Category: Art

Postcards from Falmouth: Falmouth Heights

Posted on by Clint Johnson

Before it hosted iconic hotels and streams of summer visitors, Falmouth Heights was the remote edge of town. Join Valerie Harding to learn about its deliberate transformation into a summer resort at the hands of the Falmouth Heights Land and Wharf Company – and of her own memories of off season life in the Heights, which might not have been picture-perfect, but provided its own kind of fun.


“In the winter when those hotels were closed up, as kids you’d run across the veranda and it looked very ghostly inside,” she said in conversation with interviewer Troy Clarkson. “With the table still set up, you know, with salt and pepper still on the table […] there was not a light on in any house down there.”

Watch the oral history recording here.

Explore the postcard collection here.

Postcards from Falmouth is a local history project of Falmouth Public Library, funded by a LSTA grant and administered by the MBLC.

YT link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2pv64p5EnA

Manga and Anime Club

Posted on by Clint Johnson

Manga and Anime club are back in business! Please come join on us in the Young Adult Room for our meeting on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 (4/16/2024) from 2 PM – 4 PM.
We will be watching anime, introducing the manga series that we love the most, learning to draw anime, and making buttons of our favorite anime characters!
We may even play some Pokémon cards! The skies the limit. We can’t wait to see you there!

Please register here:

Register!

More Zoom programs in February!

Posted on by Sue

We have a bounty of virtual programs, many from our Library Speakers Consortium, thanks to the Library Support Fund (click here for the February talks!), and a few more shared with us by other Massachusetts libraries-see below! Just click on the links to register, and you will receive the Zoom links before the events. Please note that these are virtual only and do not take place at the Falmouth Library. View the list below, and scroll down for full descriptions and registration!

Monday, February 5th from 7 – 8 pm, Zoom talk: Effective Grassroots Movements that Impact Voting Rights,  via the Ashland Library, click here for details and registration.

Wednesday, February 21st from 7-8 pm, Zoom talk, : Bending Towards Justice: African Americans as Subject and Creators in American Art, via the Boxborough Library and our Library Board of Trustees, click here for details and registration.

Thursday, February 22nd from 3-4 pm, Zoom program: Author of The Globemakers, via the Ashland Library, click here for details and registration.

 

Pop-Up Art for Kids and Adults

Posted on by Phoebe Acheson

We are happy to welcome back Pop-Up Art School on Tuesday February 6. In the morning, they will hold a program for adults, and in the afternoon, on the Falmouth Public Schools early release day, a creation program for kids 8-12.

For Children Ages 8-12: Make a painted clay yeti luminaria on Tuesday February 6 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM in the Hermann Room.

Pop-Up Art School provides everything you need! This activity is for children aged 8-12 without caregivers. This is a Falmouth Public Schools Early Release Day. Space is limited so registration is required.

Both programs are provided with support from the Board of Library Trustees.

 

For Adults: Make a needle-felted bird on Tuesday February 6 from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM in the Hermann Room.

Pop-Up Art School provides everything you need! This activity is for adults. Space is limited so registration is required.

 

 

 

Exciting Zoom programs in January!

Posted on by Sue

We have a bounty of virtual programs, shared with us by other Massachusetts libraries! Just click on the links to register, and you will receive the Zoom links before the events. Please note that these are virtual only and do not take place at the Falmouth Library. View the list below, and scroll down for full descriptions and registration!

Tuesday, January 9th at 7 PM, KonMari Method: Spark Joy!
Thursday, January 11th at 7 PM, What Works in Community News
Thursday, January 17th at 7 PM, Fierce Females: Women in Art
Monday, January 29th at 7 PM, Challenges of Being a Debut Author
Monday, January 30th at 7 PM, Food Waste, Food Insecurity & the Globalization of World Banks
 
KonMari Method: Spark Joy! Click here to register, and please put “Falmouth Library” in the home field!
 

Certified KonMari Consultant, Kerry Adams, will lead us through a presentation on what the KonMari Method is and how to successfully implement the method into your life. Grab a notebook and join us from the comfort of your own home.

The KonMari Method of organizing was developed by Marie Kondo, world acclaimed Japanese organizer and author of the best selling books, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”, and “Spark Joy”, as well as star of the Netflix series, “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo”. Rather than discarding things in a negative way, it’s about keeping the things that you love, the things that support your vision for the lifestyle you want. You’ll learn to focus your intention, discover what supports your goals, and respectfully leave behind the things that don’t. This has been generously shared with us by the Eldredge Library in Chatham, and is also sponsored by the Board of Trustees. Please note that this event is virtual only, and does not take place in the library.

