Hey hey! Belated happy day of thankfulness. Our regular Friday email got bumped for our fundraiser to give DT art kits to kids*, so I’m extra happy to DrawTogether with you on a Sunday. Feels like a special occasion.

Today we’re continuing with our 3 part series “Emotional Doodles” - drawing to reduce anxiety in kids (of all ages.) Last week, we used drawing to help identify feelings and move them out of our bodies and onto the page. This week, in the timely spirit of giving thanks, we use drawing to identify and focus on things we’re grateful for. Press PLAY above for an 8 minute drawing that will change your perspective.

Studies show a “gratitude practice” reduces anxiety and depression, strengthens relationships, improves mental health and minimizes stress in the short and long term. Regularly focusing on what we’re grateful for literally changes the way we experience the world. Drawing is an easy and fun way for kids (of all ages) to begin a practice. You can do today’s DT podcast on your own, like visual journaling - or together as a family or classroom. And as always, drawing like this is a great starting point for a deeper conversation.

After you’re done, if your kiddo wants to share their drawings, I’d love to see it. Post a photo of it Instagram and tag @drawtogether.studio. Also, I’d love to hear from you: How are these podcasts are working for you? What do you want more or less of? Longer or shorter? We’re only 5 episodes in, and have some fun ideas and plans, and I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts - please post in the comments below.

Grateful for you.

xo,w

*Thank you so so much to everyone generously supporting this effort to give life-changing art kits to kids in classrooms across the USA! We are so excited and proud to be in such good cahoots with YOU! <3 <3

Helloooo!! It’s Friday! I highly recommend at some point today that you stop whatever you are doing, stand and/or stretch, shake the fingers, shake the arms, and do The Friday Dance. I feel like we all could use it, right?? Well, I hope this newsletter also helps inspire and excite: we have a new super important DrawTogether Podcast episode for you, and a very special DrawTogether group effort. Let’s go!

* NEW DT PODCAST EPISODE. (Hit that big play button above to listen!) Last week I got a call from Special DT Guest and pediatrician Dr. Lee Atkinson-McEvoy. She said she’s witnessing higher levels of anxiety amongst her young patients than ever before. Dr. Lee asked if DrawTogether would consider dedicating an episode to helping kids of all ages process feelings. Of course we said YES.

For the next few weeks, the DT Podcast will focus on drawing to help identify, clarify and process emotions. Let’s call them “Emotional Doodles.” Like everything DrawTogether, these exercises are intended for kids, but growns might find them helpful, too. We’ve heard the DT Podcast is also excellent family dinner table material, and awesome to use in the classroom. Remember, these podcasts are a quick bites - starting points for exploration. Keep drawing on your own and see where it leads. Please share thoughts, suggestions or requests you for future DT podcasts with a comment. DrawTogether is a big community endeavor, and we want to hear from you.

* LET’S DO THIS: Help Boost Kids Creativity with Art Supplies! I know from personal experience how much having quality art supplies as a kid cultivates creativity and confidence. Unfortunately, many schools don’t have visual art classes, let alone any decent art supplies. DrawTogether’s non-profit “DrawTogether Classrooms” just launched our pilot program: we’re delivering FREE social-emotional art programming to 100 classrooms in 30 states. (Woot Woot!) Now, with you, we want to make sure those kids have the art supplies they need.

We just kicked off a Go Fund Me campaign to deliver 2,000 beautifully designed, high quality DrawTogether art supply kits directly to emerging kid artists in classrooms around the country. We need your help. Just $30 will give a kid a life-changing art kit. For $300 bucks, you’re supporting ten small artists. And for $1,000, you’ll stock an entire classroom with supplies for a year, and change these kids lives forever - and we’ll send you a kit of your own. :)

Every dollar makes a difference, as do tweets and posts - please kick in if you can, and please help us spread the word. Hit the button below to share this email with a friend. Pass it on! Thank you so, so much.

It’s an exciting time for DrawTogether. I have a little DT insider info I’ll share on Sunday - subscribe to support DT and get the inside scoop.... Meanwhile, thank you for being part of this incredible growing community. Pencils up, friends. Everything is better…

xo, w

Hi, it’s me, WendyMac. It’s episode 3 of the DrawTogether Podcast! It’s also my birthday week. To celebrate, I wanted to do one of my favorite drawing exercises with you, which also happens to be a DrawTogether classic: the world famous Heart Spiral. But let’s do it with a twist… 

If you’ve watched DrawTogether, you probably know the Heart Spiral was inspired by cartoonist, writer and educator (and DT patron saint) Lynda Barry. Lynda believes drawing spirals helps people get out of their head and into their bodies. (We strongly agree!) In this episode, we meet another artist with a spiral drawing practice: Louise Bourgeois. 

