Day 30. YOU ARE AN ARTIST
It's graduation day for the 30-Days of Drawing, complete with a commencement address from writer Rebecca Solnit.
My fine, kind, creatively inclined DrawTogether Grown-Ups Table friends,
WE DID IT.
I wish I could reach through this glowing screen and hug you right now. I am so, so proud of you. I am so proud of us!
No matter if you did one day, three days, twenty, or all thirty darn days - I hope you feel so, so good about the creative energy you stirred up and the effort you put into connecting with the world (people!) through drawing. YOU DID IT.
To mark your 30 days of drawing mega-milestone, I have three things to offer you:
Let’s gather in person. Our new subscriber only connection thread is already overflowing with hundreds and hundreds of names, locations, and requests to meet IRL and draw around the world. If you want to connect with GUT members near you (aka creative, curious, caring, open-hearted people) or if you’re visiting a new place and want to connect with a GUT member there, join in.
An official DrawTogether artist’s name plate. Enough with the hemming and hawing around not feeling like a “real artist.” You proved that you are this month - through your daily curiosity, care, and creativity. And commitment. You are an artist. And it’s about time you claim it. We’ll do that together today.
A commencement address from writer Rebecca Solnit. You heard me right. This year, award-winning, best-selling writer Rebecca Solnit, author of countless brilliant books and articles, historian, and activist, wrote for us - and reads to us - the most beautiful “call to drawing” commencement speech you’ll ever hear. Our favorite drawing music composer, Chris Colin, created a special song to accompany it. It is exactly ten minutes long. It’s our timer today.
BUT FIRST. Can we just take a minute to reflect on how far you’ve come??
What did you do in the past 30 days:
You began by visualizing your year. Then you picked up your pen, took a deep breath, and started to draw.
For ten minutes every day, every day (or some days!) you doodled your way out of anxiety and into that soft, kind space of being Good Enough. You started Paying Attention to the world in a new way. Instead of seeing what you expect to see, you began looking for the lines and shapes all around you, and learned to transform what you discovered into abstract, representational, and conceptual art. You learned to SEE. Through drawing with your eyes closed, upside down, only negative space, with minimal gestures, and with detailed textures, you explored different ways of experiencing and interpreting the world with a pen. You overcame fear of the blank page and introduced color to your subject and ground. You used drawing to slow down and pay attention to the world using your five senses, and you calmed your nerves in the process. You experimented with personal expression and imagination through both drawing and writing. All this while mastering the seven basic elements of art. You have a new way of looking at the world: with fresh eyes.
BOOM!
Did you notice you did all this?? Did you notice how much you learned???
I DID. I watched you go from being timid with your lines to being bold with your marks. I watched you bravely share your artwork as it evolved. I saw you celebrate and support each other. I saw you all grown into a real creative community of artists.
Doubt me? Take a look back at the tens of thousands (!) of drawings shared in the GUT chat to see how far we’ve come. How far you’ve come.
And now friends, just like that, the scaffolding falls from the building. You are ready to keep drawing every day on your own if you like. Or better yet, keep drawing in community with us here at the GUT. (Stay subscribed, or join now, friends, the GUT continues every Sunday!)
So many people argue about what constitutes capital A art, or what makes someone an artist. I won’t pretend to know any more than anyone else, but I do have my opinion: an artist is someone who is curious, who cares, and who creates. That’s it. Well, that, and claiming it for yourself. Do not let others tell you who you are. Claim it for YOURSELF.
You are an artist.
Not because you know how to draw a drop shadow or negative shapes. But because you have shown yourself to be curious, caring, and creative. And that is what we do here at the DrawTogether Grown-Ups Table: Curiosity. Care. Creativity. Connection. That is who we are.
We have a handful of mantras here in DrawTogether and the Grown-Ups Table:
No rules in art.
You do you.
Process over outcome.
Drawing is looking, and looking is loving.
Pencils up.
And that last one takes me to today. The end of our 30 day drawing adventure.
I’d like to thank each of you for trusting me with your heart and mind and hands every day for these last 30 days. For joining me on this journey, and being curious and brave and joyful and loving with me and one another. There are a whole lot of things easier to do than be an artist, but few things are more rewarding.
❤️✏️❤️
To help us celebrate our accomplishment and mark our new beginning, we have a final assignment and a commencement address from our graduation speaker, Rebecca Solnit.
I’m making her speech available to everyone, because i believe we all need to hear this message today. Now, more than ever, is a time for people to start making art. (If you want to help us keep doing awesome things like this, subscribing is a big help!)
The address is exactly ten minutes long. It is today’s timer. The drawing assignment I am giving you is designed to help you listen deeply. And Rebecca has given us a lot to hear, and Chris’ music is beautiful. So go grab a pen and some colors.
Take a deep breath.
Drop your shoulders.
And begin.
Commencement Address, by Rebecca Solnit. Music by Chris Colin.
PRESS PLAY.
A transcript is at the bottom of the email for subscribers.
Thank you again, Rebecca.
And thank you for drawing with me for the past thirty days, everyone. Let’s keep drawing, looking, and loving.
Assignment
Our final assignment: to boldly, publicly claim your identity as an artist.
Here is what you’ll need: