Long tables piled with paper, markers, scissors and glue filled a room at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Guests filed in, timidly taking their seats and examining the supplies as they waited for Chicago-based artist Paul Nudd to unveil the inspiration for the season’s first “Doodleganza.”

An addition to the museum’s “Tuesdays on the Terrace” program, “Doodleganza” takes place at Puck’s at the MCA on the first Tuesday of every month through April. The event allows local artists to collaborate with community members and participate in an art experience accessible to all skill and age levels. Each month, the artist who hosts the event provides his or her inspiration and direction and then lets audience members loose to doodle and design as they please.

“We started programs in the cafe for the wintertime in order to liven up the cafe and draw new audiences to the museum,” said Amy Corle, director of visitor engagement for the MCA. “We invited artists whose work we admire and who have the kind of personality for it. They need to be kind of outgoing and fun loving, the kind of people who like to work directly

with people.”

Nudd teaches 2-D design to students at Columbia as well as classes of fifth graders, so he interacts artistically with people daily. It was a work by his fifth graders that set the tone for the night—a body traced onto a roll of paper with horrific additions made to its silhouette. The outlined figure gripped a still beating heart in its right hand, suffered the placement of multiple scars across its body and sported a peg leg.

Following suit, participants lined up to have their bodies traced or trace Nudd’s body as a canvas for a collaborative group piece. Six or seven people crowded around tables attacking the piece with markers, attempting to make the most grotesque embellishments possible to their shared work.

The relaxed workshop tactics and artistic styles reflected a series of Nudd’s work that focuses on dark figures, similar to the outlined bodies, with intricate, shadowy detailing inside them, he said.

“It’s totally similar to the work I do,” Nudd said. “I have this fairly laid-back approach to making art. I don’t spend a lot of time fussing over pictures. Since it’s October, [the group’s work focused] on the grotesque and the macabre, which is a little more my specialty.”

College students present collaborated with a 9-year-old, and grandmothers drew with businessmen. Students in Nudd’s Columbia class attended to receive extra credit, but they saw the event’s appeal and benefit to everyone.

“I haven’t been to this museum, it’s my first time,” said Ron Gorguis, 22, a photography student at Columbia. “When I came in, I was really amazed by the exhibits. It’s a good way to get people to come in and see what’s going on.”

As a monthly event, “Doodleganza” aims to bring more people into the museum, with different artists hosting the evening. Not unlike Nudd, each artist is encouraged to influence the group’s style and be as hands on or laid back as he or she decides.

“I expected there to be a little more structure,” said Eric Edwards, 29, a first-time “Doodleganza” participant who works near the MCA and decided to stop in. “I thought it would be an art lesson or something, but I’m having fun. Especially because this is what Nudd does, it would be cool to see what other artists would have us do.”

At the end of the evening, each group displayed its work for a mini-critique. Nudd took pictures of the end products, hoping to use them as inspiration for his next group of doodlers when he hosts the event again on March 1, 2011. Nudd said as long as they invite him back, he’ll gladly continue participating in the event.

“[‘Doodleganza’] is good for everybody involved,” Nudd said. “I feel like it’s good for the museum to lighten up a bit. It’s good for people because it’s free. It’s really good for the artist because you can expand your audience and things like that. I think everybody involved wins.”

The next “Doodleganza” session will be on Nov. 2 from 6–8 p.m. in Puck’s at the MCA, 220 E. Chicago Ave.