Just in time for Ludington Library’s one year anniversary of its reopening, I found another hero, and this time he is a Republican: former Haverford Commissioner Charlie Bloom, Esq., who heads up the Lower Merion Library Foundation, raising private funds so that all six of the township libraries can be renovated and/or enlarged, just like Ludington and Bala Cynwyd.
Last week, I met Bloom and Margery Hall, head librarian, at Ludington Library and I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Just like falling down the rabbit hole and landing in a strange new world. That’s how different the Ludington Library is from the place I remembered, thanks to Vitetta Architects.
It starts with what is now the entrance from the parking lot. Instead of stairs, there is a ramp made of flagstone, inside the building, and the space created by the sloping entrance is called “The Gallery.” Paintings hang along one wall, and sculpture and ceramics are behind glass on the opposite wall. The featured artists are from the Center for Creative Works in Lower Merion.
Bloom donates so much of his time and talent that he and his committee have already raised more than half the private funds that he was charged to raise. That means $2.6 million in donations, and only $2.4 million to go. The township is supposed to be paying for the oil painting reproduction, which will total $28 million for all six libraries.
Hall said the crowds were so thick at the grand re-opening of Ludington that the electronic counters lost track. She figures more than 4,000 people came that day. The daily count since then is about 1,000 people.
When you enter the library, the first thing you see is New Books. And Hall showed me the Playaway section - that’s like a book on tape, except it is a small self-contained unit, with headphones. You can “read” the book while exercising, walking, any place any time.
There are Kindle downloads as well as ones for Nooks and the Sony Reader and iPads and any other electronic device you can name. And you can check your books out yourself on the electronic card reader, located just below the portraits of Charles and Ethel Ludington. Charles endowed the small existing library in the 1920s in memory of his wife Ethel. Their descendants, Nick Ludington and Ms. Fytie Drayton, are still around and have participated in the capital campaign. The original portrait of Ethel is by Cecilia Beaux, and that’s in a museum in New England. But Ms. Drayton donated an impressive and beautifully framed print of the original portrait.
There is a community room that is free to all organizations, and it is equipped with any audio-visual gadget you could want. Just beyond the community room is the original library with its beautiful dark walnut paneling. The handsome large oil painting of Independence Hall by Walter Biggs was donated by the Curtis Publishing Company in memory of Charles Ludington, who was an executive with the company.
Hall pointed out that the library had taken pointers from bookstores, and there are sections marked with large signs: gardening, travel, cooking, home improvement, etc.
Bloom is especially proud of the Teen Room, and Hall showed me the shelves of graphic novels. I spotted a table with built-in chess/checkers/backgammon board. Edie Dixon, widow of F Eugene Dixon, endowed the Teen Room in memory of her mother, Sarah Robb, who had served as president of the library’s board of trustees. The Teen Room is for those 12 to 18, and Bloom said that every library is destined to have one.
Bloom was delighted to point out a treasure which not too many libraries have: a complete set of Fortune magazines, courtesy of Stanley Ginsburg, who donated the collection and $25,000 for the shelves to hold them.
When a professor read about the donation, he showed up and was ecstatic. Seems for ten years he had been searching for an August 1946 copy of Fortune, and even the magazine headquarters did not own a copy. He needed it for his research, and he found it at Ludington.
The plaque in the newspaper and periodicals section lets you know that Julie Jensen Brysen donated in memory of her father, the physician James A. Jensen. John Bogle endowed the Business Section.
Upstairs you can see how the addition has doubled the Children’s Library. It now can be divided into two sections, according to age. I loved the C.A.T.T. sign on the wall. Hall explained it stands for “cars, airplanes, trucks and trains.” So any little kid interested in those four topics knows exactly where to go. The beautiful huge phonographs on the wall are the work of Hall’s niece, Jennifer Anist. The mural in the Children’s Room was created during the last renovation and was preserved and re-mounted and forms the backdrop for Story Time.
When oil and pastel painter Sara Qualey attended the John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana in the 1960s, abstract art was in. But she didn’t see the world that way. When she saw a peach, she wanted to smell it, touch it, taste it, not throw it against the canvass and watch it go splat. For a time, however, she thought maybe she was lacking in some way. Luckily, she got over it. At 63 going on 64 years old, Qualey’s on a roll. Nothing can stop this woman from being who she is: an intensely concentrated, representational painter who eulogizes tin cans, light bulbs, extension cords, flowers, fruit, or anything that otherwise might end up in the trash or the compost heap.
Read the full products at http://artsunlight.com/!
2013年8月26日星期一
2011年10月9日星期日
Exhibition, sale showcase diverse works
Painter Andrea Briggs says the real beauty of art is the infinite possibilities it affords the artist and the beholder.
"Fifteen years ago, my husband and I were in Boca Raton, Fla., where I co-owned an art gallery with another artist," she said. "I didn't actually start painting until about 10 years ago.
"I was delighted with the diversity of the people and what they do. I've discovered there are no mistakes, only design opportunities."
A first-time exhibitor, Briggs joined six other local artists during the "Diverse Art" show and sale at the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center's Lusty Gallery on Oct. 6 and 7. First held in 2006, the show was not staged in 2010.
Many of the artists said it is the unexpected direction some of their pieces take that holds their interest. For example, in one of her works, Jo Wyrosdick started out using one medium and ended up with another, creating texture she hadn't originally envisioned.
"I had someone ask me to do something abstract," she said. "I was encouraged to redo an earlier piece.
