This morning at 5:30am Texas time on Sketch and Coffee Live I pulled a toy liver from the Random Object Randomogrifier. Not the kind of thing you wake up hoping to draw, but that is the beauty of random objects. You never know what you are going to get, and today it happened to be the organ that keeps us alive by filtering every bite and sip.
Sketch & Coffee, Live! is streamed daily at 5:30am, Texas Time, at the YouTubes
The liver is special. It can regrow from only 25 percent of itself, but more impressive is that it knows when to stop growing. It is also tied to the scar left from our umbilical cord, the round ligament that links the liver to the belly button. Every vertebrate has a liver, and almost all invertebrates have something similar. This one organ produces cholesterol needed for vitamin D and steroids, stores glycogen to keep blood sugar steady, and even has a bare spot where it presses directly against the diaphragm.
During the stream the chat pointed out fun details, like the toy liver looking more like a seal, or correcting me that skin is the largest organ and the liver is the largest internal one. That is the kind of back and forth I love, where we trade facts and keep each other sharp. Along with the drawing, I tested new pop-up fact graphics that drop into the video, and they seemed to keep things lively even when I got quiet.
I closed with the truth about detox. Your liver and kidneys already detox your body every day. If you want to give them a break, it is boring, simple foods, no alcohol, no unnecessary medications. Not exciting, but it is what works. And in the end, I had a liver sketch, a gallbladder tucked in beside it, and a morning of art with my besties. Tomorrow, we move on to a chunky little stegosaurus.
Click here to watch this episode of Sketch & Coffee!
Also, if you, or a teacher friend, would like a 20-30 minute lesson plan about livers, feel free to download and share this one:
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