The Art of Libby & Katie Whipple

A paintbrush or charcoal is all they need: The Art of Libby & Katie Whipple

A colorfully autumnal visual experience awaits those who visit the Library's Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery during the month of September. In this Mother-Daughter Exhibit of mother Libby Whipple, an Avon, Indiana attorney, and daughter Katie Whipple, an Avon High School junior, will astound you. Their interpretive, intuitive, passionate depictions of people in charcoal and oil paint are simply amazing, as are their creators!

Having grown up around art and artists, Katie G. Whipple has been drawing and painting ever since she can remember. Fellow exhibitor and Mom, Libby Whipple, became Katie's painting teacher when Katie was very young. "Whatever Mom did", Katie says, "she did it right because I am completely hooked on art! I have found my passion and intend to integrate it into my life forever".

Katie has experimented with many different forms of art, but now focuses primarily on painting and drawing. Currently a junior at Avon High School, Katie crams as many art classes into her schedule as possible each year and tries to experience as much artistically as well. "Variety is very important", Katie says, "for it expands the inspiration base and teaches that ideas can come from anything or anywhere.

Her subject of choice, at present, is drawing or painting figures or portraits with charcoal or oil paint. She finds figures and portraits challenging and extremely fascinating at the same time. She believes she is able to express feelings and evoke emotions better through drawing and painting people than through objects.

Musicians and members of her favorite bands are often the subject of Katie's art, for their music is her inspiration. Emotions brought to the surface while listening to the beauty they create musically, inspires Katie to create that same beauty artistically in charcoal or oil paint.

Art in all forms is the focus of Katie's life. She loves to paint and hopes and plans to include art in her future, although she has no idea where she is going with it. After high school, Art School is on the agenda, anything more than that, changes weekly. With young exuberance, Katie explains how excited she is about her future and just hopes it will involve oil paint!

While growing up, Elizabeth "Libby" Givan Whipple's dad told her, "Most people can't do most things, so find what you can do and do it well." Libby took his advice and found her life's passion in her art. Thoroughly enjoying the process, she has discovered that when you love learning about something, with time, you naturally become better at it.

Libby began painting over twenty years ago while in law school. Today when people hear that she used to be an attorney, they are surprised because to them art and law seem very different. For Libby, however, the two fields share some very important similarities. Both require technical knowledge and even more importantly, the ability to communicate an idea.
With each painting Libby hopes to communicate an idea or feeling, which may be the innocence of childhood or, as evidenced by the beauty of a sunset, how magnificent our world is.

Artists who continue to inspire her include John Singer Sergeant, Cecilia Beaux, artist and philosopher Robert Henri, Alla Prima's author Richard Schmid and a young California artist, Jeremy Lipking. These artists have had a powerful impact on Libby and how she sees life. In studying their work, she is at once humbled and inspired to find her own voice, her own greatness.

In a special portrait of Katie, entitled To My Daughter, Libby tries to distill her philosophy of life and art. This painting was published in the January 2006 issue of International Artist magazine as a finalist in the magazine's portraits and figures competition. In the painting, Katie is reading a note written by her mother. The note states: "Embrace reason and all that naturally flows from it. Immerse yourself in knowledge. Believe in goodness, and allow that belief to manifest itself in action-giving back more than you take-seeking not to judge, but to understand". "The duo purpose of the painting and poem", Libby says, "is to celebrate the beauty of life and to keep on striving for her own greatness". In so doing, she hopes to inspire others to do the same and encourages all to celebrate their life and find their OWN greatness.

You will feel as though you have made new friends through art after enjoying this delightful FAMILY AFFAIR Exhibit at the CDPL Gallery. See you there!

Price increase in photocopies and fines

Effective September 1, 2007, the library will institute an increase in two areas:
Photocopies currently at $.10 per page will increase to $.15 per page.
Overdue items charged at $.05 per page will increase to $.10 per page.

Genealogy Club meeting

The Genealogy Club of Montgomery County will meet at 7:00 PM on September 11, 2007. Our presentation is "What's In a Name?" by Peggy Reen, Tippecanoe County Genealogist and DAR member. We will be in the Donnelly Room (Lower Level). The public is invited! Call (765) 362-2242 Ext 4 or Ext 118 for more information.

