Today while I was doing my work, I had NPR playing in the background. I was floating in and out of listening when I heard the All Things Considered co-host Michele Norris’s say in her lovely and soothing voice, “Somewhere along the way, we all were artists.” Those words of wisdom pulled me right out of my reveries and right into the program.
The guest speaker on the broadcast was Mo Willems, a children’s book author and cartoonist who explains how people stop drawing when they become convinced that they are not good at it. But here’s the punchline– it is a false conviction, because anyone and everyone can doodle, and that means they can draw. Anyone and everyone can and should doodle. Why? Because doodling is good for the soul.
I can’t help but agree with Mo. Maybe it’s the inner kindergarten teacher in me coming out, but hearing Mo talk reminded me of the pages upon pages of colorful doodles I made all the way through high school. I can’t seem to remember why or exactly when I stopped, but remembering those sketches made me smile.
And I am not the only one. Mo made Michele Norris doodle her favorite stuffed animal, which just so happened to also be her favorite character in her favorite children’s book–Curious George. Check out her drawing:
So cute, right?! As she doodled away right there in the studio, she said the drawing made her happy and made her remember Curious George and all the great Curious George characters. Doodling made Michele’s day better! So if you are reading this right now while sitting at your office, take a minute to sit back and doodle. It will revitalize you, I assure you!
You might be wondering why I am taking up so much space on a service blog talking about doodling. Well, it’s because art projects can be good for the environment, as well as good for the soul. What?! Well, let me elaborate. I don’t mean doodling, persay, unless you are doodling on recycled paper using a pencil made from a rapidly-growing plant. What I mean specifically are green crafts.
A few days ago I was pointed in the wonderful direction of the Crafting a Green World blog, a fabulous blog that collages ideas for eco-friendly crafts.
One of the recurring themes of this blog is recycling your clothing by taking pieces from a variety of old clothes and sewing them together to create something new. Skeptical, are you? I totally know what you are thinking–how could that old, holey skirt ever be transformed into something remotely wearable, much less cute?! Well, if you take some preserved, hole-less pieces from that skirt and sew them together with hole-less preserved pieces from an old shirt, voila, you have something brand-new and adorable! Like this bag I just made from exactly that–pieces of an old shirt and pieces of an old skirt:
Cute, huh? Well, you can totally do it, too! It’s a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a new purse. PLUS, it’s better for the environment, as no material is wasted. AND, moreover, it’s FUN! It’s good for the soul. 
So go on and go through those old clothes in your closet and piece together some new duds. It’s good for the wallet, the world, and your well-being.
Tags: All Things Considered, Crafting a green world blog, Enchanting Challenge, green art projects, green crafts, Michele Norris, Mo Willems, npr, recyclying clothing, sewing your own clothes
