A couple of weeks ago, I saw a notice that an artist and teacher I know was offering an introductory drawing course at Your Home Library, my hometown library here in Johnson City. Soon after, I stopped in at the library to inquire as to whether they’d like to offer a course in painting: it seemed that they would!
Andrea Tillinghast, the new library director is full of new ideas, and was excited about adding a painting class to the library’s growing list of course offerings. She graciously showed me around the building. It’s beautiful, a historic building from the late 19th century with additions from the early 20th, and what a lovely second-floor classroom space it features. Originally built as a dining room, with a large original kitchen attached, it features a wealth of windows. (Unfortunately, the building has no elevator, so the classes are will not be handicapped accessible.) Now the questions are scheduling, and whether the space is viable for a late-spring/early-summer class. The one window-mounted air-conditioning unit in the room needs to be adequately wired before we can find out.
Andrea has verbally approved my proposed course budget and, I have to admit, I’m eager to get this project in gear, to start teaching. I’m delighted that, as the local community college offers fewer and fewer non-credit art courses in favor of job-skill and professional certification training, local libraries are beginning to pick them up. As the forms of literacy change from hard-copy to electronic, what a wonderful form of human face-to-face knowledge-sharing classes like these are for libraries.
To learn when my course will run, please click the “Follow” button in the right-hand column, and I’ll let my followers know as soon as Introduction to Oil Painting at Your Home Public Library is scheduled. Or “Like” my artist page on Facebook (left-hand column), and I’ll publicize it there too.
In the meantime, I’m going to be visiting the library more often. I hope you will too — and ask about my painting course while you’re there!
