finish what you want to complete.
You can choose the pace that works for you. Pick and choose the words you want to engage with.
Mix it up and combine word prompts in the same piece. A creative way to batch and challenge your creativity at the same time.
Batch create on 1 or 2 days a week. I did this a LOT in 2023.
Where Do We Find the Prompts?
Each Sunday, I will email them to you in our weekly wonder drop, along with some encouragement and updates, and the extended content for paid members. You can ALSO find them online here after they’ve been sent for the duration of the 100 Days.
I recommend you set up a folder in your email and save all the emails you receive. That way you have the prompts forever. Eventually, after 100 Days of Wonder is over, the content will be archived in our Learning Library (which is part of our paid subscription). But not until after we are through the 100 days and you’ll get ample notice.
This is the best way to make sure you hang on to the prompts and any other emails you want to keep for future reference.
Have Questions I Didn’t Cover?
Pretty please ask them in the comments. And I’ll add them to the post as well. If you have them
YOUR turn, what kind of creative project do you think you’d like to explore?
Tell us in the comments.
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