Creative Challenges for the New Year
Plus some questions for you 💛
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and I’m shifting into a mode of anticipation after time with family and a few days of quiet reflection and rest. No matter the time of year, the thing I am often aiming for is to create more regularly, to refine a regular practice of making. It tends to ebb and flow for me, and I have come to accept that I am more sporadic; there are lots of things that pull my creative attention and they’re all valid.
But when I feel that consistent urge, I do try to honor it and find my way back—whether it’s been a few days, a week, or even months.
December is a dormant time for many of us, but in January as the days slowly lengthen, my curiosity starts to stir.
Creative Challenges
Have you ever tried something like the 100 day challenge, Nanowrimo, or something similar? Whether your an artist, writer, or simply creatively curious, I find these types of challenges—whether you fully complete them or not—can awaken so much. January is rife with daily challenges as many of us consider our goals for the year to come. I’m perpetually curious and seek multiple inputs at once, letting them comingle until I find a path forward that is uniquely mine. Here are a few that I’m looking forward to in the coming days and weeks.
I also want to invite you to my own Wake & Walk Challenge I’m holding during January! Find more info below:
January Wake & Walk Challenge
“Life is prolonged when you walk…Walking expands time rather than collapses it. . . . Walking is a slow undertaking. It is among the most radical things you can do.”
Updated for 2025
The 30-Day Drawing Habit via DrawTogether with WendyMac
DrawTogether is one of my favorite places on the Internet; Wendy is a fantastic guide and facilitator, and even if you haven’t picked up a pencil to draw since you were a child you’ll feel right at home at the Grown Ups Table.
75 Art with Genna Blackburn
Last summer, Genna and I had a drawing picnic together at the Cranbrook Gardens, and I got to witness firsthand how she draws inspiration from her surroundings and captures it with whimsy and playfulness. With a new little one at home, she’s still found time to draw daily and I can’t wait to join in on the fun!75 Art is running again this year, and begins January 22! There’s a free drawing workshop leading up to it you can sign up for HERE. This challenge was one of the most transformative practices I participated in all last year and I can’t wait to join in again.
Suleika Jaouad is offering a journaling challenge for the new year, and that seems the perfect way to begin:
Austin Kleon’s commonplace diaries have always inspired me. I’ve started to keep daily quotes in my bullet journal over the past week and really enjoyed it. If you needed a more in-depth introduction, Jillian Hess’ Commonplace Book Club might be just the thing for you:
I love how SEE YOU’s 31 days of creative resilience is organized around creative archetypes and am enjoying the prompts so far:
Developing Your Visual Vocabulary: A Daily Practice in Mark Making with Lisa Congdon
Lisa’s been creating daily practices for herself for years, and her work is such a beautiful testament to what can evolve from creative constraints. I’ve long thought of mark-making and symbols as a visual vocabulary, and I’m looking forward to how this concept will be enriched and expanded through this challenge.
Note: My local library offers patrons free subscriptions to CreativeBug, so it’s worth checking if yours does too!
I hope you’ll enjoy perusing these and considering if a daily practice might be worth exploring for you, even for a short amount of time.
Multiple challenges might sound like too much, but I’ll likely mix and max as I dabble in these to see what sparks my curiosity. But one thing I am determined to do is make a go at the dailyness of creating as we start the new year.
If you plan to participate in a challenge in the coming weeks, I’d love to hear about it in the comments! We can cheer each other on and share as we go.
I am also working on my next Skillshare class, which will likely be organized in a daily format. I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and requests in my survey! It’s only six questions and will help me shape future offerings.
I’m looking forward to a year of creative abundance, and leaning more into teaching and sharing more around creative practices to ground, nurture, and inspire us. Thank you for taking the time to help me shape meaningful offerings for you!
Fantastic! I just filled out the survey. I always look forward to receiving your emails.