Genealogy Club meeting: August 14th

Genealogy Club of Montgomery County: "A Night at the Museum"
7:00 PM
August 14, 2007

Meet at 7:00 PM in the new CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY for a tour. At 7:45 pm the business meeting and refreshments will be held at the Crawfordsville District Public Library, Lower Level in Donnelly Room. Public Invited. Call: (765)-362-2242, Ext 4 for more information!

Youth Services Summer program "thanks"

The Youth Services Department at the Crawfordsville District Public Library wants to send thanks out to all who helped with the summer reading program this year. We want to thank the businesses in town that donated coupons, movie rentals, and books. Thank you to Applebee's, Dairy Queen, Family Video, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Parks & Recreation Dept. and Random House. We also send out a GREAT big thanks to the Friends of the Library for funding the program. We couldn't do this without their generosity. We want to thank the staff at the library as well. Summer is always a busy time and their help was very much appreciated. And we want to thank the parents and children for coming in throughout the summer. Without them, there would be no need for a program.

Although the summer reading program has ended, we still have a lot to offer in the Youth Services area at the library. Through August, we have story times for babies on Mondays at 11:00; toddlers on Tuesdays at 10:00; and 3, 4, and 5 year olds on Thursdays at 11:00. We also have drop-in family story time every Tuesday evening at 6:45. On Saturday, August 25th, we will have a Game Day for elementary students at 2:30. Come relax, play games, and have a snack.

We will take a break from the above story times in September. However, we will have a new program for Tweens (ages 8-12) the second Monday at 3:45 and a program for Teens the third Monday at 3:45.

In October and November we will resume story times, have Tweens and Teens, and have a special Saturday event.

Please call 362-2242 ext. 115 for more details on programming or see what's happening on the website at cdpl.lib.in.us. Again, thank you to all who had a part in the summer reading program.

August Gallery exhibits

In the Public Library's cool Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery, you will find two unique and unusually expressive "Eye Candy Exhibits" to challenge your mind and fill your soul with a pleasant respite from the hot and humid dog days of August.

Dancing vivaciously from the Gallery Walls is the work of Ryan Irvin in the AGILITY DOCTRINE: A Series of Collages, Drawings, Etchings, Monoprints and Paintings created during his recent seven-week educational sojourn through Europe. Colorfully sparkling from behind the glass of the Gallery's Display Cases you will find the creative reed weaving artistry of Peggy Boyd and Judy Tulley in A TISKET A TASKET: Abundant Handmade Baskets.

Artist Ryan Irvin is currently an Indiana University Associate Instructor of graphic design working toward his MFA. In preparation for this exhibit, he spent a recent European Odyssey reading, sketching, observing, and participating in great conversations with many thoughtful and interesting people. Those ideas and conversations, everything from hierarchies to impermanence, nomadic spirituality to modern consumption, and current politics to the archetypes of Carl Jung are represented in his current work.

Much of Ryan's work was done at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice, Italy, but many sketches and drawings were done in airplanes, restaurants, hotel rooms, bars, coffee shops, trains, parks and bathtubs, somewhere between Rome and London.

Ryan's exhibit title, THE AGILITY DOCTRINE, refers to a hypothetical philosophy of agility and fluidity among pre-historic humans. "With civilization comes the illusion of stability, which creates hierarchies and ultimately pathologies," Ryan says. "Religion and mysticism become coping mechanisms to find the desired stability, even if it exists only in our minds." Currently the world is experiencing a blowback from this need for stability (the antithesis of agility) in religious extremism, corruption and war. A bit of agility right now would be most welcome!

While some of the geometric design motifs in his work were inspired by Gothic Venetian architecture, many of the collage materials were found in trashcans and on the sidewalk. It is this merging of extremes that interests Ryan. A merging of chaos and control, progress and tradition, rationalism and hedonism, renaissance concepts and anti-aesthetic sensibilities, utopian optimism and end-of-the-world pessimism are the themes running through his work. Through contemplating these extremes, Ryan hopes that he and others will experience transformation, become more tolerant, and ultimately more agile.

Ryan was born in 1977 and grew up on a farm in rural Montgomery County. He graduated from Purdue University with a degree in graphic design and shortly thereafter moved to Boulder, Colorado where he worked as an art director and lead designer at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. His work has been exhibited in both group and solo shows in Boulder, Fort Collins and Denver. Ryan's artwork is in permanent collections from New York to Bali. Though schooled in graphic designer, Ryan's is interested in the overlap between emotion and ambiguity in art and shares these ideas through his designs.

