sign up/login
The Big Draw
  • Festival Festival
    • About The Big Draw Festival
    • All events
    • Awards
    • Care UK & The Big Draw Festival 2020
    • Covid-19: Information & Guidance
    • Organisers Area
    • Sponsor Partners 2020
    • The Big Green Draw: A Climate of Change 2020
    • Vote
    • What the Organisers Say
  • Blog Blog
    • Support Support
      • Shop Shop
        • Gallery Gallery
          • Our Work Our Work
            • About Us
            • Contact
            • Drawing in Schools
            • FAQ's
            • Opportunities
            • Press
            • The Big Draw Ambassadors
            • The Big Draw Patrons
            • The Big Draw Turns 20!
            • The Big Draw x Forest of Imagination
            • The Ruskin Prize


          Membership area

          Drawing Changes Lives

          The Big Draw
          • Festival Festival
            • About The Big Draw Festival
            • All events
            • Awards
            • Care UK & The Big Draw Festival 2020
            • Covid-19: Information & Guidance
            • Organisers Area
            • Sponsor Partners 2020
            • The Big Green Draw: A Climate of Change 2020
            • Vote
            • What the Organisers Say
          • Blog Blog
            • Support Support
              • Shop Shop
                • Gallery Gallery
                  • Our Work Our Work
                    • About Us
                    • Contact
                    • Drawing in Schools
                    • FAQ's
                    • Opportunities
                    • Press
                    • The Big Draw Ambassadors
                    • The Big Draw Patrons
                    • The Big Draw Turns 20!
                    • The Big Draw x Forest of Imagination
                    • The Ruskin Prize

                  Membership area

                  The World's Biggest Drawing Festival


                  The Power of Drawing: interview with Liz Fosslien

                  In their new book No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotion at Work, co-authors Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy share advice on how to cope with workplace scenarios through expressing our emotions, rather than suppressing them. We are thrilled to have caught up with Liz, co-author and illustrator of No Hard Feelings and Head of Content at Humu, to hear more about her new book, and how drawing has long been a way for her to process her thoughts and feelings.

                   

                   

                  Hi Liz! Thanks so much for chatting with us today. Could you start by telling us a little bit about you? How did you come to do what you do today?

                  Hello, excited to be here! I’m the co-author and illustrator of No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work and the Head of Content at Humu, an organization that makes work better by making change easier. I studied economics in college but have always been an avid doodler. While working as a consultant in my early twenties, I started putting my feelings into charts and illustrations. One of the earliest projects that I put online was “14 Ways an Economist Says I Love You” (super nerdy!) but economists seemed to like it, which gave me the motivation to continue drawing in a more serious way.

                  [Image from No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotion at Work, published by Portfolio, 2019. Courtesy of Liz Fosslien.]

                  We believe that drawing is a universal language, and one which stretches far beyond the realm of visual arts. Drawing is a vital tool in so many professions: From mathematicians, to surgeons, therapists to engineers. Given your background in economics, combined with your passion for all things creative, do you agree that drawing plays a significant role in all walks of life?

                  Absolutely. Illustration is a lovely way to make any topics more engaging and accessible, especially if you can also inject them with humor. XKCD is my favorite example. I find some of the cartoons so funny that when I come across one where I don’t understand the underlying concept, I’ll actually go and look up the physics or math so I can laugh at that cartoon, too. I received similar emails about my economist Valentine’s: people told me they researched economics to better understand and laugh at eac Valentine. That makes me so happy! I so strongly believe that what we consider stodgy and boring can suddenly become delightful when presented anew.

                  Expressing our emotions in the workplace remains a reasonably alien concept to most people, despite work-related stress being so incredibly common. This is an issue that you and Mollie West Duffy tackle head-on in your new book ‘No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotion at Work’. Could you tell us a bit about the book, and what inspired you both to address this topic?

                  Mollie and I wrote No Hard Feelings to spread a simple message: it’s okay to feel feelings. Early in our careers, we both thought that emotions at work were “taboo” or “unprofessional.” And so every time we were anxious or excited or frustrated, we frantically tried to suppress those same emotions. We now know that trying to check your feelings at the door is counterproductive. Humans are emotional creatures! By ignoring our feelings at work, we send emails that cause unnecessary anxiety, we fail to make work meaningful, and we are more likely to burn out. If we can learn to harness our emotions, we can make better decisions, increase our motivation, and improve our teamwork and leadership. And that’s where our book comes in.