"This is acrylic. I don't think I would be able to do this in oil just because it takes longer to dry. In my oil paintings, I usually end up with something different than what I started."
Alice French said that evolution provides a sense of wonderment for an artist.
"Jo's painting was a great example of not having to worry about what the original plan was, or to make apologies or excuses for it even if it was not what she planned," French said. "My wine glasses were that way. I didn't envision them this way, but it turned out well."
On display at "Diverse Art" were abstract and representational acrylic and oil paintings, wood-turned items, jewelry, and painted and stained glass.
Although all of the work was available for purchase as Christmas gifts or decorative home additions, Pennie Sifly said the show is special because it is not about making money.
"I might be able to go to lunch on what I make with my art," Sifly said. "That's what is neat about this. We all have lives, and this is just a small portion of our lives. We don't do it as a livelihood.
"That's how this whole show got started. It isn't just to sell products. We want people to see it."
French's personal mantra about her art is a throwback to an old Bobby McFerrin song: "Don't worry, be happy." She said every piece she finishes is rewarding.
"We know we sometimes need to bring to the show some less-expensive pieces," French said. "We all have work that takes a lot of time, and that's where the higher price lies.
"People like to come and purchase our pieces, but are not always able to do that at a higher price."
Vicky Yandle is a cardiac rehabilitation nurse at the Regional Medical Center who has been a photographer since she was 14. Another first-time exhibitor at "Diverse Art," Yandle specializes in weddings and baby photos. She said she looks forward to growing in her chosen medium.
"I want them to see themselves how I see them," Yandle said. "The way I see them in that moment is how beautiful the brides and the babies are.
"My inspiration is what God can do. I feel like God's work is so beautiful. Looking at the sky and sunset inspires me to capture one moment of what He has given us."
Sharing their art with others is the ultimate payoff for "Diverse Art" exhibitors. French said while the cost of materials prevents her from giving away all of her work, the joy it gives others is "the bottom line."
"Nothing gives me more pleasure than to have someone say they like something I'm wearing," French said. "When I take it off and put it around their neck, it puts that spark of joy in their eyes."
At his first "Diverse Art" show in 2009, wood turner Tom Kerr found several people who were either novice turners or became interested in the craft.
"We wood turners, second to making wood chips, like to teach others how to make wood chips," Kerr said, laughing. "That's rewarding for me and a lot of fun.
"Fifteen years ago, my husband and I were in Boca Raton, Fla., where I co-owned an art gallery with another artist," she said. "I didn't actually start painting until about 10 years ago.
"I was delighted with the diversity of the people and what they do. I've discovered there are no mistakes, only design opportunities."
A first-time exhibitor, Briggs joined six other local artists during the "Diverse Art" show and sale at the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center's Lusty Gallery on Oct. 6 and 7. First held in 2006, the show was not staged in 2010.
Many of the artists said it is the unexpected direction some of their pieces take that holds their interest. For example, in one of her works, Jo Wyrosdick started out using one medium and ended up with another, creating texture she hadn't originally envisioned.
"I had someone ask me to do something abstract," she said. "I was encouraged to redo an earlier piece.
"This is acrylic. I don't think I would be able to do this in oil just because it takes longer to dry. In my oil paintings, I usually end up with something different than what I started."
Alice French said that evolution provides a sense of wonderment for an artist.
"Jo's painting was a great example of not having to worry about what the original plan was, or to make apologies or excuses for it even if it was not what she planned," French said. "My wine glasses were that way. I didn't envision them this way, but it turned out well."
On display at "Diverse Art" were abstract and representational acrylic and oil paintings, wood-turned items, jewelry, and painted and stained glass.
Although all of the work was available for purchase as Christmas gifts or decorative home additions, Pennie Sifly said the show is special because it is not about making money.
"I might be able to go to lunch on what I make with my art," Sifly said. "That's what is neat about this. We all have lives, and this is just a small portion of our lives. We don't do it as a livelihood.
"That's how this whole show got started. It isn't just to sell products. We want people to see it."
French's personal mantra about her art is a throwback to an old Bobby McFerrin song: "Don't worry, be happy." She said every piece she finishes is rewarding.
"We know we sometimes need to bring to the show some less-expensive pieces," French said. "We all have work that takes a lot of time, and that's where the higher price lies.
"People like to come and purchase our pieces, but are not always able to do that at a higher price."
Vicky Yandle is a cardiac rehabilitation nurse at the Regional Medical Center who has been a photographer since she was 14. Another first-time exhibitor at "Diverse Art," Yandle specializes in weddings and baby photos. She said she looks forward to growing in her chosen medium.
"I want them to see themselves how I see them," Yandle said. "The way I see them in that moment is how beautiful the brides and the babies are.
"My inspiration is what God can do. I feel like God's work is so beautiful. Looking at the sky and sunset inspires me to capture one moment of what He has given us."
Sharing their art with others is the ultimate payoff for "Diverse Art" exhibitors. French said while the cost of materials prevents her from giving away all of her work, the joy it gives others is "the bottom line."
"Nothing gives me more pleasure than to have someone say they like something I'm wearing," French said. "When I take it off and put it around their neck, it puts that spark of joy in their eyes."
At his first "Diverse Art" show in 2009, wood turner Tom Kerr found several people who were either novice turners or became interested in the craft.
"We wood turners, second to making wood chips, like to teach others how to make wood chips," Kerr said, laughing. "That's rewarding for me and a lot of fun.
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