Much of his subject matter is drawn from specific points in contemporary culture where new and old ideologies meet. "I'm always interested in the things that individuals are working on to become better people, whether it's being a better listener or not worrying so much," Ryan says. Although there does seem to be an underlying hint of social responsibility in his work, he avoids cliche by finding a balance between chaos and compositional control. His overall aesthetic is hard to pinpoint, though his love of outsider art and children's drawings combined with his experience in effectively simple graphics creates an interesting dichotomy of organic and geometric shapes. "I'm definitely influenced by contemporary design culture as well as the current global art scene, but most of my inspiration comes from the everyday -- overheard conversations, neighborhood birds, bathtubs, found objects, cornbread and friends," says Irvin.

Ryan currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana with his wife, three cats and some rats!

For their exhibit, A TISKET, A TASKET: Abundant Handmade Baskets, weaving artists Peggy Boyd and Judy Tulley challenged themselves to experiment in areas of Basketry they had not attempted before. The results are well worth their effort.

Both of these talented women have woven baskets for over twenty years and belong to the Sugar Creek Basket Guild. After having separate businesses for years, they merged their talents and opened A Tisket, A Tasket Basket Shop on the corner of Grant and Lafayette Avenues, where they offer basket weaving classes, basket supplies, basket kits, and hand woven baskets for sale.

Peggy and Judy enjoy teaching all levels of weaving to all ages of students. Teaching and promoting basket weaving is a great part of their love of basketry. The rewards of teaching others basic information, then encouraging them to expand their own creativity is very rewarding, as is the joy of teaching children. Several of their students have received Grand Champion status at local county 4-H events and at the State Fair.

Peggy Boyd received her BS and MS elementary education degrees from Indiana University and taught a variety of grades in the public and private sectors. Her first weaving experience came when a friend invited her to a Park and Recreation Department class on weaving. She immediately became HOOKED! A few years later, after developing enough skills and confidence, she began teaching family and friends. Within a short time, she began teaching formally, creating designs for and teaching basket weaving to many diverse individuals and groups both in Indiana and neighboring states.

In 2005, Peggy was selected to receive the Indiana Arts Commission's "Artist in Residence" award. This honor afforded Peggy the opportunity to demonstrate the art of basket weaving from a historical perspective, to an audience on the grounds of the Lew Wallace Study.

In her travels across the country, Peggy enjoys collecting unique baskets and learning the history of basket weaving, most especially about those produced by Native Americans. She tries to seek out skilled local artisans, learn their materials, styles, and weaving techniques and If possible weave with them. Peggy has had the privilege of weaving sweet grass baskets in South Carolina, Nantucket baskets in Massachusetts, white oak baskets in the Ozarks, porcupine quill baskets in Michigan, Chesapeake Bay goose decoys, Alaskan antler baskets, and fishing creels in Indiana.

When Peggy began weaving baskets just for fun many years ago, she had no idea her passion would lead her into a profession which she still has fun creating and teaching about these "little works of art."

Judy Tulley's interest in weaving baskets began when she and her soon-to-be-married daughter wanted the Maid of Honor, Bridesmaids, and Flower Girl to carry baskets filled with fresh flowers and found no baskets available. After numerous shopping sprees with no tangible results, mother and daughter looked at each other and said "We can do it!" Judy bought the book How to Weave Baskets, Book One and fearlessly began. She not only successfully created the wedding baskets, but found herself absolutely HOOKED on basket weaving! The more she wove the more addicted she became. Through the years Judy has expanded her interest and skills by taking workshops by well-known teachers in many states and countries. "To be able to do something every day that you absolutely love, and to do it with a friend, well, it just doesn't get any better than that," Judy says!

Retiring in 2002 as a Loan Officer for Union Federal Savings and Loan Association, after twenty-three years of service, Judy remains active in her church and belongs to the Kentucky Basket Association, Illinois Basket Association, The Association of Basket Weavers of North Carolina, and the Association of Michigan Basket Weavers. Along with her passion for basket weaving and teaching, Judy enjoys reading, redecorating their homes and boating and water skiing in the summer. A life long resident of Montgomery County, Judy is married to Richard Tulley.

Don't wait, come into the Library and enjoy these joyful exhibits. See you there.

