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DrawTogether with WendyMac

DrawTogether

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The world's first drawing podcast! Every week beloved artist and kids drawing teacher Wendy Mac offers a bite-sized, no-experience-required interactive art adventure - all you need is a piece of paper and pen. We learn about art and artists and some drawing skills, while building curiosity, confidence and connection. For kids (of all ages.) https://club.drawtogether.studio
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#13 "What Should I Draw?"

DrawTogether with WendyMac

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02/04/22 • 8 min

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Hellloooo! It’s another DrawTogether Podcast episode.

Subscribers received a special letter yesterday: notes from a conversation with Ruth Asawa’s son, Paul Lanier, about cultivating creativity in young humans. If you’d like to get special treats like this that dig deeper into things we explore in the podcast, please subscribe. You’re also helping DrawTogether continue to make fun, educational, creative stuff for kids of all ages. Thank you.

On to the podcast! This week we answer that age old question: How do you figure out what to draw when you don’t know what to draw?? Turns out, the answer is right in front of you. When you look closely, the most ordinary object becomes extraordinary (and makes an extra-extra ordinary drawing.)

We practice our skills of observation by learning how to do a blind contour drawing (aka drawing without looking at your paper.) This practice helps us look closely and pay attention to the shapes and edges of an object, how it twists and turns. Then we do a little coloring and shading to help us notice texture and light. 3 months of art school into an 8 minute podcast! Hit the play button above or LISTEN ON iTUNES.

Thanks for drawing together, y'all! Post your blind contour drawings of your extraordinary objects on instagram and tag @DrawTogether.Studio to share them out.

Pencils up ,friends! See you next week.

xo, w

DT PODCAST CREDITS: Drawer: WendyMac, Editor: Amy Standen, Drawing Music: Cheeky CP, DT Theme Music: Thao Nguyen, Hold Music: Jay You

PS! DrawTogether got some BIG LOVE in New York Magazine this week! Thank you Liz Weil who wrote an amazing profile, and Damien Maloney who took the funnest photos. A reminder: even though it’s my silly face in the profile, there’s a whole group of kind, creative, hard-working folks who make DrawTogether happen. It’s not called DrawAlone, right?? Big love and shout out to everyone who contributes to DT. <3


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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02/04/22 • 8 min

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01/07/22 • 8 min

Happy new year, friends.

Despite being a stressful time with the uncertainties around Covid, so many people getting sick, the constant calculations we’re doing to keep ourselves and others safe, and the roller coaster with schools, I’m still planting a flag in the ground that reads: there is so much to be grateful for, and so much to feel hopeful about. That includes this wonderful DrawTogether family. You know what you all did?? You raised over 70k to send 2,000 DT kids vital art supplies. YOU DID THAT. You know what else you did? You opened this email, and we are going to DrawTogether right now. YES WE ARE.

Why? Because in the middle of mayhem inside and/or out, we can always find a some peace and a moment of calm using just a piece of paper and a pencil.

Today’s podcast is a short and sweet drawing exercise based on neurologist Dr. Jud Brewer’s Five Finger Breathing technique, which a 6 year old taught me. Let’s call him Rafael. PBS Newshour was recently here shooting a feature on DrawTogether (!) and we visited a DrawTogether Classroom in at Cesar Chavez Elementary in SF’s Mission District. I was speaking with the first graders about drawing and managing big feelings. Rafael got so excited by the mention of deep breathing that he jumped up, ran to the front of the class and taught us all how to focus our breath using this awesome technique. Turns out it was the practice popularized by Dr. Brewer. I’ve modified it slightly to become a drawing exercise: Five Finger Drawing.

Grab a pencil, piece of paper and maybe some colors and press play. Can’t wait to hear how it works for you.

xo,

w

If you value this podcast, please subscribe to support! A few bucks a month goes a long way. Thank you. <3


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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01/07/22 • 8 min

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11/19/21 • 8 min

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


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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11/19/21 • 8 min

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12/10/21 • 7 min

Hello! NEW DRAWTOGETHER PODCAST IS HERE. This is perhaps the silliest drawing exercise to have ever appeared on any drawing podcast, ever. (Yes, I know, the DT podcast is the *only* drawing podcast. Still.) I don’t want to spoil the surprise, so if you’re playing the audio for a kid/family/classroom, keep this on the DL...

We’re doing Blindfold Drawing. It’s fun, magical, and hilarious - and contains serious art lessons. All you need is paper, a pencil, and a mask - and then press PLAY above.

Blindfold drawing makes us rely on our minds and movement to create an image. It removes the option to “get it right” or “do a good drawing” based on our limited visual expectations. I have a hunch you’ll be surprised by how specific your memories/mind-images are when you use your hands to imagine and remember. (Remember, not everyone thinks in pictures. There’s no “right” or “better” way for our minds to work.) And, when we do them multiple times, our drawings evolve. We slow down. Let go of expectations. Our hand/mind coordination improve.

Here are my blindfolded drawn snow people:

Look at the change from Number 1 to Number 4!!! Okay, maybe i’m the only one who gets giddy about this stuff, but it’s such a great example of how we build muscles through removing limiting expectations, slowing down, and practicing. The podcast is short today with some bonus drawing suggestions at the end. Have fun!

And! A reminder that we’re doing a GoFundMe to send DrawTogether Art Kits to kids around the US who don’t have quality art supplies in their classrooms. We’re half way to our goal, so if you can contribute a few bucks to support a kid, please do! AND! If you want to support THIS podcast/newsletter - AKA world’s first and only drawing podcast - please subscribe:

Number Four thanks you.

xoxo,

w


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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12/10/21 • 7 min

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12/03/21 • 9 min

Hey there!

