The Art of Paying Attention
Prompts to help you notice what you might otherwise miss, with artist extraordinaire Wendy MacNaughton. Also, bouge gummies.
I was at the TED conference in Vancouver this week where I led a few workshops with one of my favorite humans on planet earth, the NYT bestselling author and graphic journalist Wendy MacNaughton. We called it “The Art of Paying Attention” (which is also the title of her TED talk that I highly recommend). Due to a travel snafu at the last minute, Wendy couldn’t attend in person. We were so sad. We tried to cancel. We worried there was no way to do a half-live, half-zoom workshop that wasn’t super awkward. But the good people at TED very strongly suggested we didn’t cancel. And OMG I’M SO GLAD WE LET OURSELVES BE CONVINCED. It taught us that we could do such a seemingly-strange format, and not only that, but that it could be delightful. So, in this week we will be doing a version of Wendy and my workshop. If you’re inspired, I suggest signing up for her excellent newsletter with drawing prompts and lessons called Grown-Ups Table.
Today’s newsletter will look a little different than our regular format, because I am going to ask you to write and DRAW.
Ready, set, GO!
Wendy and I both love Sister Corita Kent, the radical nun and artist who taught art at Immaculate Heart College in 1960s Los Angeles. As Wendy says she “became known for her vibrant, influential pop-art screen-prints that combined text and images to powerful effect. Unlike her pop art peers (think Warhol), she had a strong socially-engaged voice and didn’t shy away from “mistakes”, including drips and smears in her finished pieces.”
In her life and work, Sister Corita practiced the art of paying attention. Often to things that we might not consider ‘beautiful’ or noteworthy. And in doing so, she made them both beautiful AND noteworthy. She often used a very simple tool she called a finder, to help her notice details in her field of vision.
Wendy will explain:
“A tool for looking is a finder. This is a device which does the same thing as the camera lens or viewfinder. It helps take things out of context, allows us to see for the sake of seeing, and enhances our quick-looking and decision-making skills.”
- Sister Corita
A finder is basically a piece of paper with a rectangular window that helps focus our attention on the world “one piece at a time.” (Sister Corita’s words.) In our day to day lives, with all the visual stimulus we have going on around us, we probably never notice little things like an old car’s bumper. Or the edge of a wooden chair. Or someone’s painted fingernails. We’re so overwhelmed that we just don’t see them.
But when we focus in on the world one piece at a time - when we give it our attention - we begin to actually see what’s in front of us.
Assignment
The Drawing Part.
Alright, Dark Horses….
Let’s make ourselves some finders. You just need a piece of paper and scissors. Here are step by step instructions, starting upper left:
Now, take your finder and look around your room. Or your bathroom. Or step outside your front door. What do you see? Look closely. See how things look different when you remove them from their busy backgrounds.
After you look around a little, choose a subject. It can be anything. A bit of a leaf that overlaps over a building. The base of a lamp. Sometimes the most banal things end up being the most interesting when you really examine them. Like the shoelace. (It’s everything!)
One you’ve chosen a subject, use your finder to create a composition. If I was going to draw the shoelace, where would I put it inside the frame of the finder. Would it be at the top? Running across the bottom? Or maybe it would cut the frame in half at a diagonal. Whatever feels most Shoelacey to you. Remember, you do you.
Now it’s time to draw your object.
Draw a frame on your paper, the same shape as the window in your finder.
Now draw your object within the frame on the paper, just as you composed it in your finder. As you draw, be sure to keep looking closely at your object as you draw. You are drawing what you SEE. Notice tiny details you didn’t see before. Can you discover something new and unexpected? I bet you can. Be sure to draw it all. If you want to use text to annotate, go for it. But not too much.
Now, back to me— Laurel—-for the writing part!
Just a reminder: these writing prompts are meant to inspire you— not limit or intimidate you. To that end, put your phone in airplane mode if you can and set a timer for 7 minutes. You can always write (or think or draw) for longer if you so choose, but I find 7 minutes to be kind of magical.
Second, tell yourself that you are already excellent, perfect even—if only for the next 7 minutes (you have the rest of your life to criticize yourself and your work).
Third, whenever you get stuck, choose a sensation to describe (a taste, sound, sight, smell, noise, etc). The way we tell the biggest stories is by describing something small and specific. Grounding your writing in physical and sensory details you might not otherwise notice, makes it possible for a reader to see and feel and hear the world through your eyes/mind/heart/ears (or that of your characters').
This is why we read: to experience the world through someone's else's point of view. Good luck! And remember, you are already good at this.
Here are your prompts. Choose ONE:
Got it? Choose one. The first goes with the object you drew. The second can go with the object, or you can use the finder to identify a new object and write about that. Up to you. Remember to write by hand, and incorporate it into the drawing if you want. Or just do it on another piece of paper.
Set your timer for seven minutes.
And begin.
(tick tick tick tick tick tick)
DING!
That’s it! YOU DID IT.
Part of making is sharing and connecting. Wendy and I both would love to see what you’ve drawn/written.
ALSO: Everyone who posts instantly becomes an official member of the Attention Club! Welcome and congratulations.
If you’d like, you can post your response in the comments section or on Instagram by tagging @laurel_braitman and @wendymac. We will respond to you, I swear it.
Oakland, Los Angeles and Brooklyn! I have been a part of Pop Up Magazine for nearly 12 years now and have done stories on everything from parrots who witness crimes to what it’s like to online date in the Alaskan bush. We are doing one final FAREWELL TOUR starting this Sunday at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. May 2nd we will be at the Theater at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles and on May 4th we will be at BAM in Brooklyn, NY. Oakland and NY are already sold out but the LA show still has a few tickets available. Come out and say hi. More info here. (Also, it’s still a secret, but I will be giving away copies of my book at each show!)
The TED conference is famous for the red circle of carpet under speakers and the talks themselves. But it should be famous for the snacks. They are free for attendees and verrrry specific (one year it was almost entirely energy bars made of crickets). This year, there were a lot of things with Stevia and also dates. But omg my favorite were these gummies made from real fruit.
Another good recc?
That would be Sari Botton’s Oldster Magazine. Holy cow it’s SO good it makes me want to be a much better writer, which is honestly my highest compliment.
Los Angeles! June 14th I will be in conversation with the wonderful Hope Edelman (bestselling author of Motherless Daughters, Motherless Mothers and much more) at Zibby’s Bookshop. Info here.
Chautauqua, NY! July 11th I will be doing a lecture at the Chautauqua Institute as part of the Interfaith Lecture Series. Info here.
If you don’t happen to be in those places, or if you’re looking for writing workshops and not book events, do not fret. We have a number of upcoming workshops right here!
The finder reminded me of Anne Lamott's One In Picture Frame. The concept is slightly different--she's really focused on avoiding overwhelm by keeping your focus tight and specific--but the overlap between the two is so interesting and creatively fruitful! You've inspired me to try this with my students next term...
I enjoyed observing a team of ants mobilize a dead beetle to their home. Their team work was impressive. I wish I spoke ‘ant’ and could have listened in their words of encouragement, admonishment, etc as they worked together.