Written for the Journal Review By Diane Hammill, Coordinator CDPL Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery, who may be reached at gallery@cdpl.lib.in.us

Preview Shelf :July 26, 2007

To celebrate an annual commemoration August 1 - August 7, WIC representative Kristie Cox will furnished books for an exhibit at the Crawfordsville District Public Library that ties in with World Breastfeeding Week from adults' and children's points of view. From Jared Fogle in Indianapolis comes "Jared the Subway Guy, winning through losing (guide): 13 lessons for turning your life around". From Mary Hunt comes "Debt-Proof Living, Live Your Life for Half the Price Without Sacrificing the Life You Love". Other guides are Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson's training manual "My Smart Puppy", Teresa Tapp's "Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes" physical workout, Dave Ramsey's "The Total Money Makeover" and Ilchi Lee's "Human Technology" toolkit of principles for a well-lived life. Two helps in the field of music are "How to Have Your Hit Song Published" by Jay Warner and "All You Need to Know About the Music Business" by Donald Passman. "The Beach Boys Anthology" offers sheet music to 44 of their classic songs. "The Beat Book" combines writings from that generation edited by Anne Waldman (forward by Allen Ginsberg). Two new books remember the Hungarian revolution of 1956: the small one is Michael Korda's "Journey to a Revolution" and the large photography album is "Revolution in Hungary" by Erich Lessing. "Return to the Hiding Place" by Hans Poley tells the inside story of how Corrie ten Boom's family sheltered him and many others from the Nazis. "The Lucifer Effect" by Philip Zimbardo is about understanding how good people turn evil. "The End of the World as We Know It" by Robert Goolrick is a personal story as the member of a family looking good but hiding evil. "What Paul Meant" discusses how early Christian followers faced divisive issues, and how especially Paul galvanized a movement based on Jesus' teachings. "Retrieving Bones" is a collection of 12 stories and many poems of the Korean War edited by Ehrhart and Jason. Barbara Kingsolver's "Another America" contains her poems that touch important aspects of our lives. "Daddy's Girl" by Colette Huxford shows her childhood innocence told in the narrative style of the poetic novel. Three collections about the 1860s are Suzanne Alexander's "Battle Cry of Freedom" poetry and verse of the Civil War, Paul Negri's "Civil War Poetry: An Anthology", and "The Poetry of the American Civil War" which contains many poets' works about aspects of the period all edited by Lee Steinmetz. Essays about country life make up "The Pond Lovers" by Contrary Farmer Gene Logsdon. "How to Set Up Your Motorcycle Workshop" is offered by C. G. Masi. There is also the very practical Haynes and "Motorcycle Maintenance Techbook" by Keith Weighillare. "Building Without Borders" offers sustainable construction for the global village written by several experts and edited by Joseph F. Kennedy. "Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House" by Carol Venolia and Kelly Lerner is designed to bring a home more into harmony with nature. "The Berry Grower's Companion" by Barbara Bowling includes general principles as well as separate sections on strawberries, blueberries, grapes, minor crops and brambles. "Chasing Wildflowers" is Scott Calhoun's mad search for wild gardens. "One-Skein Wonders" pictures 101 yarn-shop favorites to knit. "The Solar Food Dryer" by Eben Fodor explains how to make and use a high-performance sun-powered flood dehydrator.

