Sketch Club started

A new Sketch Club has been started here in Thermopolis that allows artists to meet fellow creative people. It was formed by Joe Moon and Josh Rathbun, who happened to discover their shared artistic interests by chance during jury duty. Moon saw Rathbun's iPad Pro digital drawings and was immediately struck by his ability. Moon told Rathbun that he has an art background as well.

Moon said they were, "trying to think of something to get artists together, to just hang out and be creative without any agenda. That way we can learn different techniques from each other, just hone our skills. We might do some instructional-type stuff later on and have different people show us and teach. Also, we might have theme nights, so people can draw around that theme."

They talked about the Sketch Club for about a year, but then COVID hit and that stopped their plans. Rathbun said, "When finally this mask mandate and everything got lifted up, we said now is the best time to do it. So, slowly they started asking people to come and just give something to the community, for something for them to do. There's not a lot to do in town."

Sketch Club participant Connie Taylor said, "It's relaxing. It's a way to bring peace to my life because I can help people put their ideas into drawings." Taylor is helping the Senior Citizen's Center who wanted sketches for Easter and for float trips, shopping trips, hiking, things that are happening at the Center. Taylor said, "They wanted something different, not something from the internet, clip art. They wanted it to be unique."

Alisha Choi is also another participant. She graduated from art school in illustration some time ago and attends the sketch club where she wants to get some of her skills back and hopefully improve on her drawings. Choi said, "I enjoy hanging out with like-minded people and other artists." Her six-year-old daughter Kylie also joined the group to create as well. 

The Sketch Club even has members from out of town. Gloria Sala drove from Worland to join the group and said, "I found out about it through Alisha Choi. She invited me and was letting me know what was going on. I thought it was really exciting to join with others that are creative, be able to observe some of their skills and share what they are doing. Relationship is important as well as community. And exploring my artistic gifts within, I'd like to see it. I have not used it for many years. So, once again tapping into it is good, it's something I want to explore. I just think it's a win-win. I'm happy to be here."

Brenda Hodge grew up with artist vision and about the club, she said, "I like to do it for relaxation. I doubt that I'll ever be a famous artist. But I've always wanted to do art and when I was young, my mom didn't like it. She said to get a real job. So, I went into nursing instead of art."

The Sketch Club meets Monday nights at 5 p.m. at the River of Life Fellowship, 345 Broadway St.

For those interested in joining the group contact Joe Moon at (307) 840-9286. Please note the meeting location will change in the future to a variety of places as they progress.