Spoken Word - Every 2nd Tuesday of the Month- Starts Jan 8th

Come hang out at our Pad on January 8th and take in a performance by the talented KSU Tellers. The show starts at 8pm, and to kicj off the new year, admission is free! Tell a friend or two, and come experience a Sketchy's House Event!

Adult Classes Start February 7th!

Okay - here we go again.... Adult classes are starting again because well, we can't let the kids have all the fun now can we? Classes start February 7th from 7-9pm, BYOB, and bring your creative spirit. Cost is $180 for all 6 lessons, including materials. Please call us to register. Class is limited to first 10 students, we are half way there.

Smyrna Artist Business Association

There is a grassroots effort under foot in Smyrna to unite its large artistic population. As owners of Sketchy's Art Pad, a unique art studio focused on creativity, we were asked to become founding members of the Smyrna Artist Business Association. The first meeting was held on October 16th, and was attended by nearly 30 artists. Brought together by City Councilman, Mike McNabb, this group will be the catalyst for a strong local arts movement to solidify Smyrna's position as the cultural center of the metro Atlanta area.

We are proud to participate in this association, and would be glad to share details of how to get involved with anyone that contacts us. Just give us a call, or stop by. 4691 Atlanta Rd, Smyrna (just 1/4 south of I-285). 404-792-9442.

Liberate the peanuts from inside the box!

As Michelango liberated his figures from an eternal existence trapped within marble, we at Sketchy's have sought to liberate the (packing) peanut from inside the box. Forget the object in the box, its the stuff used to ship the object that's the real treasure - it represents pure potential. Take for instance the examples below which are currently being shipped by Sketchy's to a group of creative professionals throughout Atlanta. Who would have thought that a mere concoction of cornstarch and water formed into packing peanuts could yield such fantastic results in the hands of creative thinkers? We are strong believers of recycling and environmentally friendly materials, and we think that the packing peanut should be placed on a pedestal and exalted as an environmental success story. Not only can they be molded into all sorts of creatures but if you get hungry while you're working, feel free to eat some (think low fat Cheetos without the toxic orange coloring!).

Our thanks to Corey & Jessa for their deft manipulation of a tragically overlooked art medium. Note to Janet: Sketchy's is obviously NOT a peanut free zone, so bring your epee pen!

Hold the Coolest Holiday Party in Atlanta!

Even though you might be just beginning to think about pumpkins, ghosts and goblins, planning for holiday parties is in full swing at Sketchy's Art Pad. Key dates for parties are December 1St & 2nd, and December 8th & 9th. There are all sorts of ideas brewing - like using your corporate party to make holiday gifts so out of the box it'll be difficult to put them in one, or incorporating spoken word, poetry and open mic to your evening of merriment. Those that know the brillance of Sketchy's creativity know that there are no limits to what we can craft for you and your team. But with only 4 possible evenings to hold your event, what is limited is our availabilty, so don't delay in calling.

Atlanta InTown's Eco-Divas edition includes Sketchy's Co-Owner

Check out the October issue of Atlanta InTown and find Sketchy's Art Pad co-owner, Rebecca Gardy, among Atlanta's leading influential women who work and live green. With a focus on found object art, the studio's use of recycled materials and transformation of everyday objects into works of art, not only promotes creative thinking and perception, but also instills environmental awareness.

Another Corporate Event at Sketchy's!

Yesterday we hosted another corporate team-building event at Sketchy's. This time it was for Interep, Sketchy’s is due to host yet another corporate event on September 5th – this time for the Atlanta division of the largest independent advertising sales and marketing company in the United States specializing in radio, television, and the internet. We challenged the 30 guests to get their creative juices flowing. Using vinyl LP's and a wide range of radio and music references (like microphones., victrolas, jukeboxes) they created a wonderful colloborative collage that will hang in their offices as a constant reminder of how thinking outside the box can yield amazing results!

Corporate Events Now in Full Swing!

Looking for an out-of-the-box thinking zone to hold your next corporate event? Well, here we are Atlanta! On August 9th, we hosted a truly unique experience for the sales team from WKHX-FM / WYAY-FM. Daddy-O designed a project customized to focus on the company and its radio stations. Each of the 19 guests incorporated country music themes into a collage composed of vinyl LP’s that were assembled together in a wagon wheel motif, and now hangs at the company’s headquarters.

General Sales Manager, Matt Scarano, and his daughter attended a birthday party for one of her friends at Sketchy’s and learned that this creative art studio can be a inspiring venue for adults too. He later told us, “My Sales Staff is very difficult to please, but every one of them had rave reviews for the outing at Sketchy’s. I was so pleased that everyone worked so well together in a fun and creative atmosphere. It was the perfect team building exercise because my staff is so varied in age that is difficult to find an activity everyone will enjoy.”

If you don't know about us yet, please call us at 404-792-9442 for more information on hosting your creative team building event. Sketchy’s is located at 4691 Atlanta Rd, SE, Smyrna, GA 30080.

Dream Teams Don't Just Happen

When I think of team building events I attended in my past corporate life - I recall a dizzying array of ropes courses, scavenger hunts, rock climbing and analytical personality tests designed to help me understand me better and help my team understand each other, period.

While I have little doubt these types of events may serve a useful purpose in bringing folks together, the sort of team building we focus on at Sketchy's Art Pad goes far beyond this.

Let's face it. No one understands your industry or your company's unique challenges as well as you do. Likewise, no one understands how to really get your team thinking creatively than Sketchy's Art Pad.

At the core of our company is the passion to enable you and your team to let go of pre-conceived solutions, and approach your business issues with a renewed sense of creativity. Whether you are facing issues of new regime vs. old regime, differences in cultural backgrounds, trying to overcome inertia, or you've got to reinvigorate your sales staff - we can help.

The basis for our approach is Synectics. Developed long, long ago (in 1961!) by William J.J. Gordon, synectics provides an approach to creative thinking that depends on looking at what appears on the surface as unrelated phenomenon and drawing relevant connections.

Its central principle: "Trust things that are alien, and alienate things that are trusted." Synectics encourages, on the one hand, fundamental problem-analysis and, on the other hand, the alienation of the original problem through the creation of analogies. It is thus possible for new and surprising solutions to emerge.

Art Synectics executed at Sketchy's can help your team develop creative responses to problem solving, to retain new information, and to explore social and disciplinary problems. It helps users break existing mindsets and internalize abstract concepts.

So, drum roll please..... Now you know. Holding your next corporate team building event at Sketchy's means we will custom design a project that specifically fits your distinctive culture, values, business issues and strategy needs. And, while we may incorporate ropes, rocks and items from our own scavenger hunts at local recycling centers, the results will be far beyond anything your company can conceive.

Fox 5 Picks Sketchy's to film Wednesday's Child

Bringing a smile to the face of a child in need, Sketchy's Art Pad was proud to host the taping of Wednesday's Child. Beautiful 13 year old Seleta came and let her creativity shine as she turned a world-famous painting into her own masterpiece in hopes of catching the eye of a loving family. Wednesday's Child - Georgia is a partnership of the Freddie Mac Foundation, WAGA Fox 5 Atlanta, and the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services Adoption Unit, formed to help families for children in foster care with special needs who are available for adoption. We were honored to host this event, and thrilled to know that even a news anchor didn't hesistate to don a Mona Lisa wig in the spirit of creativity.