Thursday, January 11th at 7 PM, What Works in Community News, click here to register

Journalism professor and author Dan Kennedy will discuss his new book, What Works in Community News: Media Startups, News Deserts, and the Future of the Fourth Estate, which serves as a groundbreaking study of the journalism startups that are solving the local news crisis one community at a time. Local news is essential to democracy. Meaningful participation in civic life is impossible without it. However, local news is in crisis. According to one widely cited study, some 2,500 newspapers have closed over the last generation. And it is often marginalized communities of color who have been left without the day-to-day journalism they need to govern themselves in a democracy. 

Dan Kennedy is a professor in the School of Journalism at Northeastern University and a nationally known media commentator. He was a panelist on the GBH News television program Beat the Press (1998–2021) and also served as a weekly columnist for the network. Dan is a recipient of the Yankee Quill Award from the New England Academy of Journalists and the James W. Carey Journalism Award from the Media Ecology Association. This event has been shared with us by the Tewksbury Public Library, Please note that this event is virtual only, and takes place when we are closed.

Thursday, January 17th at 7 PM, Fierce Females: Women in Art, click here to register!

Women have long been the subject of art, often depicted as nothing more than objects of desire. How do images of women change when women become the creators? This program examines the history of women in art in brief and then explores the lives, careers and works of several major women artists from the Renaissance to the twentieth century, including Artemisia Gentileschi and Mary Cassatt.

We are offering this via the  Sargent Memorial Library in Boxborough, and we thank the Library Board of Trustees for sponsoring it. Click here to register on their site, and receive the Zoom link! Please note that this event is virtual only, and takes place when we are closed.

Monday, January 29th at 7 PM, Challenges of Being a Debut Author click here to register!

This time, we welcome authors Lauren J. A. Bear, Rita Chang-Eppig, and Nishita Parekh to our virtual stage. We’ll be talking all about getting into publishing, the pitfalls, challenges, and roadblocks as well as the excitement, fulfillment, and reader enthusiasm that makes it all worthwhile. Bring your questions as this will be in a Q&A format. The Zoom event has been shared with us by the Ashland Public Library. Please note that this event is virtual only, and takes place when we are closed.

Tuesday, January 30th at 7 PM, Food Waste, Food Insecurity, and the Globalization of Food Banks 

So many of us are passionate about finding ways to reduce food waste so we’re thrilled to be hosting author and professor Daniel N. Warshawsky for a virtual discussion of his new book Food Waste, Food Insecurity, and the Globalization of Food Banks“. The Zoom event has been shared with us by the Ashland Public Library! Click here to register. Please note that this event is virtual only and does not take place in our library!

 

 
 

 

Wish You Were Here: Postcards from the Past Digital Exhibit

Posted on by Phoebe Acheson

In 2023 Calliope Poetry for Community extended an invitation to the public to immerse themselves in the images and messages carefully preserved within the Falmouth Public Library’s collection of postcards. These postcards, dating back to the early 1900s, offer us glimpses into the town’s history, portraying the various villages of Falmouth in bygone eras.

They serve as our very own time machines, transporting us to the past and allowing us to reconnect with the individuals who penned those messages long ago. With each card comes a unique story, a reflection of a moment frozen in time, complete with the personalities, quirks, and humor of the people who once called Falmouth home.

The heart of this project, Wish You Were Here: Postcards from the Past, lies in the ability of our literary and visual artists to draw inspiration from these postcards, breathing new life into their stories. They have taken on the incredible task of not only reflecting on but also reimagining the images and messages contained within these postcards. In doing so, they have created a bridge between the past and present, enabling us to witness the fascinating contrast between the Falmouth of yesteryears and the Falmouth we know today. Explore our digital version of this exhibit today, or make sure to make an appointment to see it at the Cultural Center at Museums on the Green through May 10, 2024.

George Turner’s Scrimshaw Thimble

Posted on by Phoebe Acheson

If you read the Enterprise Library Happenings column, you may have noticed mention of a question we received about a scrimshaw thimble. It turned out that the question was so fun and the thimble so adorable that it was worth turning into a blog post! 

