Experimental Year
A year-long creative program to be curious, imperfect, and alive ~ Begins 1 January 2027
Super early bird pricing ends in
When something hasn’t been done before, there’s no template. We can find inspiration, reference, apprenticeship ~ but the creative act requires reaching into the depths of our being to manifest something unique.
Creativity comes from this mysterious place. This program is about reaching down into your being to align with your creative spirit. It’s for artists and those that hesitate to call themselves artists, yet feel the pull to create. It’s for those willing to wonder ~ What if I looked at the world with new eyes? What if I let myself play? What if I let myself express something in a new way?
Experimental Year gives your practice a year to take root. It is a space to be curious, imperfect, and alive.
The program brings together key aspects of the mindset of arts education extended with depth-oriented explorations ~ divergent thinking, working with the creative unconscious, working with unconventional methods ~ all within the overarching theme of Experimental Practice.
Across four modules, use drawing, photography, painting, and imagination as tools for attention, presence, and self-discovery. Work with unconventional materials, methods, and exercises that loosen old habits and open new ways of seeing and making. Experience art making and creative process as ways of paying attention to the world, your inner life, and what happens when the two meet. Relate to art making as an experience of being and develop yourself through making.
Begins 1 January 2027
The Modules
The program is structured around four modules, each lasting three months. Modules can be booked as a full year or individually.
January to March
Outer Space
Space, composition, and structure. Learn to see the world you draw: negative space, scale, edges, and the architecture of what is in front of you. Discover how space and structure shape the way we see and create. Through guided exercises in composition, perspective, and negative space, learn to arrange the visual world with intention.
April to June
Inner Space
Inner landscapes. You draw from memory, dream, and imagination, and find form for what has no visible reference. Experiment with dreamwork, surrealism, and creative imagination to explore image-making and personal mythologies. Through drawing, develop a visual dialogue and bring your inner world to life, merging personal and collective realities in your artistic practice.
July to September
Making Contact
Drawing with and from the body. Explore gesture, movement, touch, scale, and rhythm. Here the inner self meets the world beyond it, and the work moves between self and the world.
October to December
Being Nature
Wild drawing and the living world. Nature reimagined. A reminder that we are nature, not separate from it. The year comes together in a body of work that is unmistakably yours. Go beyond literal representation to capture the essence and energy of nature and reveal new dimensions. Through experimental approaches to drawing and painting landscapes, flora, and fauna, develop a personal visual language to explore the natural world.
How The Year Unfolds
Each module contains a mix of lessons, prompts, and reflections:
Explore: Short, open-ended, and designed to get you making before you start judging.
Deepen: Weekly lessons and longer studies. You slow down, return to what caught your attention, and reflect on what is emerging.
Make: You create a small body of work and share it in an online showcase with the group.
What’s Included
The year is divided into 4 modules, each running for 3 months.
Modules can be booked individually or as a full year.
Each module has 3 monthly Zoom sessions (recorded for participants who cannot attend live).
Session 1: Introduction to the module
Session 2: Process discussion with feedback and guidance
Session 3: Closing with a review work
Participants receive a weekly lesson containing an exercise and guidance.
Work is shared in a private platform for feedback and accountability.
Space in the Experimental Practice WhatsApp Community follow each other’s progress, and stay connected between sessions.
Visiting artists are invited to present their work at a live sessions throughout the year.
Enroll for the full year and receive access to additional elements of Experimental Practice
Seminar · Ongoing Through the Year
Art as Psychological Process
Explore art-making as a mode of psychological inquiry. Through readings, lectures, and studio prompts drawn from depth psychology and phenomenology, examine what attention, imagination, symbol, and emotion reveal when you engage in the creative process.
Value: £480 ($000) · Included
Workshop · Quarterly
Deepening
Previously called Creative Imagination. A workshop and process to engage directly with the unconscious through image and symbol. Through a guided practice, work with what surfaces beneath rational thought.
Guided active imagination sessions that bring you into direct contact with the images and symbols that arise in your practice.
Value: £320+ ($000+) · Included
Live Zoom Call · Monthly
Studio Hours
Those enrolled in the Experimental Year get access to Studio Hours, live multidisciplinary Zoom calls offering space for feedback and reflection on your work.
12 live calls, one each month A 60-minute session where we look at your work together. Participants submit work in advance, and I give feedback on a set number of pieces each call [6 to 8, to confirm]. 🔹 Access to Studio Hours, live multidisciplinary calls offering space for feedback and reflection on your work.
Value: £420+ ($560) · Included
Who this is for
The program is a good fit if:
✅ You want a steady drawing practice that lasts longer than a few weeks.
✅ You are curious about unconventional materials and methods, whatever your level of experience.
✅ You are interested in what images reveal, and in drawing as a way of seeing.
✅ You are ready to commit to a full year (or three months) of reflection, experimentation, play, and creative work.
When this isn’t right:
❌ You want a step-by-step technical art or drawing course.
Why this matters now
Technology is a mirror of the society that creates it ~ and the glass we’re staring into in 2026 is helping us question what it means to be human. What does it mean to be alive, to feel, to think, to create?
The case for drawing by hand:
studies
What you’ll get ~ full year enrollment
Receive 52 weeks of guidance in experimental art making ~ 4 modules, 52 creative lessons, 4 art history lessons, and 4 reflections. Share work, get feedback, and discuss your creative process in the course chat within the Experimental Practice WhatsApp community.
