Blog

We’re so excited to host Melanie, an instructor at Lillstreet Art Center, whose paintings are inspired by the stories she hears, the things she sees, and the music she listens to. For the next four weeks of “Meet the Artist, Be the Artist,” Melanie will be guiding youth at the library from kindergarten through junior high as they dip into their own creativity through art. Learn more about Melanie and visit her studio in this video tour:

Each of the four weeks will explore a new artistic style and inspiration.

• Week one explores how action can be used to create paintings--from painting with non-traditional materials, to Japanese Sumi-e painting, to abstract expressionism.
• Week two, we’ll find inspiration and explore size as we zoom in on nature that surrounds us and zoom out into the cosmos using a number of tools.
• Week three is all about play and the playfulness of art; as visual artist Paul Klee once said, “A line is a dot that went for a walk.”
• Week four, we look outside at the Skokie springtime as we create terrariums and sketches of the worlds of our creation.

The program will culminate at the April 17 Afternoon of Creativity. Art lovers of every age are invited to celebrate the creativity in Skokie through an exhibition of Melanie’s work, works created by the youth who participated in her sessions at the library, and collaborative painting. What will you add to a community painting?

Youth are encouraged to drop in to meet Melanie and be creative over the next four weeks:
Grades K - 2: Mondays, 4:30-6:30 pm
Grades 3 - 5: Thursdays, 4:30-6:30 pm
Grades 6 - 8: Fridays, 4:30-6:30 pm

And all are welcome to join for the culminating celebration, An Afternoon of Creativity, on Sunday, April 17 from 3 to 5 pm.

View the complete schedule