CREATIVE EXPLORATION
This is where you start—not finish.
A workshop format built around creative prompts and playful constraints—meant to push your thinking,
not your limits.
Why This Matters
As we gain experience, our creative process becomes more refined—we develop patterns, preferences, and go-to methods for generating ideas. But that same refinement can make creative blocks harder to break through. When our usual process stops working, we find ourselves without a place to start.
That’s what these workshops offer: a starting point. A way to think beyond your usual entrance. Instead of banging on the same familiar door, we invite you to look for the window, the side path, the hole in the fence. Sometimes the most generative ideas come from unfamiliar entry points—strange, abstract, playful beginnings that feel more like exploration than execution.
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Approaching creativity this way brings us back to the mindset we had as kids—when everything was new, exciting, and full of what ifs. By stepping into unfamiliar territory, we unlock creative muscles we didn’t know we had. And that changes everything.
How It Works
Every session begins with a prompt—but where it goes from there is up to you. These workshops are designed to guide you into creative momentum, not hold your hand to a specific outcome.
Here’s what to expect:
1. The Prompt
Every workshop starts with a simple, open-ended prompt designed to shake up your usual thinking and give you a clear place to begin.
2. The Twist
Prompts are paired with playful constraints—like time limits, perspective shifts, or unexpected materials—to push you beyond the familiar and into new creative territory.
3. The Exploration
You follow the thread. Think, make, move, sketch, build—whatever the prompt pulls from you. This is your time to wander, stretch, and try things without pressure.
4. The Reflection (Optional)
Some sessions include a low-key group share or solo journaling moment. Not to critique—just to take inventory of where your creativity went and what surprised you.
These workshops work for individuals, classrooms, or creative teams—and can be adapted based on time, location, and experience level.
Who It's For
Creative Exploration works well for:
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Individuals looking for a breakthrough or a new way to approach their practice
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Educators who want to inspire unconventional thinking in their students
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Creative teams and collectives in need of a reset or a fresh start
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Youth organizations seeking approachable, curiosity-driven workshops
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Anyone tired of starting with a blank page and craving a new entry point
Example Prompts
Prompt: "Elements of Emotion"
In this 2024 workshop with first- and second-year students at San Francisco State University, participants worked in teams of four to explore how emotion can be expressed through visual abstraction.
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Each team began by assigning one of the four elements—Earth, Air, Fire, Water—to each member. Then, as individuals, they chose an emotion to associate with their element and created a collage that visualized that emotional connection. Some chose to layer drawings over their collages; others leaned fully into shape, texture, and form.
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The unpredictability of collaging allowed for organic decision-making and opened up space for exploration. The result: personal interpretations that were fluid, flexible, and entirely their own.