Attend 1 live Zoom session providing a review and discussion of work. The call will be recorded for anyone who can’t attend. Participants must join live to have their work discussed.
About Francesca
I’m Francesca, an artist, guide, and educator. My approach draws from my professional and personal study of the arts, psychotherapy, and altered states.
I teach drawing as a way of bringing what’s beneath the surface into a visible form, and as a way of seeing and relating directly to the world around you. I’ve been teaching and facilitating in the arts since I was a teenager, and I bring curiosity and encouragement into the studio.
I’m Francesca Sciandra, an artist specialising in painting, drawing, and immersive experiential art. My work explores imagination, emotion, and self-knowledge, representing what we see and feel through nature, dreams, and emotional landscapes.
My path has taken me from studying architecture at The Cooper Union and graphic design at Parsons in New York, through post-graduate art history and glass sculpture in Barcelona, to my current studio practice between the UK and Portugal. I’ve been teaching and facilitating in the arts since I was a teenager, and I bring curiosity and encouragement into the classroom.
Francesca is a painter who trained in architecture at Cooper Union and graphic design at Parsons. She has led The Artist's Way and drawing workshops, and has lived and worked in New York, London, Barcelona, and Lisbon.
Experimental Practice is her approach to making: unconventional materials, methods, and prompts that open new ways of seeing. Her training in integrative psychotherapy informs how she thinks about images and the inner life.
Enroll
Experimental Year
1 January to 31 December 2027
£795 (about $1,050 USD) ~ Full year, Early bird price
Full price: £1,200 (about $1,590 USD)
Super early bird ends 9 November 2026. Limited to 10 places. Single payment.
Outer Space
1 January to 31 March 2027
£190 / 240 (about $000 USD) ~ One module, Early bird price
Full price: £360 (about $480 USD)
Early bird ends 30 November 2026. Single payment.
Your founding place includes:
Four modules:
Outer Space: 1 January to 31 March 2027
Inner Space:
Experimental Color:
Nature Reimagined:
112 daily prompts, plus weekly lessons and studies
Monthly live Studio Hours with feedback on your work
Deepening Workshops, held quarterly
Art as Psychological Process seminar, ongoing throughout the year
Private community
FAQs
Do I need drawing experience? No. The prompts work at any level. What matters is a willingness to show up and experiment.
What materials will I need? Mostly simple, inexpensive materials, many of them already in your home. You receive a materials list before each season begins. [Confirm.]
How much time does it take? [About __ minutes a day during Explore, and __ hours a week during Deepen and Make.]
What if I can't attend the live sessions? Every Studio Hour and Deepening Workshop is recorded, so you can watch in your own time. [Can people submit work for feedback without attending live? Confirm.]
Why pay in pounds? Prices are in British pounds. Your bank converts the amount at checkout, and some US cards add a small foreign transaction fee.
Is there a payment plan? Not for founding places, which are paid in full. A monthly option opens with full enrollment in January.
Why commit to a full year? A practice changes when it has time to deepen. Four seasons give you the time to build skill, follow what interests you, and see your work evolve.
Is this therapy? No. Experimental Year is an educational drawing program. It explores the psychological side of image-making, but it is not art therapy and does not replace clinical support.
I took Experimental Drawing or Experimental Photography. Is there a credit? [If confirmed: Your £150 course fee is credited toward a founding place when you enroll by 30 November.]
I am a beginner / have no drawing experience / can’t draw. Is this for me?
Yes. This course is appropriate for those with no to little drawing experience. It’s a perfect way to loosen up and get started.
I’m a skilled / trained / working artist. Is this for me?
Yes. This course is suitable for experienced artists. A few of the exercises may be familiar, while others will likely be new. Either way, you’ll have the chance to widen your visual vocabulary and experiment with new ways of mark-making.
How is the work reviewed?
The work is not formally assessed. You’ll have a chance to share it with other participants in the WhatsApp community and receive feedback from me on our live call. Anything we discuss is in the spirit of shared process rather than critique.
What if I’m nervous to share what I draw?
Sharing is encouraged, but optional. It’s up to you. If you choose to share, the space will be encouraging and supportive.
When is the live session?
The date and time for the live session will be shared when course enrollment opens.
What if I miss the live session?
The live session will be recorded. Participants must join live to have their work discussed.
How much time will I need?
Most daily exercises take 10 to 30 minutes, though a few invite you to go longer if you're enjoying the flow. There’s no minimum. The point is to show up daily, not to fill a set amount of time. Weekly reflections take another 10 to 15 minutes, and the live call is 60 to 90 minutes.
What materials do I need?
You’ll receive a full list of materials, but the basics will do: a sketchbook, large sheets of paper, graphite pencils, an eraser, ink, brushes, watercolours, soft charcoal sticks, crayons and colored pencils.
Is this art therapy?
No. This is a creative and educational course, not a therapy space. It’s taught by me in my capacity as an artist and educator.
Do you offer scholarships or reduced fee places?
No. The course is priced to be affordable. If it’s too much, it’s not the right time.
What is the refund policy?
The program is non-refundable. The full refund policy is here. If you have any questions, please contact me before joining.
Have a question not answered here?
Please email me: hello@francescasciandra.com. I read and reply personally to all messages.
Give your practice a year.
Experimental Year begins in January with Outerspace. Founding places are £795 (about $1,050 USD) until 30 November.