Happy Hour Hack: Kindness, Black matrilineage, and WendyMac
The Andrea Chung edition
Welcome to the Happy Hour Hack, a weekly Friday post of tips and inspiration to take you into the weekend. I always share one thing from my interviewee of the week, along with any ideas I receive from readers, plus some things that are piquing my own interest.
Hack
Our tip of the week comes from the incredible artist Andrea Chung. It’s a simple one but helps in every facet of life: Be kind.
Be nice. Be good to each other. It always comes back.
The way I have gotten by being a mother and an artist is that I had a village that came out of nowhere to support me. And I was really shocked to get that support. So I make sure to pay it forward. Even people who I don’t know very well, I’ll send them baby gifts all the time. I’ll get them clothes, or they’ll call me to vent or complain. I’ll do all of those things because that’s what I have received from people.
I always tell people, “Be nice and be professional, and you will be surprised by the support that you get.” Being an artist is a job, ultimately. I love what I do, but it’s a job. And it’s business. And you have to treat it that way. But you also can be human and be kind to other people.
The Forum
I first became aware of Andrea’s work in the recently published Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation, co-edited by Lesly Deschler Canossi and Zoraida Lopez-Diago.
This is a beautiful book filled with essays, interviews, and photography that center on Black motherhood, challenging tropes and past representations and raising up the stories of Black women and artists. It includes images from huge names, like Deana Lawson, Wangechi Mutu, and, of course, Andrea Chung.
You can find the book here.
Art
In 2020, during the lockdown, I remember walking the streets of our neighborhood with the kids looking for drawings of rainbows hanging in windows. We found a lot of them. And we knew that the people in those houses were drawing with WendyMac.
If you’re not familiar with Wendy MacNaughton, she’s an illustrator and graphic journalist who, among a million projects, has had a column in the New York Times and illustrated Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
We were one of many, many families who depended on WendyMac. When the world was confusing, and our home was chaos, and our nerves were frayed, she offered us clarity, order, and calmness.
Her drawing videos, called DrawTogether, were such a hit that the concept kept expanding. You can now find her on Substack, where she has a podcast, a section for grown-ups, and, as always, amazing drawing videos for kids.
And last week, WendyMac announced the launch of DrawTogether Classrooms, which offers educators access to an online program for art and social emotional learning. And it’s free! So if you know someone in education, spread the word!
Book
Speaking with Andrea, we discussed the power or lack of power linked to the reproductive system. Which is a perfect segue into how we educate kids about their bodies and sex. My kids are on the cusp of those conversations, so I’ve been asking women for guidance, and this book, Sex Is a Funny Word, has been recommended by a couple of women whose opinions I revere.
Let us know what books and resources you used to talk with your kids!
On the book front, adding another thumbs-up for Sex Is a Funny Word! Another one that we found to be a good and inclusive follow-up book is Making a Baby by Rachel Greener. Good luck!