After helping Randall's Pub proprietor Randy Toledano with his business logo challenge almost a year before he opened in January 2023, I became his first Artist of the Month, adorning his exposed brick walls. Originally, he was to open mid-December 2022, but as the saying goes, "the Devil is always busy". Finally, the doors to the turn-key space at 6341 N. Clark (formerly known as Parlour before it closed in 2014, still in impeccably ready condition) was geared to start building a new legacy.
Now I've always revered the underdog, being one myself, so I feel an affinity for what Randy is destined to accomplish. I wanted to be a part of this unfolding saga from the ground up, so in January of this year, Randy graciously set aside his Monday night space for a neighborhood artist meet-up. I had discussed my idea with him a month prior, mulling over the possibilities. When he was the manager of the now-defunct Pressure Billiard Hall (currently occupied by neighborhood gathering hall, Whisky Girl, just across the street on Clark), he was already featuring local artists, so he definitely has a history of promoting and supporting. So it was no stretch for him to immediately start an Artist of the Month program at his new venture across the street.
So my Monday night creative art social is slowly building. I named it Drink Drank Draw (affectionately being dubbed D3). I started back the gathering in the beginning of the year to have time for the buzz to perculate and permeate, in time for the warmer months, when people were out of hybernation, looking for alternative ways to engage with their fellow sapiens. Since gestating my endeavor, I have met new people, all of varying artistic skill levels (I'm very much about creating a space where people don't have to feel intimidated about exploring their creative side). I'm starting to see the sprouts poking up through the soil, as it were. This is only the beginning of a tradition that dots the landscape in various capacities. I've been involved over a few years with Grotesque Burlesque - @grotesqueburlesque - a figure drawing group that outgrew its origins in someone's living room, to now residing at a multimedia art studio. Just through that group, I've learned of other artistic meetups around the city, but I was inspired to set up camp and add to the offerings with something a little closer to home (Edgewater, Rogers Park and West Ridge).
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