                  Your illustrations are so effective and relatable. Could you share with us a bit about your creative process?

                  I am a constant note-taker. I found it too cumbersome to carry a notebook with me wherever I go, so I usually just send myself texts as ideas pop into my head or if I have a particularly funny conversation that could lend itself well to an illustration. Here are a bunch of these kind of texts I recently sent to myself: “weather forecast,” “coffee and garbage can,” “sharing and oversharing firehose.” They’re semi nonsensical, but contain enough info to jog my memory and help me ensure I don’t forget a fun idea.

                  When it comes to actually putting pen to paper, I’ve found you can get a lot done if you take an hour or two to just sit and think of ideas. No phones, no computers, no other people. My favorite strategy is to tell myself: “I only have to do this for five minutes, and then I can stop.” After five minutes, I almost always find myself having fun and wanting to continue.

                  [Image from No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotion at Work, published by Portfolio, 2019. Courtesy of Liz Fosslien.]

                  This year’s Big Draw Festival ‘Drawn to Life’ is all about embracing the incredible health benefits and healing powers of a more creative life. We want to encourage people to shed themselves of that fear so often related to the outcome of any creative process, and just ‘do’! I understand that drawing has long been a way for you to process your thoughts and feelings; why do you think that it is such a great tool for expression, and outlet for emotion? Moreover, why do you think it is important to encourage people to embrace the many benefits of drawing?

                  Drawing is the closest thing I have to a meditative practice. The lying-down or sitting-still type of meditation makes me too existential. I don’t like scanning my body for sensations or observing my thoughts. Creating art is a beautiful way to calm down while still doing something active with your body and mind. And it’s easy to do alone! When I feel gloomy, I’ve learned to embrace my desire to rest or retreat. This quiet time gives me space to reflect and come up with ideas—and to then turn those ideas into art. There’s a cool economics paper (stay with me!) that shows that the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Liszt were more likely to create important works during the years when they experienced a lot of negative emotions.

                  Drawing is also lovely because if you’re doing it for yourself, you don’t need years of training or expertise to get started. If you can’t draw a perfect human figure, then just make some abstract scribbles! Or start with simple shapes and turn them into characters that have doodled adventures. I started with extremely basic cartoon figures but still had a lot of fun with it.

                  Do you believe in such a thing as a ‘happy accident’, and the power to learn or develop from our mistakes? If so, are there any experiences you can point to from your own life that would support this?

                  I think whether or not an accident is “happy” is largely within our own control. Reframing your thoughts (e.g. by moving from “I always mess things up” to “What can I change so I’m better next time?”) is such a powerful way to both improve your mood and see mistakes as learning opportunities. I was so unhappy in an early consulting job that I quit and took a job serving coffee at Starbucks. I initially saw that Barista job as a boring, temporary way to make a little money, but I ended up learning so much about design. Starbucks changes the lighting and music based on the time of day to create different emotional experiences for its customers. Once I learned that, I kept asking questions and found myself fascinated by how small tweaks can have large effects on how we feel about a brand or space. Figuring out what small behavioral changes have a big impact on our feelings at work is now part of my full-time job!

                  [Image from No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotion at Work, published by Portfolio, 2019. Courtesy of Liz Fosslien.]

                  What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

                  “The worst thing we do is bravely step out of the mold but then stupidly use someone else’s rubric to judge our own lives every day. If you're going to forge your own path, then do so without judgment. It is a beautiful thing to want something for yourself that originates from you.”

                  Is it ever too late to unlock your creativity? What advice would you give to someone who would like to give drawing a go, but doesn’t feel they have the skills or the confidence?

                  It is never too late! The renowned chef Julia Child began taking cooking lessons in her mid-thirties—one of her early attempts at preparing a meal ended with an exploded duck—and didn’t publish her first cookbook until she was fifty-one.

                  If you don’t know what you want to do, then just do something. Pinpointing what kind of work you’ll love without working is like trying to choose a spouse based only on their Tinder profile. Paul Graham said it best -- 'Always produce' will discover your life’s work the way water, with the aid of gravity, finds the hole in your roof.

                  Recreate something you find cool to learn new skills. When I wanted to pick up basic CSS, I built a website. I had no idea what to put on it, but I wanted the homepage to look like this French ad agency’s beautifully designed portfolio. Having a clear end goal in mind helped me focus and stay motivated as I slogged through code.

