"I've been programming for 15 years. SPARK gave me the opportunity to do kinds of programming I'd always been curious about but never had sufficient reason or impetus to do, with a group of creative people who inspired me to explore things I'd never have thought to try otherwise."

🌈 What drew you to join SPARK?

I saw Patt's "Interactive Bridge" video, which uses a webcam and a physics library to turn your fingers into a virtual marble run. The bridging of mediums really intrigued me.

🎨 How has SPARK impacted your creative coding journey?

SPARK unlocked a slew of creative pieces that I can recombine like Legos. And not just in p5.js. I've taken what I've learned and used it in Godot Engine, in Golang, in standards-based HTML5 and CSS, and even outside, away from my computer.

💡 Can you share a favorite moment, project, or challenge from SPARK?

My favorite sketch is "River" (https://cbednarski.com/p5.js/river) which came together as a spontaneous assembly of prior experiments: particles, flow fields, drawing input, and p5's shape tools. The gently flowing river and trees take my imagination to far away places.

🗣️ How would you describe SPARK to a friend?

SPARK is magical. It gives you just the right amount of structure, community, and goals to explore without getting lost. If you want to learn game or graphics programming, or develop your UX skills, there is no better tool than p5.js. The feedback loop is tight, it's expressive, and it creates so many serendipitous moments.

💜 What would you miss most if SPARK disappeared tomorrow?

I've received so much inspiration and so many incredible ideas from the other people in SPARK that I simply don't get when I'm creating solo. Witnessing and riffing off of other people's creativity is by far what made SPARK such an incredible experience for me.

✨ In 3 words, SPARK is…

Inquisitive, serendipitous, community.

"SPARK is a space to think, a laboratory to do research and a forum to connect with nice people. Yes it is!"

🌈 What drew you to join SPARK?

Write code and have fun.

🎨 How has SPARK impacted your creative coding journey?

Showing my personal work to other people, and seeing what others do was something new and very valuable.

💡 Can you share a favorite moment, project, or challenge from SPARK?

Discover great creative work.

🗣️ How would you describe SPARK to a friend?

Online creative coding space.

💜 What would you miss most if SPARK disappeared tomorrow?

Sharing experiences.

✨ In 3 words, SPARK is…

SPARK is the shiny thing that gives you the excitement to start coding.

"I truly enjoy being part of SPARK. Thanks to Patt’s warm personality, deep p5.js experience, and creative mind, she has built a community that is both welcoming and inspiring.

It’s a space where I can learn, share ideas, and, most importantly, find the motivation to keep experimenting, which hasn’t always been easy on my own.

Our group includes both beginners and experienced programmers, and we’ve found a unique common ground where everyone can learn from one another, which is quite special. No matter where you are in your creative coding journey, give SPARK a try, it will help you grow."

🌈 What drew you to join SPARK?

I was looking for a motivation to experiment and create.

🎨 How has SPARK impacted your creative coding journey?

I've done more creative coding tinkering in 3 months than in the last 3 years.

💡 Can you share a favorite moment, project, or challenge from SPARK?

Exploring different UX libraries.

🗣️ How would you describe SPARK to a friend?

No pressure but motivating, a place for a friendly chat with like-minded people.

💜 What would you miss most if SPARK disappeared tomorrow?

A place to meet with other SPARKers.

✨ In 3 words, SPARK is…

Creative. Supportive. Fun.

"SPARK is a fun, creative community where people from around the world come together to share their ideas."

🌈 What drew you to join SPARK?

I wanted another medium to create things and found this new community.

🎨 How has SPARK impacted your creative coding journey?

I often felt stuck not knowing what to create, but the prompts and community helped me push through.

💡 Can you share a favorite moment, project, or challenge from SPARK?

I enjoyed seeing everyone’s sketches, especially since many came from non-design backgrounds.

🗣️ How would you describe SPARK to a friend?

SPARK is a creative coding community where you can share your work and get inspired by others.

💜 What would you miss most if SPARK disappeared tomorrow?

The community and their creative sketches.

✨ In 3 words, SPARK is…

Creative coding community.

"SPARK allows me to pursue my passion."

🌈 What drew you to join SPARK?

During my studies as a product and industrial designer, I became familiar with various design tools. I was able to gain initial experience with Processing and p5js. After several years working as a teacher and designer, I was eager to get back into p5js. In doing so, I came across Patt Vira's wonderful tutorials. It's great fun to program with Patt, create creative results, and reflect on the creative flow. This is exactly what motivated me to join SPARK—to let creative work with programming “sparkle.”

🎨 How has SPARK impacted your creative coding journey?

Thanks to SPARK and its motivating challenges, I regularly engaged in programming and developed a routine. The recommended tutorials helped me a lot.

💡 Can you share a favorite moment, project, or challenge from SPARK?

There are so many great moments.

The monthly themes—which really inspired me to discover something new.

The playful approach—no pressure, just doing something for the joy of it.

Working with p5js—I enjoy the programming environment because I'm getting better at understanding it. I can program my own designs based on my ideas.

When I got inspiration from other cultures (e.g., Japan).

🗣️ How would you describe SPARK to a friend?

SPARK provides you with lots of inspiration. SPARK motivates you to program creatively. SPARK enables you to exchange ideas with people from all over the world. SPARK offers space for regular Zoom meetings. This fuels creativity. Because we tell each other what we have done and share the results. We exchange ideas and technical implementations.

💜 What would you miss most if SPARK disappeared tomorrow?

I would really miss interacting with Patt and the community. The Slack platform and the great discussions during the Zoom meetings. I really appreciate Patt's confident and well-structured manner.

✨ In 3 words, SPARK is…

… inspiring … motivating … educational … cosmopolitan

"SPARK is such a wonderful space to thrive and develop your passion for creative coding. There is a constant streamline of new ideas and possibilities to explore it's so hard to keep up! Everyone in SPARK is super encouraging and excited to share feedback, new concepts, points of view or collaborate to try something new together. Looking forward to more!"

🌈 What drew you to join SPARK?

Finding a community space over which to share all things creative coding, from functional aspects, to artistic topics or conceptual viewpoints.

🎨 How has SPARK impacted your creative coding journey?

It has broadened my horizon regarding what can or cannot be done with p5 - everyone keeps surprising me with impressive and novel ways in which to bring their concepts into reality through p5!

💡 Can you share a favorite moment, project, or challenge from SPARK?

I really enjoyed the "Path" theme of the second month, for how abstract it was! I am particularly fond of highly abstract prompts because people come up with truly unexpected and creative ways of interpreting it.

🗣️ How would you describe SPARK to a friend?

An online club where I get together with others to share and inspire each other in our virtual art journey.

💜 What would you miss most if SPARK disappeared tomorrow?

Having others on which to share the big and small moments of the journey, including the possibility to receive feedback suggestions or simply support!

✨ In 3 words, SPARK is…

Connection, creativity and challenge!