What happens when you stop creating for clients, algorithms, deadlines and outcomes—and start creating purely for the joy of exploration?

Creative Playground is a month-long creative adventure designed to help artists, illustrators and creative makers reconnect with curiosity, experimentation and play!

Over one month, you’ll receive a series of playful prompts, creative exercises and invitations designed to help you loosen up, try new approaches and generate fresh ideas. Along the way, you’ll be joined by three inspiring guest artists who will share their process and lead live workshops exploring collage, colour and sketchbook practice.

Join us for a month-long creative journey that begins with playful experimentation and culminates in a final artwork, project, or collection inspired by everything you’ve discovered along the way.

During the challenge, you’ll be guided by three inspiring artists who will share their creative process and lead exclusive live workshops where you’ll experiment, play, and create together in real time.

Our brand new 30-day challenge runs 17th August – 17th September 2026.

Enrol now for £69 – Early Bird ends 31st July

Our full schedule is available to download here so you can start planning ahead!

Meet Our Guest Artists

Daria Gushchina

Based in Belgrade, Serbia, Daria Gushchina is a mixed media collage artist and illustrator, known for her playful, tactile approach to image-making. Combining hand-cut paper, texture and bold colour, her work celebrates experimentation, curiosity and the joy of discovery.

Through her distinctive collage practice, Daria creates imaginative worlds that encourage creative freedom and invite viewers to see familiar things in new ways.

Molly Egan

Molly Egan is an illustrator and creative educator based in Philadelphia, USA, whose colourful, character-filled work is driven by curiosity, intuition and play. Her practice embraces experimentation, storytelling and visual exploration, encouraging artists to trust their instincts and follow unexpected ideas.

Through her sketchbooks and personal work, Molly demonstrates how creativity can flourish when we let go of perfection and embrace the process.

Alexia Winterhalter

Deeply inspired by nature, French artist Alexia Winterhalter has made her home among the picturesque landscapes of the Italian Alps. Her luminous works, infused with iridescent, rainbow-like tones, celebrate the beauty of the natural world. Known for her richly layered sketchbooks and playful approach to documenting the world around her, Alexia combines drawing, colour and handwritten notes to capture ideas, experiences and moments of inspiration.

Through her workshops and teaching, she encourages artists to embrace sketchbooks as a space for exploration, experimentation and creative growth, helping them develop a more sustainable and joyful creative practice.

Your 30-Day Creative Playground Journey

Week One

Gather & Explore 

Every great creative adventure begins with curiosity.

This week is all about collecting, experimenting and giving yourself permission to play. We’ll explore materials, textures, found imagery and unexpected combinations as we begin filling our creative toolbox with ideas.

Live Workshop with Daria Gushchina | Wednesday 19th August 11am BST

The Joy of Collage: Play, Texture & Visual Experimentation

Join Daria for a hands-on 60-min workshop exploring the playful possibilities of collage.

Together we’ll:

• Explore layering, texture and composition

• Experiment with intuitive image-making

• Embrace happy accidents and unexpected discoveries Experiment with intuitive image-making

• Create without judgement or expectations

Daria’s workshop is designed to help you loosen up, trust the process and discover new ways of generating ideas through play.

This Week’s Focus

• Curiosity

• Materials

• Collage

• Texture

• Observation

• Creative experimentation

Week Two

Collect & Connect

By now you’ll have a growing collection of experiments, observations and creative discoveries.

This week we’ll begin collecting inspiration more intentionally, developing sketchbook habits, and identifying the themes, ideas and visual directions emerging throughout your work.

Live Workshop with Alexia Winterhalter | Wednesday 26th August 3pm BST

Sketchbooks as Creative Playgrounds

In this 60-min workshop, Alexia will share how sketchbooks can become a powerful tool for observation, exploration and creative growth.

Together we’ll:

• Explore sketchbooks as spaces for experimentation ?

• Develop observational drawing and visual collecting skills ?

• Build richer sketchbook pages through layering and reflection?

• Discover ways to sustain a long-term creative practice ?

Your workshop with Alexia will help you transform fleeting ideas into something you can build upon long after the challenge ends.

This Week’s Focus

• Sketchbooks

• Visual research

• Observation

• Idea development

• Storytelling

• Reflection

Week Three

Play & Discover 

With a sketchbook full of inspiration, observations and creative experiments, it’s time to follow your curiosity and see where it leads.

This week we’ll use colour, imagination and playful prompts to unlock unexpected ideas and generate exciting possibilities for our final projects.

