Library calls for lobby displays, arts and crafts exhibits

Published 6:46 pm Tuesday, June 29, 2021

By John Maruskin

What’s happening at the library?

With the library reopened, it’s time to plan displays.  For the past 20 years residents of Clark County have shown collections in the locked glass cases on both sides of the front lobby.

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Arrowheads, birdhouses, carvings, dolls, equestrian tools, farm implements, zines, I don’t doubt that, given enough time and memory, I could come up with an entire alphabet of first letters for objects that have been displayed in the lobby cases. Showcasing local artifacts is part of the Library’s mission.  Those displays are interesting, educational, sometimes curious.  It’s fun to see friends sharing impressions or parents lifting children to enjoy lobby displays.

Larry Carmichael’s display of historic Bible replicas from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, along with real pages from Bibles printed between 1549 and 1769 was elegant and impressive.  Annette Wagoner’s stuffed sock critters camping tableaus were pure vivid whimsy.  The contents and intents of those two displays were vastly different.  Each, in its own way, was intriguing and delightful.

Do you have a collection you’d like to exhibit?  If so, contact me about a lobby display: 859-744-5661, ext.  110; john.clarkbooks@gmail.com.

I’ll be glad to help you.  The Library has props, stands, frames, and pedestals you can use.   Lobby displays are open to collectors of all ages.  About ten years ago, a young visitor from Cynthiana loaned us her Barbie and My Little Pony collections.  Tres cool.

The library is also looking for local artists, photographers, and craft people who want to display their creations in the reference reading area.  Two and three-dimensional work can be exhibited.

In the past, paintings, drawings, needlework, intarsia, photographs, clothing, and maps were displayed.  Bob Bratton once provided a glorious grouping of handmade hanging tapestries and embroidered pillows. Unfortunately, there is no way to exhibit large pieces like quilts and afghans.

If you have an idea for a display, get in touch with me even if you’re doubtful about it.  Sometimes all it takes is a little ingenuity.  Many times local artists have work that is not framed.  The Library has a supply of 11 X 17 and 10 X 14 picture frames that can be loaned for the length of a show.

Drawings done by young children and displayed on the frig, you know, Refrigerator Art, has always been one of my dream shows.  If a group of parents out there has a batch of Refrigerator Art to loan, please get in touch with me.  One of my prized possessions is a crayon drawing of a house and Sun I found abandoned in the Library one night after closing.

Check out a book entitled The Innocent Eye: Children’s Art and the Modern Artist, by Jonathan David Fineberg (call # 704 Fine).  It describes how children’s art influenced some of the greatest artists of the 20th century.  And the illustrations are fab!

Let’s spruce up the Library.  Give me a call or send an email and we’ll get to work on your exhibit.