Dedicated to: Nature
Photographs by Kenrick Fischer
On display in the Kitzmiller Fiction Room through September
Nature awards no instant gratification. There is only patience, persistence, and tenacity.
Nature is humbling, it is majestic, it is powerful, it is calming.
I climb mountain peaks and hike among giant trees to feel small.
I take pictures of what fascinates me. Subjects that speak to me and take time to reveal their beauty.
This collection represents countless hours of waiting, endless days of exploring, months of planning, years of practice, and a lifetime dedicated to nature.
About the Artist
I am a multi-disciplined artisan with a strong connection to light, nature, and conservation. Having a long career as a professional lighting designer I developed a keen eye for lighting and composition. Carrying over with me the love of storytelling, I strive to bring these passions into each image I create, images that I hope inspire others to explore and see the world around with the sense of wonder I have each time I venture out.
Free the Books: A Print Exhibition
Curators’ Statement
“This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.”
– Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom
According to the American Library Association, in the first eight months of 2023, there were 695 attempts to censor library materials and services, and 1915 unique titles were challenged. This was a 20% increase from the same time period in 2022. Both public and school libraries have been targeted, and bookstores now seem to be in the crosshairs of those who back book banning as well.
This alarming uptick in book challenges in recent years makes it more imperative to give space for exhibitions such as FREE THE BOOKS: A Print Exhibition, where letterpress printers and artists can express their dismay at this distressing trend while simultaneously supporting every individual’s right to read.
Inspired directly from Starshaped Press and their FREE THE BOOKS call to action, FREE THE BOOKS: A Print Exhibition provides viewers with a variety of gorgeous and imaginative pieces of art that stand in the face of the tyranny of censorship. We are grateful to the artists from all over the country who submitted their prints for this exhibition.
Heather Ross, Evanston Public Library
Jamie Lou Thome, Hive Center for the Book Arts
March 2024
Tile Designs
by Dan Wetmore
On display in the Children’s Library through September
Dan Wetmore, first known as a designer of puzzles for children way back in the 1980’s and 90’s and then a carpenter and designer of sculptural bookshelves in the interim, is displaying a project in the Children’s Library that he has been turning over in his head since the puzzle days; pattern tiles, artistic and original tile designs with an interactive angle.
T.W. Wood Satellite Exhibit
Ed Burnam: Contemplating the Sacred
On display in the main staircase
Ed Burnam is a contemporary fine artist that has shown his work both Nationally and Internationally. Higher education: SFAI, B.F.A. printmaking, SFSU, M.A. Ethnic Studies, Norwich University, M.F.A.. Burnam also taught Cultural Studies and Studio Art for 35 years before retiring in 2023.
His current focus is mixed medium drawings. These drawings are culture as experienced through sacred objects and family. The contemplation of these two themes has given the work insight into Burnam’s hybrid cultural orientations.
To view current work: www.edburnam.com