Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal Art Show at Bloomington Public Library

A wealth of artistic talent is on display in the Children's Room of the Bloomington Public Library. Bright colors, patterns, dancing figures and hanging snakes create a feast for the eyes for library visitors. 

During the past three months, Illinois State University Art Education students under the direction of Art Education graduate student Kim McHenry and supervised by Judith Briggs, assistant professor of Art Education, have been teaching Friday art lessons to a group of kindergarten through eighth-grade students at the Bloomington-Normal Boys and Girls Club.  Participation has grown from 10 students to more than 40 in the seven-week program.

Activities have included learning about and creating Khamsa good luck hands, accordion books, Chinese dragon puppets, self-portrait silhouettes, face painting and masks, monotype prints of big cats, and stuffed and decorated snakes.  Michael Vetere, assistant professor of Theater at ISU, joined in on some of the activities with his puppets, adding an inclusive fine art experience to the program.

The ISU Student Chapter of the National Art Education Association sponsors the program as part of its continuing community outreach efforts.  The exhibition ends on Dec. 20.  Library hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.  For more information, call the Library at (309) 828-6091.

The Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal offers membership to young people, ages 5 to 18 years.  Membership fees are kept to a minimum to enable participation by all area youth. The Club receives funding from public and private sources including United Way, local, state, and federal governments, businesses, corporate and foundation grants, special fundraising events, and donations from private citizens.