Slowing Down to Forge Deeper Connections

“If you slow down, I promise, pay attention and really look, you will fall back in love with the world and everyone in it.”When beloved illustrator Wendy MacNaughton was growing up, her grandmother showed her around museums and the city. The trips weren’t solely to expose her to art. Bernice had a deeper intention for her granddaughter: to teach her to pay attention. Decades later, looking, listening, and loving are pillars of Wendy’s life philosophy. As a graphic journalist — admired for her culture-shifting work in The New York Times, bestselling books, and children’s show, DrawTogether — Wendy’s journey offers her a unique vantage point into our shared human experience. She’s learned that “everybody is so much more than we think they are” and shares how honoring each other’s stories nourishes the connection that is integral to our humanity. We explore how Wendy developed her artistic lens by imbuing it with her social work background and distinguishing between what was deemed “good art” in art school and the art that she loves to create. Despite being fundamental to her life, Wendy took a 10-year hiatus from drawing. In sharing her homecoming, she beautifully illuminates what it looks like to live from, and continually return to, the truest part of ourselves.