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Andrea Engele laughs to herself at her bad drawing, depicting “out-of-control nose hair.”
In her day job, she’s a graphic designer, but for the past two hours, she’s thrown her professional training out the window in favour of drawings that would make any five-year-old giggle with delight.
Engele is one of 30 people tapping into their creativity at an event in Saskatoon called Something Sketchy. Drawing enthusiasts are under strict instructions to draw badly based on silly and absurd prompts, including the out-of-control nose hair.
“The attitude here is draw like you’re a kid and let loose. That’s the best for me,” Engele says.
“When you’re doing an illustration for a client, there are boundaries to work within. Coming here to Something Sketchy, you go a little crazy, and it makes me feel like I’m a kid at a birthday party again.”
Jaymie Raefta is an illustrator and graphic designer who first came up with the idea of Something Sketchy. The Saskatoon social group brings people together and unleashes their artistic abilities in fun and creative ways. (Eric Anderson)
Something Sketchy is a social event for people of all artistic abilities to come together and tap into their creativity. It’s hosted by Plastic Salad, an artist collective highlighting Saskatchewan illustrators, designers and animators.
Jaymie Raefta is an illustrator and graphic designer who organizes events for Plastic Salad. They came up with the idea for Something Sketchy after years of drawing with their friends.
“It was kind of like an exercise for me and my friends to get together and draw badly, to make each other laugh, stay playful, and not take ourselves too seriously,” Raefta says.
“Once in a while, we would go for coffee and do that, and then I thought, ‘Why don’t we just make it into a networking event?'”
Playful prompts
Raefta hosts Something Sketchy with the charm and flair of a late-night talk show host. They prepare drawing prompts, which participants have two minutes to complete. Retro cartoon theme music plays while people race to complete their bad drawings.
The prompts range from “draw the longest dog with the tiniest hat,” to “draw your favourite coworker as a cold baked potato.”
People draw based on a prompt of a ‘muscular sunflower.’ (Eric Anderson)
The table votes on their favourite bad drawing once the two minutes are up.
“We have three rounds of bad drawing prompts, so you don’t have to think, ‘How can I be creative and funny with this?'” Raefta explains.
“They are written so that no matter what you do, it will be silly. I think that when you make other people laugh or you laugh at yourself, you’re going to feel good.”
An artist submits a drawing of their favourite coworker as a potato head. (Eric Anderson)A time to be silly
Scott Gowen spends his days delivering mail for Canada Post in Saskatoon but has always loved drawing. He admits it can be challenging to carve out time to be creative, which is one of the reasons why he loves attending Something Sketchy.
“I was terrified at first to come because I am not a professional drawer, but it wasn’t like that at all. Everybody’s super friendly and very relaxed,” he says.
Participants find joy in being silly as they draw. (Eric Anderson)
Setting aside time for creativity and tapping into childhood exuberance is what Raefta strives for with Something Sketchy.
“I’m 28 years old. As I become an adult, I just feel more scared, and I want to hold onto things like this where we can be silly and awkward,” they say.
“I want a place for that, and when we have events like Something Sketchy, you can see other people come alive.”