“All mediums are welcome, no experience necessary, bring whatever,” is the unofficial slogan for the Dead Pen Drawing Club, Founder Chris Jones said.

Starting the club in October 2021, Jones envisioned a space for all artists to convene and create art in a shared environment without prompts, themes, exercises, critiques, fees or registration.

“There’s no structure,” Jones said. “I think that’s one of the most important aspects of it.”

What the club does have is consistency. They meet from 6-9 p.m. every Monday at Wolverine Farm Publick House, a nonprofit literary arts organization, bookstore and coffee shop based in Fort Collins.

When heading up to the second floor of Wolverine Farm on a Monday night, one can find a room of individuals creating their own art — drawing, painting, sculpting, felting, embroidering — with diverse conversations, quiet music and soft light filling the room. Others quietly work on homework or other crafts, sharing the space and occasionally chiming into the chatter.

“Consistent practice makes you more comfortable with creating. There’ve been a lot of friendships that have started from the drawing club. … I’m grateful for the community of people that have been a part of it.” -Chris Jones, Dead Pen Drawing Club founder

Willow Sudam, who has been attending the club meetings for about two years, tried her hand at making ceramic beads this past Monday for a bracelet.

“Everyone is just very, very nice and welcoming, and I think we’re all just about encouraging people’s art,” Sudam said while she worked with clay.

Jones envisioned the club to be exactly that, as he detailed in an artist statement he wrote for the club’s first-ever art show in July, in which members could showcase any of the art they created in the club. They displayed 45 pieces in various mediums at Wolverine Farm.

“I want Dead Pen to serve as a comfortable environment for people to come together without the fear of judgment, ridicule or embarrassment and to be a space that supports learning through experimentation, play and conversation,” Jones wrote in the artist statement.

Originally started as a small group of artists, the club has since grown to attract an average of 10-15 attendees each week, as members invite others to share in the company of fellow artists.

The club is a blend of regulars and newcomers, with the opportunity to befriend strangers and reconnect with familiar faces each week.

Jared Kaser has attended the club since the beginning, even following the club’s transition from Avogadro’s Number to Wolverine Farm roughly a year ago. After moving to Fort Collins from Chicago four years ago, Kaser, despite his initial nerves, was ready for new connections.

“I’ve always kind of liked drawing and done a little bit over my life,” Kaser said. “I’m not, like, an artist, but I got to go to this thing. And then after drawing once a week for a couple of years, (I was) like, ‘Oh, I can do this.’ It’s a good two-fold club of friends and regularly practicing drawing or anything.”

In the session, artists voluntarily share insight into their creative processes, showing one another their work and providing feedback or ideas when someone is unsure of what direction to take their piece.

“A lot of times, art or drawing will be a pretty solo activity,” Kaser said. “It’s nice to do it in a different context.”

Being in the space for three hours almost every week for a couple years makes a difference. Jones said he has witnessed many artists grow in their abilities and build bonds with one another.

“Consistent practice makes you more comfortable with creating,” Jones said. “There’ve been a lot of friendships that have started from the drawing club. … I’m grateful for the community of people that have been a part of it.”

If you’re an artist interested in joining the Dead Pen Drawing Club, you can find more details on their Instagram or Wolverine Farm’s website.

Jones said the club developed from the idea of being a judgment-free space for artists into the community it is today. Though, he recognizes that he couldn’t have done it without those who shared his dream.

“Now it has its own life — its own legs,” Jones said. “I organized it at the beginning but … I don’t view it as my club, it’s our club.”

Reach Annamarie Burford at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.