New Items at CDPL

Over 400 young readers have enrolled in the "Read-A-Lot" schedule at the Crawfordsville District Public library. Enchanted rewards have been furnished by the Crawfordsville Park and Rec Department, Applebees, Dairy Queen, McDonald's, and Pizza Hut. More than a few parents have remarked how highly the event has motivated their children. The big display of children's photographs, the castle, and the aura of dragons and knights and dress-up accessories have enhanced the popular attraction. Random House is furnishing a book to each student who completes the program that continues until July 31st. The whole project is underwritten by the Friends of the Library from their monthly Second Saturday book sales. The Friends generosity is enabling the Youth Department to offer 100 teenage participants reading opportunities for final drawings of an IPOD Nano, an IPOD Shuffle, and "The Princess Bride" and "The Prestige" movie DVDs. Congratulations are due! The Youth Department circulated a record 10,000 items in June, many to the 500 participating youngsters. Pleasant new offerings begin with "Shirley Temple: A Pictorial History of the World's Greatest Child Star" by Rita Dubas. Another large book presentation called "Strike Beyond Top Gun" by Rick Llinares shows the Navy Flyer's creed and facilities at Fallon, Nevada where high-performance jet aircraft training is centered. The third is Phil Bergerson's atmospheric "Shards of America" a folio of photographs depicting small town living. Indiana is represented by a living room in Richmond from 1998, and the Spiceland, Indiana senior class picture from 1968. Autobiographical books are Zac Unger's "Working Fire" with the details of his life as a Berkeley, CA fireman, Pat Conroy's "My Losing Season" (The Citadel basketball squad 1966-7), Emily Wu's story of her spellbinding childhood during China's Cultural Revolution titled "Feather in the Storm", and "Born in the Rains" Fadumo Korn's brutal treatment in Somalia as a seven-year-old who survived only because she was sent to Germany. Elizabeth Edwards (wife of John) tells her story "Saving Graces" about how she survived loss and disease, and how she credits the power of community to make our lives better and richer. Geoffrey Canada's shattering story of his sidewalk childhood in the middle of the 1960s Bronx drug scene is "Fist Stick Knife Gun". "Fried Eggs with Chopsticks" is Polly Evans' trip through China observing the culture torn between modern architecture and ancient mysteries. "Adventures in the City" by Ian Frazier "makes us fall in love with New York all over again". "Stick Figure" is Lori Gottlieb's childhood story of being obsessed with Beverly Hills thinness, told as a cautionary tale about the dangers of living up to society's expectations. "The Cowboy and His Elephant" is Malcolm MacPherson's look at Bob Norris (the Marlboro Man) as he adopted a female orphan to raise and return to Africa. "Rabble-Rouser for Peace" is John Allen's biography of Desmond Tutu, Nobel laureate and spiritual father of a democratic South Africa. Poems from the 1950s by Lawrence Ferlinghetti are entitled "A Coney Island of the Mind". An anthology of sacred prose from the B.C. E. era to the mid 20th century as poetry of fulfillment is "The Enlightened Mind" edited by Stephen Mitchell.

Genealogy Club "After Hours" Program

The Genealogy Club of Montgomery County will hold its next "After Hours Genealogy Research" Program on Friday, July 27, from 5:00-9:00pm at CDPL. This is a pizza supper and genealogy research program that takes place in the library...after it is closed for the day. There is no charge, but donations for the pizza are accepted!

5:00pm -- pizza in the Donnelly Room (lower lever)
5:45pm -- research in local history and reference area (2nd level)
9:00pm -- final closing

Advanced arrival (before 5:00pm) is required because the library is locked at 5:00pm.

Visitors are always welcome!

Please confirm your expected attendance by Wednesday, July 25, by calling 765-362-2242 (ext 118) or e-mailing gen@cdpl.lib.in.us

Genealogy Club upcoming program

The Genealogy Club of Montgomery County will have a presentation at its next meeting: July 10, 2007 at 7:00pm, in the library's Donnelly Room. Presenting will by Karen Zach, teacher and genealogist. She will be speaking on "Writing Family Memoirs." The public is invited! Call 765-362-2242 (ext 4) for more information.

In the Gallery this month!

Creative Restoration Expressed in Acrylic, Mixed Media and Wood

The impassioned RESTORATION creativity of two unique and unusual Crawfordsville artists will be exhibited in the cool comfort of the Library's Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery during the hot and humid days of July. These imaginative expressions of Nina Smith, acrylic and mixed media artist, and Mike Abney, wood working artist, quietly await visitors who will have the opportunity to merge with energetic works and enjoy the artist's vision.

RESTORATION: Acrylic/Mixed Media works by Nina J. Smith depicting a Recovered Past, Answered Prayers and Hope

In 1965, Nina (pronounced 9-ah) Smith was born in a rural area surrounded by dairy cows, rolling hills and rivers in Rome, New York.

The flat countryside and fields of corn and soybeans in Indiana, was a real surprise for Nina when she moved here from New York in 1997. As quoted by Georgia O'Keeffe, "Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest",

In her early years, she often doodled in a notebook or on poster board with a ball point pen. Her maternal grandfather encouraged her to develop these talents and suggested college. Nina paid attention, began her education in advertising and design at a Community College and then transferred to Buffalo, New York where she majored in Graphic Arts. In 1989, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Design and was ready to support herself with her skills.

