Reserve your seat

$330 for the full series
$285 if you register by October 2
Analog Room members save 15% with their member code.

All art supplies, every week
Tea and coffee
Your seat for all six Tuesdays
Three loaner copies of the book (or bring your own)

A $50 supply fee holds your seat at registration. The balance is split into two payments, the last due October 6. The supply fee is non-refundable if you withdraw, and fully refunded if the series doesn't run. Minimum 10 to launch; capped at 20.

The venue is reached by two flights of stairs with no elevator. Please confirm this works for you before registering.

Colors of Austin Counseling × The Analog Room

The Slow Hours

Six Tuesday evenings, phones off, to read, make, and remember what stillness feels like.

Oct 13 – Nov 17, 2026 · Tuesdays 6:30–8:30 pm · The Analog Room, East Austin

Second-floor space, stairs only (no elevator). See accessibility note below.

20 seats · Early bird through Oct 2

A book club you make with your hands

Most of us aren't in crisis. We're just tired, wired, and quietly lonely, and we don't have anywhere to practice being still with other people. The Slow Hours is a six-week series built around one question: what actually happens when we stop? Each week you read one chapter of Jenny Odell's How to Do Nothing, then spend an evening in a phone-free room talking about it, sitting with it, and turning it into something you can hold.

What an evening looks like

6:15 Arrive
Your phone goes in a locker at the door. Tea and a record are already on.

6:30 Settle
Ten minutes of guided stillness to set the theme for the night.

6:45 Talk
The week's chapter, first as a group, then in small circles of four or five.

7:30 Make
Forty-five minutes of hands-on work tied to the chapter. Ink, collage, lettering, printing. No art experience needed; the point is the attention, not the product.

The six weeks

Oct 13 — The Case for Nothing
What happens in the body when we stop

Oct 20 — The Impossibility of Retreat
Staying, instead of escaping

Oct 27 — Anatomy of a Refusal
The art of saying no

Nov 3 — Exercises in Attention
Retraining the eye and ear

Nov 10 — Ecology of Strangers
Belonging to a neighborhood instead of a feed

Nov 17 — Restoring the Grounds for Thought
What stays when the series ends

Who's in the room

Vanessa Flores Newton, LCSW-S
Founder of Colors of Austin Counseling. Leads the series.

Ana Perez, LMSW
Clinician at Colors of Austin Counseling. Co-facilitates every week.

We're licensed therapists, which is what lets us hold real conversation about what always-on life is doing to us. This is not therapy, and you don't need to be in therapy to come.

Good to know

Do I have to come every week?
Yes. The series works because it's the same 20 people in the room each Tuesday. Please only register if you can commit to all six.

Do I really have to lock my phone?
Yes. That's the Analog Room's house rule and the whole point of the evening.

Is this therapy?
No. It's a community wellness series led by therapists. We won't keep records or make diagnoses, and everyone gets a resource sheet if they want individual support.

What if I'm not creative?
Neither are most people who show up. Every exercise is designed for hands that haven't held a paintbrush since middle school.

Will there be photos or video?
Yes. We'll take photos and short video clips during some sessions to share the series on Colors of Austin Counseling and Analog Room channels. No audio is recorded, and nothing from the conversation is captured or quoted. You can opt out when you register and we'll keep you out of frame; you'll get a small marker at the door so our team knows. You can change your mind at any session by telling a facilitator.

Where is it, and is it accessible?
The Analog Room, 1511 E 6th St, above Cisco's in East Austin. Doors open at 6:15. Please know before you register: the space is on the second floor and the only way in is two flights of stairs. There is no elevator or ramp, so it is not wheelchair accessible and may not work for anyone who has difficulty with stairs. We're sorry about this limitation. If it affects you and you'd still like to be part of something like this, email us at connect@colorsofaustincounseling.com and we'll let you know when we run a series in an accessible space.

Pay in full

To register at the $285 early bird rate, click here →

Payment plan

To reserve your seat with the $50 supply fee, click here →