Draw Your Feelings

This post is about a project I have started, Draw You Feelings. You can find it here and I hope you join me!

I have always connected to my feelings through drawing and writing. During Covid, I started a visual journal everyday. It had a comic style in the beginning but turned into a form of visual poetry as it evolved. I found it extremely comforting to draw my thoughts down on paper. The act of drawing forced me to concentrate more on the actual process of making something, which then transformed the thoughts into something more poetic and humorous. I could look at myself and the situation with more compassion and lightheartedness.

This process of visual journaling evolved into drawing my thoughts and feelings directly, without the necessity of a narrative or structure. I write about this process in my posts, like this one on Anger.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I found it particularly helpful to draw out my feelings; about my diagnosis, my treatment and my sense of humor (or lack thereof). After a while, however, I noticed that I was drawing mostly when I was feeling anxious, unsure, sad or angry.

I asked myself, what about all the other emotions? What about Joy or Calm or Boredom or Gratitude? I wanted to start connecting to all the feelings, as a way of connecting to my whole self, not just the person who was going through a pandemic or a health crisis. Art can be healing on a regular day during your regular routine.

So here we are, with 52 words and 52 weeks in a year. Each Monday I’ll post a new word, and we’ll draw something every day on that feeling. We’ll draw every day because the first days are to get out the obvious associations. After that, something unexpected usually happens. At the end of the week I’ll post a roundup, to see what we discover. Will you join me? I hope so!