Nina's design style developed while working as a graphic designer, currently working for a local screen printing company. Yearning for more on a personal level, Nina was drawn to fine art. She picked up a brush and began painting in acrylic. In this medium she could express personal feelings and emotions, not just paint a piece for sale. Her painting became therapy and a path to her own free expression.

In the realm of acrylics and the technical side of the fine arts, Nina is self-taught, but found herself greatly influenced by pop artist James Rosenquist and surreal artists Rene Magritte and Frida Kahlo while wandering the galleries of the Albright-Knox Contemporary Museum in Buffalo, New York.

Some of her paintings have a surreal quality, but she tries not to limit herself to one type or style. She prefers experimenting with texture, color, found objects and several different mediums to convey a personal story. With only a title as explanation, Nina asks the viewer to interpret the piece for themselves, and then join her on her journey.

Nina's drive and over-ambition to achieve a sense of self-worth through art, has often contributed to her downfall as an artist. To avoid this pitfall, Nina began embracing the Gift Giver (God) and now finds her art inspired with honesty.

"Art and life are often distorted by logic", Nina says, "just as faith and emotion are warped by over-analyzation and a human filter wanting to explain everything by science, politics, or law, rather than a simple trust in our own inherent beliefs".

The paintings and mixed media pieces in this exhibit are a representation of Nina's restoration. Some pieces represent a past no longer dwelt upon, others a present filled with determination and a will to change and be changed. Still others look toward a future filled with hope on a journey toward wholeness in testimony to the ultimate artist, God.

SHEKINAH WOOD TURNING: by Mike Abney

And a light broke through . . .

Mike Abney was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana. As a boy, he played along the banks of Sugar Creek and spent many nights in the woods, hunting 'coon. He knows "the hills and the hollers" like the back of his hand and can share exciting stories as he walks through the countryside.

Because of Mike's dyslexia, school was very difficult for him. He was unable to complete 7th grade, and to this day, struggles in a world of signs, numbers and letters. Soon after Mike accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, new opportunities began to emerge. He met and was discipled by Pastor George Markey. Through the fellowship of the church, he became friends with Rick Payne. It was Rick who taught him the basics of reading. Later Mike worked with Bill Prescott of the CARA reading program to learn more.

Mike still rejoices when he remembers the first Bible verse he was able to read:
Preserve me, O God; for in You, I put my trust. (Psalm 16:1)

The Abney's home-gallery contains lovely wood pieces made from apricot, eucalyptus, oak, walnut, curly maple, cherry, sycamore, beech and other hard woods. As an amateur lathe turner, Mike likes to season his own wood and make many of his own tools. He often uses knots, burls, spalted woods and crotch pieces to create unique forms of art.

Mike has displayed his wooden bowls, vases and art pieces during several of Indiana's festivals and art shows. His work is also available in the Susie Gibbs Art Gallery in Lafayette and at the Lew Wallace Study in Crawfordsville. Most recently he was invited to display his work at the Frankfort Library. His "Termite Vase" was selected as part of the permanent art collection at Ivy Technical College in Lafayette. He is the 2004 Crawfordsville Art League, Downtown Art Fair Merit Award Winner.

His lathe-turned pieces can be found in homes and businesses throughout the United States and in private collections in Tibet, England and the Ukraine. He has enjoyed the times when an interpreter has called asking to bring a foreign visitor to Mike's shop. He demonstrates for school shop-classes and is available for private tutoring. Upon request, Mike makes special personalized pieces such as trophies and gifts for weddings, births, retirements and other special occasions.

For all of these accomplishments and more, Mike gives glory to the Lord.

Come often and stay long enjoying the work in this reflective, refreshing exhibit. You will be so happy you did.

More web pages in Spanish

You may notice soon that the CDPL web site is attempting to convert many of its pages into Spanish. If a page is already translated, you'll see a small box in the upper-left corner with two links: English | Español. The web pages always open up in English, but you can instantly convert a page into Spanish (and back into English again) by clicking the appropriate link. For a good example, just go to our CDPL home page, our Circulation page, our InterLibrary Loan page, etc. More to come later!

Carnegie Museum opens!

The Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County is now open to the public (starting June 9th)! Come see what we have to offer...and examine your history.

