library – Post Art Library

Call for Entry!

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Post Art Library

Call for entry! We’re excited to partner with Joplin Public Library for their premier community read program, Joplin Reads Together, by co-hosting a call for entry for Lost & Found: Remarkably Bright Objects, a community-based art exhibition consisting of art created with found objects.

Guidelines/Eligibility: This call for entry is open to anyone ages 18+. Artwork must be original works of art that incorporate found objects. Open to all forms and mediums. 2D artwork may not exceed 16×20 inches and must be wired for hanging. If you’re interested in submitting a 3D piece, then contact Post Art Library director Jill Halbach prior to getting started. This is a familyfriendly show; no works of an explicit nature, please. Also, we will not accept copy works, such as those depicting licensed characters, photographs of public art, etc. This is a non-juried, community-based project.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CALL FOR ENTRY FORM

This exhibition coincides with Joplin Public Library’s premier community read program, Joplin Reads Together. The title they selected is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt. “Lost and found” is among the book’s themes and motifs. Although participation in the Joplin Reads Together program is encouraged, it’s not necessary for submitting an artwork to this call for entry.
This call for entry is open from March 1-31, 2023. Completed artworks may be dropped off in the library’s Makerspace during the Makerspace’s regular hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays from 11am-8pm (staff break from 3-4pm) or Wednesdays & Fridays from 9am-5pm (staff break from 1-2pm). Other drop off times may be made by appointment only. Artwork will not be accepted without a completed and signed entry form. Artwork will not be accepted any later than March 31st–no exceptions!

Questions about the call for entry/exhibit may be directed to Post Art Library Director Jill Halbach at jill@postartlibrary.org or 417.623.7953 x1041. For more information about how to participate in Joplin Public Library’s Joplin Reads Together program, contact their Adult Programming Coordinator Sarah Turner-Hill at 417.623.7953 x1030 or visit Joplin Reads Together online.

2022 Post Art Library Holiday Tea

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Post Art Library

‘Tis the season for our annual holiday tea! We invite you to join us in the Community Room inside Joplin Public Library on Sunday, December 11th from 2-3pm for an informal tea and treats, including a performance by Joplin’s own Midwest Regional Ballet. This is a free, public program. Registration/library card not necessary.

Since 2016, we’ve hosted an annual Holiday Tea inside the library. Held each December, this event typically features a live musical or other performance: local Harpist Amanda Kimble, Father Christmas, and the Ellis Sisters with Historic Murphysburg, Inc. (2016); Still Waters String Ensemble (2017); a Heartland Opera Theatre collaboration (2018); the Thomas Jefferson Cavalier Chorus and Thomas Jefferson String Ensemble (2019); and The Opus 76 Quartet with Pro Musica (2021).

We are a 501(c)3 not-for-profit arts-related organization located inside Joplin Public Library. For more information, or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit PostArtLibrary.org or contact our Executive Director, Jill Halbach, at 417.623.7953 x1041 or jill@postartlibrary.org.

JRAC Exhibit: The Eyes Have It

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Post Art Library

The artists of Joplin Regional Artists Coalition (JRAC) were asked to consider creating an original work of art concerned with and focused on the eye. For time eternal, artists have explored this theme–as symbol, allegory, and as thoughtful contemplation regarding the world around us. Encompassing a variety of mediums, JRAC’s talented members have once again shown us the vast array of viewpoints that art allows.

The Eyes Have It will be exhibited in The Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery inside Joplin Public Library November 1, 2022 – January 2, 2023.

1st Place, Midori No Honō by Emily Rose; 2nd Place, Seymour by Ginger Copeland

3rd Place, The King In All His Glory by Curt Penland

The Eyes Have It exhibit in The Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery inside Joplin Public Library.

Sculptures by Zach VanBecelaere

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Post Art Library

We’re glad to present Sculptures by Zach VanBecelaere in the Post Reading Room inside Joplin Public Library from Sunday, May 1^st – Thursday, June 30th.

