Working: Drawing Strangers to Build Empathy

This week, guest-host Ronald Young Jr. talks to Wendy MacNaughton, an artist whose work can be found in many places, including the bestselling cookbook Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. In the interview, Wendy discusses her unique artistic style, which stems from her practice of interacting closely with her subjects. She also talks about her educational project DrawTogether and its sister project DrawTogether Strangers, which encourages people to draw portraits of complete strangers in public places around the U.S.  After the interview, Ronald and co-host June Thomas discuss the courage it takes to find and pursue a passion.  In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Wendy shares techniques for talking to strangers.  Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. You can learn more about Wendy’s work at her website, wendymacnaughton.com, and you can learn more about the DrawTogether Grown-Ups Table at club.drawtogether.studio. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices