Hello GUT peeps! LOVED seeing where your A-to-B drawings took you — all the unexpected journeys your pen took you on. Amazing how many kinds of marks we can make with such simple tools, right?
Tomorrow is Sunday. We will start our next chapter in the 30-Day Epic Extravaganza. Over the next week, we’ll begin to build our basic drawing skill muscles. But first, let’s review all you learned in Week One — whether you noticed you were learning or not.
What we learned in Week One:
You can do anything for 10 minutes.
Drawing helps us focus, settle into our bodies, and process our emotions.
When we let go of expectations we surprise ourselves.
When we focus on process and go step by step, unexpected creative magic happens.
Inspiration is everywhere, even a splatter! We just have to look closely.
Different strokes for different folks. Some people loved drawing constellations, and others preferred the silly selfies. One thing’s for sure: We won’t like everything we try. But only through trying new things do we discover what we gravitate towards and away from, push through our limiting narratives, gather new tools for our art bin, and learn. And then you do you.
Remember to breathe.
When in doubt, draw a blind contour.
AND! WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER. If you are confused about anything, we are here for you. The 30 Days FAQ As most any Qs. Art Auntie Kathleen is here to help you in the comments and chat. If all that fails, email Kyle Ranson-Walsh at Community@DrawTogether.Studio and we’ll figure it out together. We got you.
Alright, one last day of play — and this one is a blast. It takes us back into our warm-up frame of mind, where we aren’t trying to achieve any specific outcome. It’s all about the process. Focusing on how the act of making marks on a page feels in our bodies, hearts, and mind.
Today we are trying our hand — hands actually — at one last body-focused technique. Today we play with…
Bilateral drawing
Bilateral drawing refers to drawing with both hands at the same time. And, since our right hand is connected to the left hemisphere of our brain, and our left hand is connected to the right hemisphere, drawing with both hands engages BOTH cerebral hemispheres at the same time. Full brain drawing for the win.
Bilateral drawing is common in art therapy. While limited, some studies how that engaging both hemispheres at the same time supports recovery from trauma.1 There is more evidence showing it is helpful with self-regulation, emotional engagement, and creative expression.2 All of this is promising and important and good. Based on my studies performed by me, on me, validated by a peer review board of me: bilateral drawing is 100% fun. And it feels darn good.
The example above shows an artist drawing symmetrically with both hands. That’s one way to draw bilaterally. Another way is more like playing piano: each hand does something different at the same time, and together they compose a piece. To draw like that with control, it helps to be ambidextrous, like Da Vinci was! The video below is a more contemporary example from lawyer and ambidextrous artist Colin Darke.
It’s fun to hear how different people’s hands and brains work!
So, on our last day of official PLAY, I am going to give you THREE options for the exercise. In our 10 minutes, do TWO. Two are solo, and one is with a partner. If you have someone who is down to try this with you, I really encourage you to do the two-person one. If not, then you can do two of the solo ones.
Ready? Let’s do one last day of play. GO.