                  Make something everyday. The most creative people tend to be regimented about their work. Ernest Hemingway started writing every morning as soon as he woke up; Kanye West has attributed his success to 'doing five beats a day for three summers'. Daily Rituals: How Artists Work is a great book if you want more of these fun facts. And it’s fine to mix your media. Write 250 words about an octopus, lie on the floor and take the most interesting photograph you can, or try a new recipe, as long as you’re making something regularly.

                   

                  Thanks so much for chatting with us, Liz!

                  Have you been inspired by Liz's interview and The Big Draw Festival 2019 theme: #DrawntoLife? 
                  Why not join our global Festival in 2019? Registration is now open! Find out more about the benefits of becoming an organiser here and other ways to support The Big Draw's mission here.
                  facebook twitter instagram pinterest YouTube
                  Find an event

                  search Advanced search »

                  Receive Big Draw News

                  Subscribe to our mailing list

                  Add me to the list
                  ' I haven't drawn for years'
                  Haddenham Galleries
                  Boys and girls, old and young
                  Boys and girls, old and young
                  Saltburn Community and Arts Association
                  drawing the town
                  drawing the town
                  Wasps Links Studios
                  Big Draw at the Welcoming Party 2015
                  Big Draw at the Welcoming Party 2015
                  Cambridge International School
                  STEAM Powered Big Draw in Berwick
                  STEAM Powered Big Draw in Berwick
                  Berwick Visual Arts
                  Year 6 artwork
                  Year 6 artwork
                  St Leonards CE Primary School
                  Great model, great location
                  Great model, great location
                  Ruth Koffer artist and tutor
                  Human Spiro graphs in the Arts block
                  Human Spiro graphs in the Arts block
                  Braeburn School
                  Flying our drone above the artwork.
                  Flying our drone above the artwork.
                  The Kingston Academy
                  Paperscape (photo credit: SPAB)
                  Paperscape (photo credit: SPAB)
                  The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
                  Big Draw at the Welcoming Party 2015
                  Big Draw at the Welcoming Party 2015
                  Cambridge International School
                  Taking a line for a walk in the playground
                  Taking a line for a walk in the playground
                  St George's CE Worcester
                  'Human Lines' Workshop. Group Drawing of Human Movement based on the theme of 'Living Lines' (Live Models out of shot) Using Graphite Sticks, Sticks, Rags, Brushes and Household Paint on Board. Community Arts Day at Geddington Brickyard Garden
                  Emma Davies
                  Drawing abstract eyes with pipe cleaners at Punnetts Town Primary School
                  Drawing abstract eyes with pipe cleaners at Punnetts Town Primary School
                  Heathfield Community College
                  On the Big Red Drawing Bus in Ashburton
                  On the Big Red Drawing Bus in Ashburton
                  Ashburton Festival Association
                  Corn drawigs with Mars kids
                  Corn drawigs with Mars kids
                  Hisa! drustvo za ljudi in prostore (House! society for people and places)
                  Tapton students produced a large scale illustration installation protesting climate change, taking inspiration from the Student climate protests, Kidlit4climate and the Little people Big Dreams books.
                  Tapton students produced a large scale illustration installation protesting climate change, taking inspiration from the Student climate protests, Kidlit4climate and the Little people Big Dreams books.
                  Tapton School
                  Collaborative drawing session at ODA- Students responding to unknown animal noises to draw imaginative creatures
                  Collaborative drawing session at ODA- Students responding to unknown animal noises to draw imaginative creatures
                  Ormiston Denes Academy
                  Blue prints and Lowry factories
                  Blue prints and Lowry factories
                  Haberdashers' Aske's Crayford Academy
                  Full STEAM Ahead - Imaginations unlimited.
                  Full STEAM Ahead - Imaginations unlimited.
                  West Highland College UHI
                  Gallery View The
                  Big Draw

                  @ The Big Draw

                  Tweets by @The_Big_Draw
                  • About us
                  • Terms and Conditions
                  • Organise an event
                  • Press
                  • Privacy policy
                  • Contact
                  The Guild of St George
                  Urban Space Management
                   
                  East London Chamber
                  Alan Davidson Foundation
                  Foster and Partners
                   

                   

                   
                  Lottery funded
                   
                  Trinity Bouy Wharf Trust
                   
                  Trinity Bouy Wharf
                   
                  Here for Culture