When University alumna Nhi Nguyen accidentally ordered too much black wrapping paper last Christmas, she saw the mishap as an opportunity to bring to life an idea that has quickly gained popularity in the Capital City.
The 25-year-old used the massive roll to line tables at Tin Roof Brewing Company for local artists to use as part of Drink & Draw’s inaugural event in Baton Rouge.
Nguyen stumbled across the idea while listening to hand-lettering artist Scotty Russell’s Perspective Podcast. Listening to Russell discuss organizing Drink & Draw events in his town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, inspired Nguyen to bring the event to Baton Rouge’s expanding creative community, she said.
The easygoing nature of Drink & Draw is what initially attracted Nguyen to the series.
“As a creative person and as an introvert, you don’t really feel comfortable in high-pressure situations,” she said. “I wanted to create a more casual environment where you can talk to other people and you can get out instead of sitting at home and drawing by yourself.”
Nguyen also liked the idea of bridging the creative community with local businesses and studios.
This bridge was built quickly. In June, Tin Roof hosted Drink & Draw’s first event in the city. There she met an employee of Corporate Brew and Draft who expressed interest in the project. Corporate Brew hosted last month’s event and has offered to continue hosting it each month, Nguyen said.
Although Drink & Draw is new to Baton Rouge, you wouldn’t know it by the turnout. Nearly 50 people have attended the past few events, Nguyen said. While attendees are typically young adults, Nguyen thinks reaching out to college students would help get their foot in the door of the local creative community by allowing them to network with other creatives, she said.
It takes an artist to create a sense of community out of some excess blank paper. Luckily, Nguyen was no stranger to the artistic scene.
Upon graduating in 2014, Nguyen started a myriad of different artistic projects. While her full-time job is working as a graphic and web designer at Catapult Creative Media, Nguyen has also designed her own enamel pins and stickers, become a handwriting artist for Punkpost and taught herself hand-lettering through YouTube videos.
All of these projects help challenge Nguyen’s creativity and develop her skill set in an effort to overcome her biggest hurdle as an artist: staying inspired, she said.
“I don’t want to become complacent or stale,” she said. “I have to keep growing as a person and as a creative.”
Nguyen also isn’t afraid to test the waters in her personal life. Having spent almost all of her life in Baton Rouge, Nguyen is moving to Austin, Texas, in October. However, the Baton Rouge branch of Drink & Draw is here to stay.
Nguyen’s friend and fellow hand-lettering artist Jennifer Hester has been tackling the behind-the-scenes aspect of Drink & Draw the past few months and plans to continue the project. With a venue secured and lots of support from the community, all that’s left to do is order chalk and more and another giant roll of paper — this time on purpose.
LSU alumna Nhi Nguyen displays her lettering designs on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, at Coffee Call on College Drive.
