Drink and Draw...

I almost talked myself out of going to the Drink and Draw event at Spudnik Press. Fear takes over and I have a tendency to chicken out of things from time to time. I felt I’d be very disappointed though if I didn’t go and check this out. Off I went.
I got irritated waiting on the #65 bus so I started walking back toward Chicago Ave. I caught the #66 bus trying to sit still on it for about ten minutes before getting off and hoping I was walking in the right direction.
Eventually I came across a loft building and used a call box to announce my arrival. Once inside I started meandering through the halls, following signs to the giant room that housed the event.
“Hi.” A smiling girl about my age greeted me from a table where she was working with four guys.
“Hi!” I return her smile, walking toward her.
“Tonight’s theme is collage, so we have some random paper over here and a box of magazines, another little box of random stuff, whatever you want.” she tells me gesturing to a table behind her full of supplies. “Oh and the beer is on the counter over there.” she points to a wall behind a table I want to sit at.
“Thanks.” I beam and walk over to a longish table where four girls are already seated at. I gingerly set my things down and walk over to the supply table. Instantly my little girl self has fireworks going off in her head. She is immersed in cardstock, magazines and is exploring the box of random stuff wondering how to use ribbon with this project before deciding against it.
At the table I try not to stare at the work of the other girls but I’m curious. One girl is reading an article she came across on her magazine, two of them are drawing around some images they’ve glued inspired me to one day try that but not today. The girl next to me is using an Exacto knife to trim away excess paper from an image she wants.
I get up, get a beer and sit back down to finally begin. People wander in, taking seats at other tables. I could spend an hour investigating the attire of everyone. All the colors, prints and patterns people have put together on themselves is filling me up with inspiration. I don’t speak to anyone, just glance up from time to time. One of my co-workers brought to my attention that I like to observe people before approaching them, making sure I want to interact. I wasn’t aware of this until she pointed it out but yes, tonight it’s very apparent. I feel a little guilty about it honestly. There is a room full of interesting people and I’m choosing to remain still and quiet. I feel that because I live in a new place, I should be meeting new people. Now. Right this minute but honestly don’t want to talk.
I work for about an hour and a half and am quite pleased with what I came up with. I didn’t entirely finish it but feel either I will later or I won’t. I still really glad I went. I ended up not wanting to wait for the bus on my way back, simply wanting to be outside, taking in the chilly air all the way home…