Anybody can draw. That’s the philosophy behind a brand new Dr. Sketchy’s program which begins for the first time anywhere in Alberta, Jan. 29 at Henotic.
 Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School is a unique drawing program founded in 2005 by artist Molly Crabapple in Brooklyn, New York. This will be the first Alberta branch. In addition to having branches all over the U.S., United Kingdom, Asia, Europe and South America, there are Canadian branches in Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
“We’ve been following Molly Crabapple on Twitter and I’ve been reading her blog and books and looking at different needs in the community. It’s more about the art experience. It’s a fun, community building exercise,” said Kelaine Divine who, along  with Loralee Edwards, is working together to bring  this international program to Lethbridge. It kicks off at Henotic, Jan. 29 with special guest, Calgary performance artist Demonika, who will be the model and is known for lying on a bed of nails.
Dr. Sketchy’s  subjects — burlesque performers—  strike several poses, quickly  to begin with to  “build the artist’s drawing muscle and eye,” then they strike longer poses for the artists to draw. Even stick figure drawings are all right, it’s the act of drawing that matters, not the end result. Works aren’t shown around the room, though they can be if the artist chooses.
“Visual artists do tend to work alone a lot so  this is a chance to come out, have a beer and  draw together. It’s a lot more fun” she said.
“It’s about the experience not  the project,” she said.
“I think it’s wonderful to be open to an experience like this. I’ll bet everyone can draw, it’s just a matter of practicing it,” Divine said.
Loralee Edwards is pleased to have Demonika as the first guest model.
“She’s an amazing performer. She’s a performance artist. She seemed like a good choice for  our first guest. She lies on a bed of nails,” Edwards enthused.
“It’s really great to bring this to Lethbridge though it’s a little bit out there for Lethbridge. It makes art fun, so what’s better than to have a beer, see a cool performance and meet others who are into art,” she continued.
“I don’t draw, so I’ll be one of those doing my best. It’s going to be fun.”
The duo began the application process for a Dr. Sketchy’s  three or four months  ago. They will be doing a Dr. Sketchy’s every month with a new performer at GCBCs.
“What I think is really neat is  how it brings people together. I’ll be honing my drawing skills,” Edwards said.
The inaugural event runs 7-9 p.m. in the GCBC Lounge, Jan. 29. Admission is $15.