A Delightfully Creative Duet! The Art of Don & Helen Weisflog

Don and Helen Weisflog, our delightfully creative duet, met and married in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1972 and had one child, Amy. Don, a born artist and teacher, graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee with M.S and M.F.A degrees. His undergraduate degree came from La Crosse State University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Don Weisflog, who passed away in 2006, after booking this exhibit with his wife Helen, spoke of his art as a way of life, not just a profession. Most of the great artists were born teachers. While not thinking of himself as a great artist, but as a good artist always trying to improve, Don was also filled with the passion to teach. One cannot teach a student unless he/she is open to and interested in learning about the material presented. With proper direction, the student is capable of motivating him/herself to learn and create within and without of the rules of the discipline. Don felt a person learned best when they became deeply involved in a subject. Involvement follows interest and is related to an understanding of real life, he said. During his teaching career at Ivy Tech, Lafayette and Anderson, IN, Anderson University, Anderson, IN, Carthage College, Kenosha, WI, Shorewood Opportunity School, Milwaukee, WI and the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, Don made a great effort to relate whatever course he was teaching to his student and his/her development as an individual. Facts are important, he went on to say, but going beyond the facts to create in the students an enthusiasm for the course work as it relates to life development, is much more important. Interest is generated when information filters through a student's thinking process. Don inspired this interest by asking a multitude of questions geared to wring out a student's own ideas about the presentation. A professor's job is to open and expand the minds of students who then use this information to construct stronger and more understandable criteria for their own lives. Gaining self-confidence in themselves and in what they create will help provide them an opportunity to comfortably share their unique perspective with the world. Stillwater, Oklahoma born Helen Ann Spangler Weisflog moved to St. Paul, Minnesota when she was six months old. She attended grade school, high school and three years of study at Macalester College in St. Paul before moving to Kenosha, Wisconsin where she graduated from Carthage College with an English degree and met and married husband Don. In 1975, they moved to Anderson, Indiana where Don began teaching Art at Anderson University. Helen spent her time taking care of their daughter Amy, volunteering for Brownies, Girls Scouts and directing Girl Scout Camp. At the same time she owned and managed a catering business, did interior design and helped Don with large art projects and installations. Sounds like a pretty busy schedule, doesn't it? In 1985, Don and Helen moved to Colfax, Indiana where Don held several positions, including one as the lead designer of Old Indiana Fun Park. Helen was the secretary for Old Indiana and several Lafayette companies. Helen's artwork began with acrylics in 1974, watercolor in 1985 and paper pulp art forms in 2002. Still progressing toward whatever looks interesting; Helen has developed a new interest in altered photographs printed on canvas. When Helen asked Don about her own artwork, he said he would be happy to teach her techniques, but never ideas. He taught her, as he taught all his students, friends and colleagues, by asking questions that drew out her own artistic ideas. Softly guiding her thinking by exposing her to his own deep love of art and the beauty he saw in everything and everyone, Don then left her alone to express herself in her own way. Now that you know a bit more about this DELIGHTFULLY CREATIVE DUET, you will definitely want to visit the Library's Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery from Saturday, May 26 until Friday, June 29 to enjoy in depth the eclectically beautiful creations of Don and Helen Weisflog.

Upcoming Carnegie Museum exhibit!

Tuttle Middle School students have been on site at the Carnegie Museum to help prepare the inaugural exhibit in the temporary Exhibition Gallery. It is a collaboration between Tuttle Middle School, Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power, the Montgomery County Historical Society, and the Carnegie. "Exploring the Shocking World of Electricity" will include the history of electricity and CEL&P. Visit the Carnegie Museum home page to see some pictures.

Carnegie Museum volunteer callout

If you would like information about volunteering at our new Carnegie Museum, we will have an information night on May 17, from 3 - 5 pm, at the public library. There will also be a tour of the Carnegie Museum and refreshments. For more information, please contact Kat Burkhart (362-2242, carnegie@cdpl.lib.in.us)

In the Gallery this month!

