15 Minutes to Make Your Mark: Vertical, Horizontal, Diagonal
Sharon Ciccone
273 views
Need a quick way to get unstuck and start making art?
Welcome to **15 Minutes to Make Your Mark**, a series of quick creative exercises designed to get you into the studio, experimenting with materials, and making art without overthinking the outcome.
Each exercise takes just *5–15 minutes* and uses simple limitations to encourage creative problem-solving and experimentation.
The rules are simple:
• Work for only 5–15 minutes.
• Set a timer and STOP when it rings.
• Work no smaller than a Post-it note and no larger than 9" × 12".
• Choose only 3–5 materials and tools.
• Respond to all three parts of the creative prompt.
• Don't worry about creating a finished piece of art.
These exercises explore the *elements and principles of art and design* through line, shape, color, value, texture, space, pattern, contrast, balance, movement, repetition, rhythm, emphasis, and more.
The goal isn't to make a masterpiece.
*The goal is to make a discovery.*
When your timer goes off, take a minute to ask yourself:
*What did I notice?*
*What would I keep?*
*What would I try next?*
Your small experiment might reveal a mark, color combination, composition, material, technique, or idea that you can carry into your larger artwork.
Use these exercises as a daily creative practice, follow along with the full challenge, or return to them whenever you're feeling stuck and need something quick to get you moving again.
There is no catching up and no falling behind. Pick an exercise, set your timer, and start making.
*Never miss a thing — Subscribe to my bi-weekly newsletter at [www.SharonLCiccone.com](http://www.SharonLCiccone.com) where I share art prompts and concepts like these, art strategies, and questions to get you thinking about your own play, practice, and process.*
If you are a mixed media artist and would like to go deeper into your own practice and process, you can join my monthly membership for artists, *The Paste and Paper Playground**, where we go in depth into different mediums, strategies, and concepts to take your artwork to the next level alongside a community of artists and with me for two live sessions each month. Visit **[www.ThePasteAndPaperPlayground.com](http://www.ThePasteAndPaperPlayground...)* to find out more.
3 Comments
15 Minutes to Make Your Mark: Vertical, Horizontal, Diagonal
Sharon Ciccone
273 views
Need a quick way to get unstuck and start making art?
Welcome to **15 Minutes to Make Your Mark**, a series of quick creative exercises designed to get you into the studio, experimenting with materials, and making art without overthinking the outcome.
Each exercise takes just *5–15 minutes* and uses simple limitations to encourage creative problem-solving and experimentation.
The rules are simple:
• Work for only 5–15 minutes.
• Set a timer and STOP when it rings.
• Work no smaller than a Post-it note and no larger than 9" × 12".
• Choose only 3–5 materials and tools.
• Respond to all three parts of the creative prompt.
• Don't worry about creating a finished piece of art.
These exercises explore the *elements and principles of art and design* through line, shape, color, value, texture, space, pattern, contrast, balance, movement, repetition, rhythm, emphasis, and more.
The goal isn't to make a masterpiece.
*The goal is to make a discovery.*
When your timer goes off, take a minute to ask yourself:
*What did I notice?*
*What would I keep?*
*What would I try next?*
Your small experiment might reveal a mark, color combination, composition, material, technique, or idea that you can carry into your larger artwork.
Use these exercises as a daily creative practice, follow along with the full challenge, or return to them whenever you're feeling stuck and need something quick to get you moving again.
There is no catching up and no falling behind. Pick an exercise, set your timer, and start making.
*Never miss a thing — Subscribe to my bi-weekly newsletter at [www.SharonLCiccone.com](http://www.SharonLCiccone.com) where I share art prompts and concepts like these, art strategies, and questions to get you thinking about your own play, practice, and process.*
If you are a mixed media artist and would like to go deeper into your own practice and process, you can join my monthly membership for artists, *The Paste and Paper Playground**, where we go in depth into different mediums, strategies, and concepts to take your artwork to the next level alongside a community of artists and with me for two live sessions each month. Visit **[www.ThePasteAndPaperPlayground.com](http://www.ThePasteAndPaperPlayground...)* to find out more.