Desert Doodlers at Mesquite Fine Art Center

By Abbey Snow

Desert Doodlers at Mesquite Fine Art Center

Each month there is a group of artists who meet at the Mesquite Fine Arts Center classroom to doodle. Joyce Redweik is the instructor of the class. There are eight artists that regularly attend and there is room for more to join them. Redweik said that if anyone ever doodled in school, they are officially a doodle artist.

“While my school teacher would talk, I doodled lots and I have the grades to prove it,” Redweik said.

Joyce and her husband of 39 years lived and worked in California for many years. About 10 years ago they moved to Arizona. Joyce decided to try her hand at real estate. She enjoyed it and didn’t realize how hard agents really work. During this time is when she was first introduced to taking her doodling and turning it into art. There was a group of doodlers that met regularly, and she learned so much.

“When I now look at my first doodles I laugh but we all need to start somewhere,” Redweik said “I also understand why my husband would say “uh huh” when I showed him my creations. He was being kind.”

Three years ago they moved to Mesquite. Her husband and she both retired.

“One of the draws to this area was the Mesquite Fine Art Center as I have always had a heart for art and no time to do it,” Redweik said “I loved that the gallery offers classes and opportunities for me to share my art. I joined the gallery and have had my art in the gallery either through the monthly competition, the gift shop, greeting card rack, and boutiques. I believe I was the first “doodler” to the gallery, so this was a new art form to many of the artists.”

“A common question I get is, “what is doodling?” Redweik said “ This is a fast, growing art form and is known by other names. It is simply taking pen and paper, and repeating patterns to create a piece of art. Patterns are all around us and once artists start doodling, they will see the world with patterns. I love to look at the amazing ancient temples around the world, whose walls are carved with intricate detail and often with patterns. My response is always the same, how did they do that? Closer to home, patterns are all around us. I will stare at people’s sweaters, neckties, and even the carpet in restaurants. If I stare too long, I do get weird looks, and I have been known to snap pictures of patterned carpets. More weird looks follow. I was getting many comments about my art and Doti Golden, President of the gallery, suggested I try teaching doodling to see if there is any community interest. The kick off was with a Stay Smart with Art class and it was a full class! We then moved forward with a once a month class and I feel it has been successful.”

Joyce feels their class structure is welcoming to all levels of artists. She encourages new to the group artists to arrive about ten to fifteen minutes before the class so that she can give them a quick orientation. She doesn’t want them to feel lost. The class then begins with a few minutes of sharing. This is time for the artists to share any projects they have worked on, new tools they have found, and a time of discussion in areas of help. It is a fun way to start the class. They then move into the project of the day with at least 3 new patterns that can be applied to the project. Those who have been attending for the past few months are starting to get a nice collection of patterns.

“I break down the structure of each pattern with a step-out process which they can follow along and try,” Redweik said. “They are also given a project to apply using the new patterns. I also give them a copy of how I finished the project to encourage them to use their creativity and knowledge to come up with a unique piece of work. It is fun to see how each artist completes the project. With doodling, there aren’t any mistakes, only opportunities and sometimes that opportunity may be to see if somebody else can see the mistake. Most times we take the opportunity to create around it or bring it into the piece of art. I try to come up with new techniques each class so as to not repeat too much.”

Once the pattern learning and project application section of the class has concluded, the artists work on their own. The artists have fun laughing and talking, then Joyce notices the classroom goes silent as the artists zone in on their projects. This is a special time for her to see their creativity come out.

“My students are amazing!”Redweik said “They are really getting the hang of doodling and starting to create their own pieces of art from bookmarks to coasters. One artist has entered the monthly gallery theme contest and she has received Honorable Mention a couple of times. I am so proud of her. Another student took the patterns she learned and applied them to a wood burning project. It was beautiful. Doodling doesn’t need to just be on paper. Once an artist is hooked, their supplies move from only having a pen and paper to fancy pens, bigger paper, helpful tools and so much more. We keep the Amazon delivery guy busy.”

Kim Alexander and her husband Chris moved to Mesquite in October 2020. She was looking for a way to find activity in the new community and was so excited to find the Mesquite Fine Art Center.

“They offer so many classes that are so readily available to the community,” Alexander said “ I joined the Doodle class in February. I have been a doodler my whole life and didn’t realize it was an actual art form until starting the class with Joyce. The classes are so fun and she has taught me a lot of different ways to draw using different patterns, shading, color and just overall how to make it a more defined work of art other than just doodling while on the phone. The art of doodling is very relaxing and almost meditative, as with most art, your focus is primarily on the object you are creating and so your brain relaxes from all the other thoughts we all worry about. One of the other reasons I enjoy the class is being able to engage with the other Doodlers and share our work and learn and laugh with each other. I highly recommend this fun class to everyone that wants to find a fun relaxing time to enjoy art and engage with new people. My husband has a laser engraver, so he has taken some of my pieces and engraved them into wood. So fun!”

Amy Wells is pretty busy with her time at the fine art center. She coordinates the Artist of the Month and changes the art in their outside venues quarterly. They include the hospital, Bank of Nevada by Eureka and City Hall. She is a member of the Christmas Boutique and the Grand Bazaar committees. She also works a few shifts a month at the front desk.

“ I have been taking Joyces class since it started, “ Wells said. “ What I love about the class is that it provides new techniques every time. If you have never been to a class you can still come, they are not dependent on the last class. Joyce is very inclusive and helpful, she creates an atmosphere where we can do nothing wrong, we just have opportunities. I have carried this over to other aspects of my life, no problems just opportunities. Doodling has provided me with a way to put my imagination on paper. I can do it while watching tv.”

The first two doodles she put in competitions she won honorable mentions for. The first was for Animals in the Wild and that was a buffalo she doodled. The second was for Favorite Song Title. She created a representation of American Pie by Don McLean. She has also ventured into making greeting cards and prints.

“ I have loved the gallery here in town,” Wells said. ”It is a great resource for artists as well as locals to get very unique gifts created by local artists for a reasonable price.”

Recently, the gallery published the 2023 monthly themes. At their last doodle class they brainstormed about the types of projects and patterns they could doodle that will lead the artists to creating some doodle entries. Joyce thinks the artists are looking forward to flooding the gallery with some doodle entries in 2023.

For those interested in joining Joyce’s Doodle class you can visit their website at https://www.mesquitefineartscenter.com/ and click on art classes then drawing classes. You can call 702-346-1338 for more information. There is no sign up necessary just to show up at 10:30 a.m. at the Mesquite Fine Art Center at 15 W Mesquite Blvd. The next doodle classes will be on Friday August 19 and Friday September 16th.