Fall in full bloom, from the scary to the serene

Published 9:00 am Tuesday, October 10, 2017

By John Maruskin

Give yourself extra time to wander the Clark County Public Library next time you’re in. There are peachy new displays throughout.

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On the right side as you enter the lobby, get into the Halloween spirit “totally” by taking a gander at the Third Annual Gallery of Macabre Art circulation manager Caleb Diederich has assembled. It’s terror-ific.

Not only are the images spooky, Caleb is a consummate curator of the creepy and he’s turned that display case into a funhouse where you have to bend and twist to see images that lurch out at you.

Caleb invites viewers of the pictures to “let their grisly intrigue whisk you into the spirit of the season.” Dare to be whisked!

After you’ve fled from the lobby, proceed past the circulation desk to the reference department where you will see one of the most impressive displays of visual art and traditional crafts the library has ever displayed.

A couple of months ago, Joan Wise, a Clark Quilter, asked if she could display some of her work. She’d brought in a beautifully serene winter landscape painting as an example of her work and it was so luminous and beautifully composed, we scheduled a display of Joan’s work for October.

That painting, however, showed only a fraction of her talent. Joan also renders gorgeous pen and ink sketches with a sincere style all her own, creates marvelous baskets in many different shapes, weaves intricate tops for stools, and sews visually stunning quilts. Her quilts combine her love of fabric textures and shapes with an artist’s eye for colors.

Joan’s visual art lines the windows of the reference reading area, her baskets and quilts are displayed along the sides of the reading area and some of the reference shelving.

There’s another spirit associated with October, and that’s the spirit of harvest and homecoming. You can immerse yourself in the comforting pleasures of October by viewing the art and crafts of Joan Wise. Highly recommended.

Finally, local artist Brenda Salyers, “Painter of Kentucky’s Small Towns,” has an exhibit of Giclee prints and oil paintings in the library’s Rose Mary Codell Brooks Community Room.

Long perspectives of Winchester’s most scenic streets devoid of people and vehicles give those paintings a surreal feeling, like a de Chirico painting but with less space. There are also bright realist renderings of old buildings, signs, automobiles, landscapes and horses.

My favorite is a print of an impish looking goat facing the viewer through the window of an antique truck cab rusted to the color of a pumpkin. The name of the picture is “Going My Way,” but to me that goat is Pan’s Pet.

Brenda’s exhibition will make the cones in your eyes tingle.

Other programs this week?

— Wednesday at 2 p.m., Kentucky Picture Show presents a movie about, the beloved author of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”, and her struggle for love, happiness and success. Rated  PG.

— Friday at 10 a.m., Write Local. Spend Hoo-Doo Day with writers who do.

— Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Party Arty Day, a full day of art workshops for adults. 10 a.m., Frida Kahlo Portrait Studio; 11:45 a.m., Lunch Poems; 1 p.m., Cut and Paste Poetry Collage; 3 p.m., Using a Camera to Tell Stories. Space for each session is limited; you must register to attend. For more information contact me at 859-744-5661, ext. 110; john.clarkbooks@gmail.com.

I end this column with a seasonal shout out to library patron and friend, Jerry Cecil. Jerry! The persimmons are ripe!

John Maruskin is director of adult services at the Clark County Public Library. He can be reached at john.clarkbooks@gmail.com.