Live Workshop with Molly Egan | Wednesday 2nd September 7pm BST

Following Your Curiosity: Colour, Play & Visual Discovery

In our final 60-min workshop, Molly will guide you through a playful workshop exploring colour, intuition and creative exploration.

Together we’ll:

• Experiment with colour combinations and visual prompts ?

• Generate unexpected ideas through playful exercises ?

• Create characters, objects, and surprising visual connections ?

• Learn how to follow interesting ideas rather than perfect ones ?

Molly’s workshop is designed to help you uncover concepts, themes and visual directions that you can develop into your final outcome during the last week of the challenge.

This Week’s Focus

• Colour

• Intuition

• Exploration

• Creative risks

• Visual play

• Imagination

Week Four

Make Something Wonderful 

Now it’s time to bring everything together.

Throughout the challenge you’ve been gathering ideas, experimenting with materials, exploring colour and filling your sketchbook with possibilities.

In the final week you’ll choose a direction and develop a finished creative outcome inspired by everything you’ve explored.

Your project might become:

• A mini zine or leporello

• A series of prints

• A collection of illustrations

• A visual journal

• A fictional world

• A collection of characters

• Or something entirely unexpected

This week there are no live workshops—just dedicated time and space to get your head down and focus on your project.

You’ll be supported by a live stream check-in, daily prompts, gentle encouragement, and drop-in co-working sessions designed to help you stay motivated, overcome creative blocks, and keep moving forward.

The goal isn’t perfection.

The goal is to finish the month with something meaningful that grew from curiosity, experimentation, and play.

Final Week

Creative Playground Showcase 

Show & Tell with Lisa Hassell | Thursday 17th September at 11am + 7pm BST

To mark the end of the challenge, we’ll come together for a special live show & tell celebration on Wednesday 16th September, where you’ll have the opportunity to share your final work, reflect on your journey, celebrate everything you’ve created and see what fellow participants have made throughout the month.

With participants joining from around the world, we’re hosting two events in our final week to give as many creatives as possible the opportunity to connect, create, and celebrate live.

What’s Included

30 Days of Creative Prompts

A month of playful prompts, creative experiments and inspiring invitations designed to help you loosen up, explore new ideas and build momentum in your creative practice.

Three Live Artist Workshops

Create alongside Daria Gushchina, Alexia Winterhalter and Molly Egan as they share their creative process and lead exclusive hands-on workshops packed with inspiration, experimentation and practical exercises you can immediately apply to your own work.

Weekly Creative Studio Sessions (Various Days at 11am & 3pm)

Set aside dedicated time to make, explore and stay accountable alongside a supportive community of artists and illustrators. Perfect for building momentum and making consistent progress throughout the challenge.

A Global Creative Community

Share your work, celebrate discoveries, exchange ideas and connect with fellow creatives from around the world. Whether you’re feeling inspired, stuck or somewhere in between, you’ll be creating alongside others every step of the way.

Final Project & Showcase

Take your favourite ideas and experiments and transform them into a finished creative outcome. At the end of the challenge we’ll come together to celebrate what we’ve created and share our work with the community.

Replay Access Until 31st January 2027

Can’t make every session live? No problem. Enjoy extended access to all workshop recordings and challenge resources, giving you plenty of time to revisit lessons, catch up on sessions and continue developing your ideas long after the challenge ends.

A Sketchbook Full of Ideas

Leave with pages of experiments, observations, colour studies, visual notes and creative discoveries—plus a collection of ideas that can continue inspiring future projects long after the challenge is over!

By The End Of The Challenge You’ll Have

• A month of consistent creative practice

• New ideas, techniques and approaches to explore

• A sketchbook full of experiments, observations and creative discoveries

• Greater confidence in your creative voice

• Fresh momentum and renewed enthusiasm for your work

• A finished personal project inspired by everything you’ve explored throughout the challenge

Whether that becomes a mini zine, a series of prints, a leporello, a visual journal or something entirely unexpected, you’ll leave with work you’re excited to continue developing long after the challenge ends!

Ready to Rediscover the Joy of Making?

Join us for 30 days of creative exploration, inspiring artist workshops, playful prompts and community support designed to help you reconnect with your creativity.

Doors open on Monday 17th August, and you’ll receive an invitation link to join our dedicated Creative Playground course space inside Inkygoodness Collective. Once you’re inside, you’ll be able to introduce yourself, access the challenge materials, and get ready for our Welcome Event!

Pricing

Early Bird: £69
Ends 31st July

Standard Price: £89

Enrol now for £69 – Early Bird ends 31st July

Our full schedule is available to download here so you can start planning ahea

Enrolment is now open and we’d love to welcome you on board!

Come and play, experiment, explore and create together.