‘out of the box’
To order a ‘Through Quiet Windows’ Prompt box please email karen-wicks@outlook.com
Boxes cost £12.95 including postage
‘out of the box’
My drawing prompt boxes are an invitation to slow down and notice the spaces around us—both real and imagined. They are designed to help participants reflect and relax through the creative process, using simple materials and gentle prompts to explore how we feel in different environments.
“Every corner in a house, every angle in a room, every inch of secluded space in which we like to hide... is a symbol of solitude for the imagination.”
— Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space
By observing quiet corners, open windows, or places we dream about, we begin to connect more deeply with ourselves. Each box includes easy-to-use techniques like block printing and texture-making, encouraging hands-on exploration. These textural processes help us reconnect with the body, offering a calming and grounding experience.
You don’t need to be an artist—just curious. The prompts are meant to spark gentle observation and personal reflection, whether used alone or with others. They support emotional wellbeing by creating space for rest, imagination, and quiet creativity.
Made with care and sustainable materials, these boxes offer a way to feel more at home—in the world, and in yourself.
‘Through Quiet Windows’ Drawing Prompt Box - Autumn 2025
The contents of your drawing prompt box are as follows:
8 page mini-zine or sketchbook
Ink stamp pad
Polystyrene squares to draw into and stamp onto pages
Textured papers for rubbings or ink stamping
Glassine envelopes to draw onto/ cut up/ collage with
Grey tissue and white gel pen to collage and draw with
In addition to these materials, there is a set of prompt cards per page if you need additional inspiration and you will need drawing materials of your own (a simple 2b pencil, a biro, some glue and scissors would be plenty).
Take a deep breath and make marks on the page, try not to let conscious thought be a barrier to just drawing. You can smudge the pencil marks, rub them away, draw over them again…..
This exercise is one to connect with your calm self and if you have a physical space that you are observing, to allow you to use your eyes to move over what you see.
Try drawing some lines into your polystyrene blocks or use dots with a biro pen, then stamp the block using your ink pad. You can also use paint to get a similar effect.
Think about how drawing materials can be used to make marks and then erase them, to leave a trace or outline. Try rubbing out areas of pencil shading and then drawing back in with black biro to create more defined marks. You could use the glassine envelopes to draw onto - what happens if you draw on the front and then the back, or overlay the translucent paper onto your sketchbook drawing using collage?
Use the textured papers to create rubbings, put them under a piece of paper and use the side of a pencil to rub over to pick up the marks. What happens if you draw over the textures and start to add shape?
Try using the textured papers onto the ink pad, what textures does this create?
What happens if you ‘recycle’ some of the materials in your box, or overlay textures and drawings together? Try ‘re-using’ something as part of this exercise, it could be drawing onto the grey tissue in gel pen and adding it over a page, it could be tearing up the prompt cards, or the box….
“A house that has been experienced is not an inert box. Inhabited space transcends geometrical space.”
— Gaston Bachelard
collaboration - mini zine examples
Images coming soon….
To add your work to this growing gallery, please email images of your mini-zine to karen-wicks@outlook.com
Images may also be shared on social media about this project.