In honor of this year’s National Volunteer Appreciation Week, the Volunteer team planned an extra special event, our first-ever Drink & Draw, which occurred on Friday, April 26, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM at both the Echo Park and Mar Vista Writing Labs (at the exact same time!). To express gratitude to our wonderful volunteers, we aimed to create a space where volunteers could socialize, mingle, and enjoy spirits to celebrate their hard work for the year thus far. In providing a low-stakes, relaxing environment where volunteers could draw and tap into their inner artist, we also hoped to break down the barrier to illustrating (especially since drawing is a big part of our field trips program).
On the Mar Vista side, drawing instructors Juan Lobo (a regular 826LA volunteer) and Ashlyn Anstee guided attendees through various drawing exercises featuring the ever-elusive and eccentric Professor Barnacle (the big boss of our publishing house who often appears during our Storytelling & Bookmaking field trips). Despite Professor Barnacle’s unorthodox (and corrupt) methods, he proves to be a great motivator.
Long-time volunteer Susan Hamilburg was overjoyed by the event’s success, eagerly asking about plans for the next one. She even left with a copy of our drawing instructor Ashlyn’s book, excited to read and share it with her daughters. While the room boasted numerous veteran volunteers, there were also several guests and plus-ones who were new to 826LA and thoroughly impressed by the event. One such guest, Gabriel Silva, remarked, ‘I hadn’t heard of 826LA before, but now they’re etched in my memory. I’m eager to get involved soon and perhaps lend my voice to Professor Barnacle.” All guests left the event pleased, and even after its official end, they stayed behind to continue mingling and enjoying each other’s company.
On the Echo Park side, Senior Volunteer Coordinator Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo led event attendees through both individual and collaborative drawing activities borrowing from elements of field trips, such as creating a main character, secondary character, and setting. Inspired by our students, attendees drew wacky and out-of-this-world characters: one volunteer came up with a character named Felicity who is the cosmic ex of the planet Saturn. Another attendee came up with an aspiring magician who’s a little down on his luck financially, but trying to make it to the Great Barrier Reef. Friendships were struck up, horses were granted human traits, and all attendees drew specific facets of a western saloon setting in a cubist landscape exercise, coalescing in a collaborative art project. See below:
Thank you to our awe-inspiring volunteers who attended the event and filled the space with laughter, joy, and beautiful artistic creations! According to regular volunteer and College Corp Fellow Griffin Denham, “We had a great time! It was super fun and the people I talked to seemed to be having a fantastic time!” We appreciate the compliment, Griffin. We can never get enough of our volunteers!