This is our third and final episode in our series “Emotional Doodles” - drawing to alleviate anxiety. Reminder: UCSF Pediatrician and friend of DrawTogether, Dr. Lee Atkinson-McEvoy, shared that she’s seeing unprecedented levels of anxiety in kids and asked if DrawTogether could help. So we’re doing a few short, simple, fun drawing podcast exercises here on the podcast that can help reduce anxiety in a big way. You can do them on your own, with family members or friends, or with an entire classroom.

The first episode explored how drawing varying types of abstract marks can help us identify feelings, and scribble them out of our bodies and onto the page. The second episode used drawing to focus our attention on things we’re grateful for, which studies show helps reduce anxiety and depression. And TODAY, we do a simple and powerful doodling exercise that I do all the time. Let’s call it LINES. It’s simple, powerful meditative drawing exercise. After a few minutes you feel more calm, less anxious, and you end up with a pretty cool drawing.

So grab a pen and a piece of paper and press play. It’s less than 10 minutes. :)

And COMMENTS! Friends! I heart feedback! Your input helps me know what is and isn’t working. Are these too long? Too short? Too literal? Too abstract? Easy to follow? This is one big experiment, so please take a moment and leave a comment or shoot me a message. I so, so appreciate it. Thank you!

And thanks Chris Colin for the DT Podcast drawing music, Amy Standen for the edit, and Thao Nguyen for the DT theme song.

See you next week with a very different kind of drawing direction.

xoxo,w


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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12/03/21 • 9 min

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#5 Emotional Doodles, part 2: Gratitude

DrawTogether with WendyMac

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11/28/21 • 8 min

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


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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11/28/21 • 8 min

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#8 Out the Window

DrawTogether with WendyMac

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12/17/21 • 10 min

Helllllooo. New Friday, new DT Podcast episode!

We’re trying something new. Today we take a kid request (thanks DT Kid Rosa!) and then head out on an art adventure together... to our windows! We learn about perspective and scale and a bit about composition. And most of all, we slow down, look closely and see/draw at all the magical things we often overlook.

This episode is a fun, easy little drawing meditation with some learning tucked inside. It’s about 10 minutes, and is fun to do alone or with a family member. So grab a pencil or pen, paper, and maybe a book if you need a surface to draw on, and press play above.

I’d love to see DT peeps window views from around the world and I bet everyone else would, too - so if you want, you can post your drawing on Instagram and tag @drawtogether.studio and we’ll share it out. And if YOU have a kid who has a drawing request, you can send a voice memo (ask them to include first name, age, and request) to [email protected] and maybe we’ll draw your kid’s request!

If you like the DT podcast and want to support more audio art adventures in the new year, please share this newsletter with a friend, and consider becoming a paid subscriber or giving the gift of a subscription to a friend this holiday. We are because of you!

Keep drawing, looking, and loving.

xo,w


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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12/17/21 • 10 min

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11/05/21 • 8 min

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!


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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11/05/21 • 8 min

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#2 The Doodle Game (No Rules in Art!)

DrawTogether with WendyMac

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10/29/21 • 7 min

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.


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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10/29/21 • 7 min

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#10 Thanks, Don't Mondrian if I Do!

DrawTogether with WendyMac

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01/14/22 • 8 min

Hey, friends. A new DrawTogether Podcast episode is here!!

And! A twist: in some upcoming episodes we’ll look to artists working in different mediums to inspire our drawing. We’ll learn a little about their artwork, how they make it and why, and then we’ll explore their work through drawing. Cool? Cool. Let’s go.

First up: Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. Like most artists, Mondrian’s work changed drastically over his lifetime. He explored different styles and for a long time he actually made a living by painting copies of other artists artworks. After decades of effort and experimentation, he arrived at the signature abstract style he is most known for (seen above.) In today’s episode we learn a little about why Mondrian painted like he did and the basic elements involved, then we use these elements to make a drawing of our own.

All you need is a piece of paper, a pen or pencil and three colors. (No worries if you don’t have colors, all good.) I’d **love** to see the composition you create. If you and your kids would like to share your drawings with the DT Community you can take a photo and post it on instagram and tag @DrawTogether.Studio. I’ll see it and share it out!

And! Let me know what you think of this direction in the comments. As always, if you/your kids/classrooms/families are digging this drawing podcast, please support by subscribing (just $60/year is a huge support!) and sharing this post and newsletter with your friends. It makes a giant difference. Thank you.

And as we say at the end of, well, everything: Everything is better when we DrawTogether.

xo,w


Get full access to DrawTogether with WendyMac at club.drawtogether.studio/subscribe
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01/14/22 • 8 min

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FAQ

How many episodes does DrawTogether with WendyMac have?

DrawTogether with WendyMac currently has 35 episodes available.

What topics does DrawTogether with WendyMac cover?

The podcast is about Education For Kids, Kids & Family, Visual Arts, Podcasts and Arts.

What is the most popular episode on DrawTogether with WendyMac?

The episode title '#13 "What Should I Draw?"' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on DrawTogether with WendyMac?

The average episode length on DrawTogether with WendyMac is 10 minutes.

How often are episodes of DrawTogether with WendyMac released?

Episodes of DrawTogether with WendyMac are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of DrawTogether with WendyMac?

The first episode of DrawTogether with WendyMac was released on Oct 15, 2021.

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