We received an email from a staff member at the Montreal West Public Library who was working on cataloging a collection of thimbles donated to their location. (Check out Thimble Thursdays on their Facebook Page!) They knew that the maker of this thimble was George Turner of Falmouth MA, but had no other information about the artist, and wondered if we could help them. First we checked the Reference books we have on scrimshaw artists (helpfully titled Scrimshaw Artists and More Scrimshaw Artists) but they did not list a George Turner.

I then turned to the digitized historic Falmouth Enterprise to see if I could learn anything about a George Turner, and quickly found a detailed obituary of a prominent citizen, George Henry Turner, who lived from 1858 to 1939. And as a young man he’d spent time at sea on a whaler! He seemed like a very likely candidate for the creator of this thimble, and as a bonus I got to learn more about Falmouth History reading about his life. He was accidentally born in Cotuit, raised on a farm in Hatchville, went to sea young, came back to take over the family farm after his father died, ran multiple businesses including a fish market and a grocery store, and in his retirement years was known for driving around town in a venerable Model T. An all-encompassing Falmouth life!

If you know more about George Henry Turner you’d like to share with us, and especially if you know anything about this thimble, which was added to the collection by purchase in 1989, please be in touch! We can also put you in touch with the librarians at Montreal West who are caring for this little seagull now.

(Click on these newspaper clippings to enlarge them.)

Looking for America: Sculptor Hiram Powers’ Falmouth Legacy

Posted on by Phoebe Acheson

In the Katharine Lee Bates entryway of the Main Library sits an elegant sculpture hidden in plain sight. Executed by world-renowned American-born Hiram Powers (1805-1873), the piece delights the viewer who happens to look up and notice. 

On Tuesday September 26th, at 4pm in the Hermann Meeting Room. Falmouth Museums on the Green’s Executive Director Rachel Lovett shares her research on Powers, his notable works, and how this historic piece came into the collection of the Falmouth Public Library.

This program is free to the public courtesy of a member of the Falmouth Historical Society Board of Trustees. All are welcome. Please register as space is limited.

August Art: Inspired by Shakespeare

Posted on by Phoebe Acheson

We called, and you answered! Community responses to the 2023 Falmouth Reads Art Challenge are now available for viewing in the Adult Room at the library on the Art Walk.

Members of the public (and some library staff!) chose a famous phrase by Shakespeare to interpret in two-dimensional artwork; media include fabric, pen and ink, collage, and paint!

If you’re belatedly inspired by gazing on these works of art, create your own and drop it off in the Administrative Office! The art will remain on display through August.

Falmouth Reads: Graphic Novel Events

Posted on by Phoebe Acheson

Our 2023 Falmouth Reads book, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, is named for the graphic novel that is created by one character, and much loved and carried around by another. Did reading the book get you wondering more about graphic novels, where the medium came from, and maybe even how you make one yourself? Our day of graphic novel exploration is for you! Join a visiting graphic novelist and educator for a lecture and a hands-on workshop.

Visual Literacy & the Graphic Novel, Wednesday August 16, 10:30am in the Hermann Room.

From the Bayeux Tapestry to Maus, Hokusai to airplane safety cards, sequential visuals have long been used to entertain and inform. Unlike verbal literacy, visual literacy is not generally taught, yet an understanding of it is employed for comprehension and analysis on a daily basis. Via a brief history of comics and an overview of the rise of the graphic novel, we’ll explore the significance of visual literacy and how it features in literary culture today. If your interest in graphic novels was piqued by reading 2023’s Falmouth Reads Together title, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, this lecture will help you learn more about the medium’s history and current status. Please register.

Hands-on Graphic Novel Creation Workshop, Wednesday August 16, 2:00pm in the Hermann Room.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to create your own graphic novel? Join us for a hands-on workshop with experienced author-illustrator Marika McCoola that will get you brainstorming, storytelling, writing, and drawing – even if you’re a complete novice! If reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, the 2023 Falmouth Reads Together title, got you inspired to explore your creativity in this format, join us for the Graphic Novel Workshop on Wednesday August 16 from 2-3:30 in the Hermann Room. This workshop is suitable for teen and adults, and we ask you to register as space is limited.

Marika McCoola is an illustrator, educator, and the New York Times bestselling author of Baba Yaga’s Assistant. She holds a MFA in Illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland and an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College.