An SRU student under the pen name Jasper Delaire put up posters this past month urging students to join his “Tortured Artists Collective.”
The flyer reads: “Are you a disillusioned artist without a tribe of like-minded friends?”
The collective is not an official SRU club, but a group for creators of all kinds. They meet on Fridays at 7 p.m. at Vintage Coffeehouse in Butler.
“Right now, it’s burgeoning. We just had our first meeting Friday [Feb. 21],” Delaire said. “The hope is that it will grow to have artists, musicians, poets, writers, everything in between, where they can come together and foster their creative ideas and create the foundations for friendship.”
Meetings are informal with a focus on conversation. Though, attendees are welcome to draw, write, etc. while present.
Delaire claims he started the group because “the climate at the moment seems to lean towards isolation.”
“Seems like people don’t really have a sense of community anymore,” he said. “And what better way to bring people together than through the same likes, you know?”
The name was inspired by artists such as Ernest Hemingway and Van Gogh.
“I think the ‘tortured’ part kind of comes with being an artist in some ways,” Delaire said.
Once springtime hits, Delaire plans to take the group to explore local scenery such as McConnells Mill or Moraine State Park.
“[One] girl that just joined, she really likes urban exploration, and that’s going to be one of our projects going forward,” he said.
Delaire believes fostering an artful community is especially important in rural areas and on college campuses.
“It seems to me like the arts are under-appreciated a little bit in places like this. Athletics oftentimes seem to take the brunt of people’s attention,” he said, “but I think it’s just important for people to be able to share the things they create. Suffering can be transcended through creation and community, getting together with people, being friends. I think all that is good for the soul.”
The hand-drawn flyer, created by Delaire and his “friend Sid,” is posted around other areas in Butler County.
“Before I created it, I looked around for something similar…I didn’t really find anything,” he said.
“The art community in Butler seems to be governed by a bunch of geezers, just old people with different sensibilities, I suppose. I thought it would be nice to bring together a younger crowd, kind of start a new generation.”
New flyers will be posted soon with specific information regarding the set meeting time and place.
All are welcome to attend, as long as they are over 18.
Those interested in joining can contact Delaire at 724-504-1547 and join the group’s Discord server to learn about future plans.
