Join me in this short, simple project.

Get ready:

  • Get a pre-stamped, blank post card — from your local post office or USPS online.
  • Get a pen and a pencil.
  • Go outside!
  • Find some organism you want to draw for a few minutes – a seed pod, snail shell, insect wing, tree…

Then draw:

  • Use your pen to do a blind contour drawing…
  • Look only at the subject while you draw, but NOT at the paper.
  • Draw S L O W L Y . . . Allow the eye and hand to creep along slowly, like a tiny ant following the contours, tracing the edges that define areas of light and dark. (REALLY draw SLOWLY — this is where the “attention” part comes in.)
  • Try to keep the pen on the paper the whole time, but it’s OK if you want to lift it.

Make notes:

  • After you draw, switch to a pencil and make a few notes.
  • Make your pencil notes right on top of the drawing, or around it.
  • Write the date and location.
  • List a few things you noticed while you were making the blind contour drawing.
  • Your name is optional.

When you’re done, mail the postcard to:
Nancy Lowe
PO Box 398034
Cambridge, MA 02139

I’ll share your artifacts of attention here on the website and on social media. I look forward to seeing what you see! Here are some from Wilmington, DE and Glendale, SC:

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