Hello,
This week, I had the opportunity to talk with the brilliant artist Wendy MacNaughton for an IG Live. We discussed the power of making art and tapping in to our five senses, and we did two happiness-boosting creativity exercises: the blind-contour drawing and the five-senses portrait.
I was also deeply moved to see the delightfully illustrated "five-senses portrait" that Wendy had made of her grandmother, as seen by Wendy, age nine. It captures her grandmother's essence through sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.
I came up with the idea of the five-senses portrait while writing
Life in Five Senses, and it’s been fascinating to see how people take that basic idea in different directions. For instance—it never occurred to me to illustrate one of my portraits, and now I see how fun that would be. The drawings really elevate it.
I’d been thinking about Wendy, because I recently gave her beautiful book
How To Say Goodbye to a friend who is facing a loss. Wendy served as an artist-in-residence at the Zen Hospice Project Guest House, and in this short book, with quiet, spare images and words, she conveys so much wisdom.
Wendy and I had a great time during that IG Live conversation. Making art is such a great way to boost happiness, and Wendy has a terrific way of showing how that practice is accessible to all of us. Thanks to everyone who joined our chat!
If you want to see more illustrated “five-senses portraits” created by members of Wendy’s creative community, there are hundreds in the
Grown-Ups Table Chat. The art share is part of Wendy’s weekly drawing and creativity newsletter The Grown-Ups Table, where you can also
read my interview with Wendy on the link between creativity and happiness.
Subscribe here.
And let me know—have you tried making a “five-senses portrait?” Did you illustrate it? I would love to see it.