North Montgomery School Corporation's Bratton Initiative & Art Teacher Exhibit Result in Scintillating Library Exhibit

In striving for excellence, the North Montgomery Community School Corporation has initiated fifteen bold, forward looking reform initiatives named for Montgomery County resident William E. Bratton, famed member of the Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Discovery Expedition, and later first official superintendent of Montgomery County's Public Schools. These initiatives are meant to further enhance the well-rounded educational experience now in place in the North Montgomery Community School system. One of these fifteen initiatives involves hosting a district-wide art contest and exhibit, showcasing the artistic adventures of students and art teachers from the North Montgomery County Elementary Schools, Middle School and High School. Over two-hundred images, resulting from this positive collaborative experience, may be found in the Library's Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery during the entire month of May. Viewing this outstanding gathering of creativity, from grades K-12, is an absolute must for those yearning for a fresh, warm sunshiny spring experience. Do come often and stay long. You won't want to miss a thing!

As one of the promoters of this unique North Montgomery Student Display, Sugar Creek Elementary School Art Teacher, Kim Goebel, will be exhibiting her personal art work in Gallery Two of the display. As a youngster growing up, Kim never knew she had a talent for art until as a senior in high school she took the only art class offered in the Dickson, Tennessee School System. Earlier, Kim's older sister Teresa, had taken the class and became quite talented, so Kim figured if her sister could do it, so could she. That was the humble beginning of a lifetime career of challenging herself to learn more and more about any art medium that attracted her fancy. In 1980 Kim graduated with an Art Degree from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN, in spite of the fact that one of her first art teachers, looking at a piece of her work, told her she had no talent for art and should choose another career! At the time of her graduation, teaching positions were hard to find, so Kim took a job at Vanderbilt University Law Library. Her first teaching position, after moving to Indiana, was at Thorntown Elementary School. When an Art Teacher position opened at the North Montgomery School District, Kim jumped at the chance and applied. She has been teaching art in grades K-5 for twenty-one years and absolutely LOVES it, telling her students how lucky she feels to get paid for having so much fun! In her personal art, Kim enjoys using pastel, watercolor, colored pencil and acrylics on paper or fabric for her quilted wall-hangings. Her real passion is painting animals, most especially her own pets. Working primarily from photos, Kim continues to strive for striking realism in every piece of her work. As her artistic vision widens, Kim transfers her artistic skills to the art of quilting, joyfully working to create large pieces, at very little expense, which she is unable to do in any other medium. Her spectacular art quilt wall-hangings incorporate the plethora of light; bright colors necessary to convey the realism for which she strives. Horses are another of Kim's passions. Gratefully, by teaching horseback riding classes in the summer, Kim is able to not only indulge her own passion, but impart that passion to both adults and children in her beginning and intermediate horseback riding classes. This beautiful, eclectically talented woman graciously glows with the pleasure of having two jobs which bring her so much pleasure! Kim's work hangs in many private collections across the United States. Many of the pieces displayed in this exhibition have been borrowed from those collectors. Kim enjoys the challenge of doing commissioned art pieces and is always happy to work out a quote for anyone interested in owning a painting. She may be reached at 364-9527.

Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County progress

The reconstruction and remodeling of the Carnegie Museum has come very far since December 2005 when we first began to gut the interior of the old library in order to transform it into a modern museum -- while restoring the original building's grandeur. Be sure to visit the Carnegie Museum's web site too see more reconstruction pictures.

Carnegie Museum hours announced

When the Carnegie Museum opens this spring, the hours will be Wednesday through Saturday 10am-5pm, but additional tours will be given by appointment.

Carnegie Museum opening this spring!

The Carnegie building served from 1902 to 2005 as the Crawfordsville Public Library. When the museum opens visitors will be able to view the building in it restored glory. The original floors containing mosaic tile from 1902 will greet visitors as they enter the building.

Owned and operated by the Crawfordsville District Public Library, the purpose of the Carnegie Museum is to be an interdisciplinary museum of Montgomery County and for the people of Montgomery County. It will contain history, art, science, and culture.

The two story museum houses six galleries with various themes and a rotating exhibition schedule within those themes. The inaugural exhibit in the temporary Exhibition Gallery is collaboration between Tuttle Middle School, Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power, the Montgomery County Historical Society, and the Carnegie. "Exploring the Shocking World of Electricity" will include the history of electricity and CEL&P.

Other galleries include the Business & Industry Gallery which features both past and present businesses of the county. The Athens Gallery will focus on literature, learning, arts & culture, military and democracy. Other galleries will cover Sports & Pop Culture Gallery, Montgomery County highlights and Early History.

The museum is located at 222 S. Washington Street (US 231), two blocks south of the courthouse. Parking is located behind the building.

Hours: Please call for more information.

Admission: Free