Pam Russina empties the contents of a plastic bag onto the L-shaped table in the middle of a spacious second-floor art gallery in St. Charles.

Tonight's class is collage-making and Russina came prepared. She has twigs and acorns; an issue of Field and Stream magazine; a piece of camouflage turkey-hunting blind; photos of her husband, Kevin, and 12-week-old English Springer Spaniel, Garmin; and a bottle of Magic Hat Howl Lager.

If the last item sounds out of place in an art class, think again. Art About Town, where Russina went to create her outdoors-themed collage, is one of at least three St. Louis-area businesses that now offer adult art classes with adult drinks.

"It makes it less of a class and more of a night out," said Russina, 38, who has been to half a dozen BYOB art classes in the past year and a half. The collage class on Wednesday was her first session at Art About Town.

In October 2010, Russina bought a Groupon for a class at the South Broadway Art Project, perhaps the first local business to combine art and alcohol into a class. Since then she and her sister, Donda Miller, have taken classes together there, including painting, pottery and scarf-making.

"Being able to sit back and have a drink allows you to relax and let go of any inhibitions you may have had about what you can or can't do," said Sarah Rye Bliss, an artist and South Broadway Art Project's founder and executive director.

The idea of mixing art and wine developed organically, Bliss said. In 2009, she and her husband bought an old sewing machine repair shop next to their house and turned it into a studio and classroom. The space, a narrow room with children's sketches and scribbles on the chalkboard wall — remnants of the kid-focused activities that make up the majority of the organization's work — felt homey. Participants in adult classes began asking if they could bring their own wine and snacks.

Bliss noticed that the wine created a relaxed atmosphere that was great for adults looking for an alternative to more typical evening activities. The following year, she began marketing BYOB art classes, which she had dubbed "Canvas, Cocktails, 'n More."

South Broadway's model inspired retired teachers Lois Beppler and Bonnie Huffman to start Art About Town, the St. Charles business where Russina constructed her collage last week.

The radio played soft rock music as Russina worked on her own. Her sister hummed along to Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville." The teachers provide no introduction but give plenty of encouragement and suggestions when asked.

A more structured atmosphere greets participants at Painting with a Twist in Creve Coeur. The franchise opened in November as the first Missouri location for a Louisiana-based chain.

On a recent Tuesday night, Amy Scheibler joined a group of women for a girls night out at the small storefront off Olive Boulevard. She placed her wine bottle on a snack table in the back and took her place at a table covered with white butcher paper and blank canvases.

For each Painting with a Twist class, one painting is selected from the company's cache of more than 1,500 and every participant aims to re-create it.

On this night, local artist Anne Ibur helped Scheibler add the Gateway Arch into the skyline of her rendition of "Balloon Race," explaining how to make the top of the Arch look thinner than the bottom. In between brush strokes, Scheibler sipped red wine from a Styrofoam cup with her name printed on it in pink.

"Mine is very weird and abstract," Scheibler remarked near the end of the two-hour class. "But I like it."

Not every art class yields a masterpiece. Pam Russina recalled a scarf-making class at South Broadway Art Project. The dye was runny and her scarf turned out a rusty shade of gray. Russina said she wore hers once but hasn't touched it since. But she has no regrets.

"I have no problem paying $25 and throwing the final product away," Russina said. "Because I had fun doing it."