This week’s art challenges were very interesting.
The first challenge of the week was “What Remains.” The idea was to capture something left behind, whether physical, symbolic, or imagined. What beauty, story, or mystery remains behind when something ends. Suggestions were ruins or remnants, the last of something, memories or traces, objects with a past, or nature reclaiming.
6/15/26 “What Remains”
The next challenge was to create an oddities museum. I made this one on ChatGPT because I wanted so much detail, but it was really fun brainstorming all the things that seem to be part of a lost era of human connection. You have to zoom in to read any of it, so I’ll share a few highlights here:
- Exhibit #1 is a bench labeled Conversation, which is defined as two or more humans sitting together with no screens present. Believed to have been common before the Great Distraction.
- One display says, The Last Family Dinner. No phones, no distractions, just people. Legend suggests these were magical times.
- Another is The Lost Art of Boredom. There is a blank notebook (ideas begin here), a stick (everything), a rock (a treasure.) Boredom was once the breeding ground of imagination.
- Under Communication there are the following: a letter (days to arrive), fountain pen & ink, a rotary phone with a cord, a postcard with a stamp, a diary (private), and a rolodex (contacts.)
- Under Reading & Learning there are hardcover books, an encyclopedia set, a paper map, a library card, a card catalog, and a newspaper.
- Under Music & Entertainment there is a vinyl record, cassette tape & pencil, film camera, Walkman, VHS tape, and a photo album.
- Under Creativity there is a sketchbook, colored pencils, a typewriter, knitting project, sewing basket, and a jigsaw puzzle.
- Social Rituals has a board game (family night), tea set (slow down), family album (together), picnic basket, recipe book, and a guestbook.
- And Outdoor Life has a compass, binoculars, butterfly net, fishing pole, pressed flowers, and a telescope.
6/16/26 “Museum of Human Connection”
Generated by Lyra (my ChatGPT assistant) based on Rebekah Marshall’s prompt.
My “Museum of Human Connection” won! So it was my turn to create a challenge for the participants. I called it “Titian with a Twist.” I went down a rabbit hole about the color titian named after the Italian 16th century oil painter. His earliest art became so famous that his ginger subjects caused a fad. All the women in Italy were bleaching their hair and then trying to dye it red. Get creative with the use of red hair or titian elements, but add something unusual. Maybe the subject is a reclining cat instead of a woman. Play with the models. Try adding “titian” to your prompt and see what happens.
6/17/26 “Titian Queen” & “Titian Baller”
Generated by Rebekah Marshall’s prompts on Gencraft.
The next day’s challenge was about travel. It could be the glamor of travel or the drudgery of travel, travel at different times in history, or as it might be in the future. I said that lately, the only travel I’m interested in is in my dreams.
6/18/26 “Dream Travel”
Next up was to show duality or strong contrast in a split-screen image. The split did not have to be distinct and could flow seamlessly, so that is what I wanted to try.
6/19/26 “Diving Into Infinity”
The next one wanted us to use textures. I played with a bunch of different texture ideas but decided that the ones that looked most visceral to me were cloth textures.
6/20/26 “Patchwork Texture”
And the last one of the week was to create an image of a witch in the style of Art Deco. This required a deep dive into the art style of Art Deco because I was only vaguely familiar with it and really didn’t know the difference between that and Art Nouveau. They are still very similar in my mind. Basically, I learned that Art Nouveau came first and was more in the late 1800s showing nature in motion with earthy tones and flowing curves. Art Deco came next in the 1920s and 30s and used more geometric shapes, modern technology, metallic elements, and glamor. Here is a visual I found online to demonstrate the difference:
I decided to lean heavily into the geometric borders and shapes and wanted lots of green to complement the gold.
6/21/26 “Art Deco Witch”
And here are some of the honorable mentions that I did not submit, but still published on my art website:
