24-hour draw-a-thon a big draw

I thought I would do Press Street a big favor and grace them with my presence on a Saturday night. I figured nobody else would be at the Marigny Opera House, an empty, old church, to scribble and cut out shapes on construction paper around the clock. Boy was I wrong!

There were people milling around outside the church and bright lights inside. I could tell from the sound that quite a few folks were drawing - even though drawing makes no noise.

There were people lying on the floors, drawing intently, just like they did as kids. Others drew on the walls, equally mesmerized. There were many obviously working on larger collaborations, as focused as if they were constructing a bridge or other major public works project.

Some drew with wild abandon!

There were various themes, which mostly seemed to be about outer space and extraterrestrials. Or dinosaurs.

Two muses sat at the center of the cavernous space, covered with crayon markings. Children gathered around them, marking on their white robes. On the old altar, a drawing machine took orders. People lined up to place their requests at the window and pick up the results - free of charge! Some of the drawings were tacked to the outside of the machine, including a picture of a rhinoceros bathing in a hot tub.

After the children went to bed, there would be a figure drawing session for the adults. There were tantalizing events scheduled at 3 a.m.

Who knew there was so much untapped creativity in Marigny? And so much enjoyment drawing on a Saturday night.