What we’re about
Ann Arbor Sketchers is a Meetup group based out of Ann Arbor for members who would like to sketch outdoors (and inside, in inclement weather) in the nearby company of other sketchers. The intention of this group is to encourage ourselves to spend more time outdoors, in picturesque settings, engaged in the quiet, shared activity of drawing. Come Winter season, we can continue inside, sketching at local museums, the Botanical Garden conservatory, and other settings. After each session, if members would like, we can meet up at a coffee shop and socialize, including sharing with each other what we drew (if a member so chooses).
There are no artistic skills necessary to become a member of Ann Arbor Sketchers, just a willingness to forgo socializing as the central activity until after the sketching session is over. Events will be held outdoors (with seasonal considerations taken into account), exploring different sites in and around Ann Arbor. Note, this Meetup group does not consider creating art a competitive sport, rather we aim to promote drawing as an expressive outlet we can all participate in that can both enriching and fun. Hope to see you around with your sketchpad (or other visual medium of choice)!
Upcoming events (2)
See all- Patterning, Tiling and Tangling Meetup Hangout at Sweetwaters (May '25)Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea, Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor Sketchers - Patterning, Tiling and Tangling Meetup Hangout at Sweetwaters (Plymouth Green)
For those who like to doodle, pattern, tangle or tile, we'll be alternating our new designing/patterning-based format with our usual drawing on-site events format. We'll again be meeting at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, at their Plymouth Rd/ Green Rd location. Grab whatever art materials and resources you'd like to bring with you to draw/pattern/etc alongside other members at this informal, do-your-own-thing session. It's pretty open-ended, whether you'd like to incorporate subject content from our earlier on-site sketches; draw something new from imagination at the moment; work on a particular individual project; or even work with instruction material (e.g., the Zentangle Method).
Note, our alternating patterning Meetup events are not a class or workshop to sign up for. They're for hanging out, messing around with patterning and design on an individual basis, in the company of other A2 Sketchers in a local cafe. Hope to see you there!
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Sweetwaters Plymouth Green
3393 Plymouth Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
(734) 369-4568
Sweetwaters Plymouth Green (website)Hours (daily): 6:00am-9:00pm
- Sketching at Nichols Arboretum--Peony Season (May '25)Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor Sketchers - Sketching at Nichols Arboretum--Peonies in Bloom!
We will be holding our end of May outdoor sketching event at Nichols Arboretum, specifically at the W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden--hopefully we'll be catching the peonies in full bloom. We'll meet at 10:00 a.m. outside of the Visitor Center to get a chance to say hello. After that, we can head off to the peony garden. Here's a link to the Arb's website, specifically re their peony garden, if you would like further information re their peonies: https://mbgna.umich.edu/peony-garden.
Of course, if any A2 sketcher would prefer to explore the Arb more widely, there's a lot else to see and sketch. The Arb has all sorts of natural settings to draw, from Alex Dow Field, a prairie and savanna site to nearby Oak Woods; Magnolia Glade or even River Landing may suit you for drawing subjects. If it rains, we can return back to Matthaei Botanical Gardens to sketch indoors at their Conservatory. Bloom season is expected to last until mid-June so we could always return to the peony garden for a later visit, if the weather is not conducive to outdoor sketching, on May 31st, morning.
Looking forward to meeting up again and more outdoor sketching!
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Nichols Arboretum
1610 Washington Hts., Ann Arbor
Free admission
Nearby university parking (availability, never certain)Hours:
Seven days a week--sunrise to sunset
Visitor center open 9am-5pm