Working primarily with steel and stainless steel, Zach VanBecelaere uses a variety of metalworking techniques to manipulate materials into new forms. He incorporates welding used for harsh texture, high mirror polished finishes, and patinated rusted finishes to create contrast and duality in his work. His work stems from a fascination with the natural processes of growth and decay while exploring the relationship between the two.

For more information, contact Post Art Library Director Jill Sullivan at 417-623-7953 x1041.

EXHIBIT INFO

Sunday, May 1st – Thursday, June 30th

The Thought Knot by Zach VanBecelaere (with PAL Director Jill Sullivan for scale).

Young Artists Gallery Exhibit

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Post Art Library

We’ve partnered with Joplin Public Library for the inaugural exhibit of their Young Artists Club! Open to children through age 12, the Young Artists Club meets monthly to learn new art techniques and make artwork. Exhibited here are their self-portraits, which they learned how to create in April.

Join us on Friday, May 13th from 4pm-5pm for the Young Artists Gallery closing reception, where you’ll have the opportunity to meet these young artists and celebrate their works, as well as enjoy light refreshments.

For more information about the Young Artists Club, visit Joplin Public Library’s Children’s Library or call 417-623-7953 x 1035.

Queer Space by Luke Blevins

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Post Art Library

We’re glad to present Queer Space by Luke Blevins in Joplin Public Library’s Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery from Sunday, October 10-Friday, December 31, 2021.

In this work, Blevins explores the tangential relationships between boyhood, social expectations, queer culture, and heteronormative assimilationism. He uses fantastical imagery to illustrate the shifting relationships we have with space and community as we grow and develop into our own persons. Through digital manipulation and processes, he creates imagery that proposes narratives without conclusions. Blevins was born and raised in Southwest Missouri. He studied art at Missouri Southern State University before earning his Master of Arts at the University of Missouri Kansas City. He teaches at Crowder College in the evenings and works in Admissions at Missouri Southern during the day.

The exhibit is open during the library’s regular hours of operation. An Artist Talk with Luke Blevins is scheduled for Saturday, November 6, 2021 in the Community Room at Joplin Public Library. This is a FREE, public exhibit/event. For more information, contact Post Art Library Director Jill Sullivan at 417-623-7953 x1041 or jhsullivan@postartlibrary.org.

Space Boy, digital photography, 2020

Peter and Jamie, digital photography, 2020

Seaman Abroad, digital photography, 2019

Transients Unwelcome, digital photography, 2018

Artist’s Statement

Nostalgia is most commonly related to the idea of longing for the past or, more appropriately, a past sense of self-identity. It is a tool to reference and re-contextualize the past through a personal lens. Nostalgia lends itself to fantasy as our memories are unreliable. We create gilded moments to revisit as escapism. Looking back on my childhood, I see the gaps between nostalgic memories and the events that shaped me. It is in these in-between moments that fantasy and reality intersect. Also, it is where my work originates.

As children, everything seems magical. As we age and understand more of the world, that the magic lessens. The in-between, the habitation of time when the world is not quite magical anymore, but not a stagnant reality, expands.

My work explores the tangential relationships between boyhood, social expectations, queer culture, and heteronormative assimilationism. I use fantastical imagery to illustrate the shifting relationships we have with space and community as we grow and develop into our own persons. I have felt isolated in my life. What was once a safe warm home can become alien and cold and the abandoned places we avoided as children seem more and more welcoming. The history we want to connect to becomes more and more elusive as we struggle to also connect with the people around us. I make art to better understand how society has shaped me and how I will allow that to affect my present representation.

Through digital manipulation and processes, I create imagery that proposes narratives without conclusions. Snap shots of the in-between. This is achieved via layers of information combined in Photoshop: color, shadow, and object that work to obscure reality and paint my experience of the world in all its falsity.

BIO: Luke Blevins was born and raised in Southwest Missouri. He studied art at Missouri Southern State University before going on to get his Master of Arts at the University of Missouri Kansas City. He teaches at Crowder College in the evenings and works in Admissions at Missouri Southern during the day. When not juggling his numerous jobs he enjoys drawing, painting, and a good book.

