The Drawing Collaborative is held Wednesdays, 10:30-11:30 a.m., at Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St.

PENDLETON — From splotches of color to hyper realistic sketches, the Drawing Collaborative provides space for artists of all levels to explore creation once a week — while drinking a morning coffee or tea.

Alice Thomas and Shari Dallas lead the free, drop-in Drawing Collaborative class from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays at the Pendleton Center for the Arts. 214 N. Main St.

“This class is for anyone,” Thomas said. “Don’t be scared if you’ve never drawn or if you’re an accomplished artist. We welcome everybody, and the collaborative energy of practicing together is what’s wonderful about it.”

Thomas compared the energy to a quilting bee — but with drawing. The collaborative benefit is practicing being artists with other people and creating that energy and atmosphere.

“A lot of people have a desire to draw, have a need to express themselves through the drawing medium,” Dallas said. “We think it’s really important for people to feel at ease and know that it’s the experience of drawing, not the final outcome, that matters. Whatever comes out of someone is true and meaningful.”

The artists said some people hesitate to draw because they worry about their ability, but the drawing collaborative gives a safe space to explore creation.

“I hear this a lot: ‘I can’t draw, I can’t even draw a stick figure,’” Thomas said. “Everybody draws differently. There are a lot of people who draw who don’t even try to do anything realistically. If you want to dance, you don’t have to be a ballet dancer.”

The idea for Drawing Collaborative came out of a discussion Dallas and Thomas had about collaboration and things they would like to see happen.

“We were talking about the things that we would love to do, and it was how it would be so cheerful to come to the Arts Center in the morning, have a cup of coffee or a cup of tea and do a little drawing,” Dallas said. “We are both retired teachers, and we love collaborating together and thought it would be so wonderful to have it be informal and really just try to have a collaboration.”

The two artists launched the program in January of this year, and it exceeded their expectations, with some sessions reaching 17 or 18 participants. The duo took a break from the Drawing Collaborative over the summer to reassess, and now it is back for the 2023-2024 season.

This season, the Drawing Collaborative is broken into three five-week sessions — fall, winter and spring — and participants can come one session, all three sessions, a couple classes, or one class.

During the first fall class, participants were invited to sketch angles and outlines of a display of pumpkins, gourds and flowers.

Each class is a free drop-in session. All materials are provided, and Thomas and Dallas will lead an open-ended, skill-building activity each week.

For more information, contact Pendleton Center for the Arts or visit pendletonarts.org/classes/adult/ and scroll down for “Drawing Collaborative: Coffee and Creative Exploration.”