Louise made drawings constantly from her home in New York (and before that France) until she passed away at 98. Best known for her large scale installation and sculptures, she also drew, carved, printed and painted spirals using all sorts of materials She even created spirals using text. She said, “I love the spiral. It represents control and freedom.” Louise believed the direction in which you draw a spiral changes how you feel: when you draw outside in, you feel in control. Draw inside out, you feel a sense of freedom. 

In today’s DrawTogether podcast, we explore Louise’s hypothesis. I’d love to know - did drawing a heart spiral change the way you feel? Did you notice a difference between the two? Let me know in the comments below. And I’d also love to see your finished drawings. Post them on instagram and tag @drawtogether.studio to share them with the DT community.

Happy Diwali!

Later this weekend, subscribers will receive a special post celebrating Diwali by illustrator Ishita Jain. Become a subscriber-supporter to get more cool stuff like this, and help DrawTogether keep going and growing.

Thanks to Chris Colin for the music, Thao Nguyen for the DrawTogether theme song, and Amy Standen for the mix. Everything is better when we Draw (all sorts of spirals) Together!

Hi DT friends and welcome new folks - Wendy here. So happy to see you.

Our little experiment creating the world’s first audio-drawing-show seems to have been a hit! So let’s keep going. Welcome to the second episode of what we’re calling the "DrawTogether Podcast.” (Until we think up a catchier name.) Grab a pencil and a piece of paper, and press play above.  

Our first episode was a calming, centering drawing exercise. This one is different: it’s about imagination. In this episode I teach you my favorite drawing game… a game with NO RULES. It’s called The Doodle Game.

Many artists I know play this game. And I was delighted to learn that psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott - the same guy behind the theory of transitional objects (like blankets and stuffies) and the “good enough” mother - used a version of the doodle game with young children to help them communicate ideas and feelings. But he called it "The Squiggle Game.”  

But this isn’t therapy. The Doodle Game is a simple drawing game for kids of ALL ages you can do anywhere, anytime, on your own or with a friend, to loosen up your creative brain and jumpstart your imagination.

I’d love to see what you do, and I’m sure others would too. If you want, please share your drawing on Instagram and tag @drawtogether.studio so everyone can see each other’s doodle-drawings. Here’s mine, based on my doodle above. 

Also, a little note: usually I’d be encouraging you/kids to go your own way, and not be too influenced by my silly looking dog with a monkey’s tail. But part of the magic of The Doodle Game is you can’t help but move in your own, unique direction. No rules. No expectations. You’ll see. :)

Okay, let me know what you think in the comments below - about this episode and any suggestions or requests you have about this new audio-drawing-class-show format. The request/feedback line is open.

And if you’d like to support this new audio-cast (and DrawTogether in general), you can become a paid subscriber. Thanks so much for being part of the DT fam.

Hey it’s Wendy! We have a special DT treat for you today - it’s a fun art experiment: 

A DrawTogether Podcast! (Sort of.) But really, when we say listen up, we mean it literally. Grab a pen and paper and PRESS PLAY on the audio above.

A little backstory: when my TED talk came out, it was released only via video, and not via audio on TED's iTunes podcast. Some folks didn’t think that such a visual talk would translate to audio. The wonderful Helen Walters, head of curation, advocated for the talk to be on iTunes. People agreed, and up it went. Since then, so many people have responded positively to the audio-only version. Like, big, big feelings. Seems that listening to a talk about looking works. So I thought… what if we created an audio-only DrawTogether?? A drawing podcast. Would it even make sense? Would it be relaxing? Confusing? Calming? Frustrating? Fun? Answer: I DON’T KNOW. So, in true DT spirit: let’s try! It’s just a short 5-minute drawing exercise, and it’s powerful for focusing and centering. If you haven’t already, grab a pen and paper and PRESS PLAY at the top.

How was it? Tell us in the comments below. If it’s clear and relaxing and fun to do, maybe we’ll try more. 

Thanks Chris Colin for the awesome background music, Kate Levitt for the mix (Kate is not only lead of the DT Classrooms project, she is also a DJ!), Hrishikesh Hirway for the audio advice (his TED talk on listening was my fave of the conference), and writer Jon Mooallem who has been working with me on DT ideas since the jump and suggested doing something with audio ages ago. If this doesn’t work, blame him! :) 

P.S. - Educators and community leaders! This is THE LAST CHANCE to apply for the FREE DrawTogether Classroom program!! APPLY HERE. Deadline is this Sunday. If you already applied, you’ll hear from us next week.

P.P.S. - DrawTogether was featured in the LA Times!