2020 Post Art Library Holiday Tea Take-Home Kits

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Post Art Library

In lieu of our annual in-person Holiday Tea event, we invite you to pick up a PAL Holiday Tea Take-Home Kit on Saturday, December 5, 2020 from 10am-12pm in our Post Reading Room inside Joplin Public Library. Coinciding with the distribution of the take-home kits is the opening of TEA, a display consisting of teacups, teapots, and tea-related items, in the library’s display cases. TEA will be on display from Saturday, December 5, 2020 through Sunday, January 3, 2021.

Each PAL Holiday Tea Take-Home Kit includes: 1 paper tea cup and saucer, 1 paper napkin, 1 paper doily, 1 individually wrapped stirrer, 2 individually wrapped bags of tea (one holiday, one black), 2 individually wrapped creamers, 2 individually wrapped sugar packets, individually wrapped candies, and a bookmark. One kit per person. First come, first served while supplies last. FREE and open to the public. Registration not necessary. Reservations not permitted.

Since 2016, we’ve hosted an annual Holiday Tea event inside the library. Held on the first Saturday each December, this event typically features a live musical or other performance: local Harpist Amanda Kimble, Father Christmas, and the Ellis Sisters with Historic Murphysburg, Inc. (2016); Still Waters String Ensemble (2017); a Heartland Opera Theatre collaboration (2018); and the Thomas Jefferson Cavalier Chorus and Thomas Jefferson String Ensemble (2019). Due to concerns regarding COVID-19 we are unable to program an in-person event for our 2020 Holiday Tea.

Post Art library is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit arts-related organization located inside Joplin Public Library. For more information, or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit PostArtLibrary.org or contact Jill Sullivan at 417.623.7953 x1041.

Display: BOOKBINDING by Sullivan Book Arts

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Post Art Library

This display features the steps and tools of bookbinding as practiced by Sullivan Book Arts, a bindery based out of Pittsburg, Kansas.

Olive Sullivan is obsessed with books. She is a writer as well as a bookbinder and recently opened her own Little Free Library. Her poetry collection, Wandering Bone, was published in 2017 (Meadowlark Books, Emporia). She began bookbinding with Sharen May in 2011 and is now training her own apprentice, Angel Abshire, in this art.

Sullivan Book Arts specializes in restoration, custom bookbinding, art books, and more. For more information, visit them HERE.

Bookbinding is on display inside Joplin Public Library now through November 15, 2020.

Click HERE to see a news feature about Sullivan Book Arts’ Bookbinding.

Above: *Bookbinding* by Sullivan Book Arts

Above: Restoration In-progrss
*Bookbinding* by Sullivan Book Arts

Digital Release: Women Who Made Their Mark

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Post Art Library

Although the release party was cancelled because of COVID-19 closures, we and our partners are excited to announce the digital release of Coloring JOMO: Women Who Made Their Mark.

Women Who Made Their Mark is a fun, FREE coloring book featuring twelve women who made significant contributions to our community, including:

Henrietta Cosgrove
Emily Newell Blair
Melissa Fuell Cuther
Ferne Wilder
Dorothea B. Hoover
Elizabeth C. Post
Pauline Starke
Lena Beal
Olivia Bendelari
Evelyn Milligan Jones
Mary Curtis Warten
and Ernestine Carr.

This project is a collaboration between Post Art Library, Historic Murphysburg Prservation, Inc. and Visit Joplin. Illustrations by artist Martha Goldman.

For more information, or to download your FREE copy, visit us HERE.

Paper-Mache Earring Workshop

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Post Art Library

We’re glad to partner with local artist Kristin Girard of Kristin’s Laboratory to offer a FREE Paper-Mache Earring Workshop–and just in time for Valentine’s Day!

During this hands-on workshop participants will learn the basics of paper-mache bead making with Jill Sullivan of Post Art Library and the basics of earring making with Kristin Girard of Kristin’s Laboratory.

After getting messy with paper, glue, and paint, participants will create a complete pair of paper-mache earrings to take home along with any other paper-mache beads they make during the program.

This is a FREE workshop, though space is limited and registration is necessary. Registration is open to the public, ages 16+, and spots are filled on a first come, first serve basis. Library card NOT needed. To register, call Jill Sullivan at 417-623-7953 x1041.