Events Calendar

Discover your creative side and join artist Christina Theobald every Monday in October from 10:30am-12:00pm at Alicia Ashman Library as she leads participants through this four-week exploration of acrylic paints, watercolors, brush techniques, and more. Whether a beginner or an experienced artist, each class is designed to build on skills learned in the one prior while leaving plenty of room for experimentation and improvement, which means they can also be taken individually, so come to one or come to them all. 

Space is limited and registration is required. Registration opens for ALL 4 classes on September 23 at 10:00AM.

UPDATE 09/30/24: This class is currently full; to be added to the wait list, please email fmcdaniel@madisonpubliclibrary.org or call 608-824-1780.

Week 1: Intro to Acrylic Paint – Monday, October 7

• discussion about color wheel, and the different color schemes
• step-by-step demo and hands-on experience of mixing colors to create own palette
• create three small, abstract paintings based on different color schemes, principals

Weekly goal: to be introduced to the materiality of acrylic paint, get familiar with mixing colors, building compositions based on shape and color relationships

Week 2: Brush Techniques, Layering Color – Monday, October 14

• continuing with acrylic paint
• experimenting with different brushes, brush applications to learn how to create textures  blending, sense of space
• reviewing of mixing own color palette, focus on creating beautiful, neutral colors
• intro how to paint from observation, create paintings by looking at real, fall leaves that I will bring in!
• mixed media option at the end to turn leaf illustrations into collage

Weekly goal: to build off of color skills from previous week, learn how to layer color to create textural and spatial effects, learn how to create rich, neutral colors, how to work from “real life”

Week 3: Intro to Watercolor – Monday, October 21

• overview of differences, similarities between acrylic and watercolor
• discussion of Impressionists, Fauvism art movements
• introduce idea of making “master copies”, using a pre-existing work of art as basis for own painting
• introduce using ViewFinders as a way to find compositions
• use print-outs of Fauvist artworks as inspiration for personal works

Weekly goal: to try applying the painting skills we’ve been learning into watercolor, learn about famous art movements, learn a new way to approach creating compositions, continue pushing compositions by further exploring mixed media options

Week 4: Mixed Media Still Life/Open Studio – Monday, October 28

• do a demo of different ways to approach working from a non-photo reference
• work from a fall-theme still life
• try doing one or two different viewpoints, room to experiment with approach and combination of materials

Weekly goal: try working from ‘real life’ references, opportunity to revisit and practice techniques and combination of techniques learned up to this point

READ and PLAY together with children 5 & under! Engaging with books, songs and playful experiences all help children develop communication skills, patience, empathy, and pre-reading skills​ and helps to build a lifelong love of reading. Library programs are always free. Siblings and childcare groups are welcome.

Join us to READ and Play together. When children engage with books, songs, and play, they develop communication skills, patience, empathy, and pre-reading skills which helps to build a lifelong love of reading. 

This program is geared toward children under age 5. All older and younger siblings as well as childcare groups are welcome to join.

Library programs are always free.

Need help updating a resume or cover letter, applying for jobs online, or brushing up on basic computer skills? Sign up for a one-hour one-on-one appointment by stopping into the Central Library or calling the reference desk at 608-266-6350.

Mindfulness is the art of paying attention, of listening to your heart. Rather than worrying about the future or ruminating about the past, mindfulness can help you enjoy life more fully, effectively, and peacefully. Join us when you can to learn simple mindfulness and meditation techniques that can be incorporated into your everyday routine to reduce your stress and increase your well-being. Typically, each session will begin with a brief check-in, followed by a guided sitting meditation. Then Gloria will share reflections on some aspect of mindfulness. The group will discuss the topic and ask any questions about the practice. We will end with another sitting meditation. Experience in mindfulness or meditation is not necessary. This program is being offered both in-person and online through Zoom. If you would like to join by Zoom, please register below. Registration is not necessary for in-person attendance.

This program is part of the Live Well @ Your Library​ initiative.

Join us on Monday afternoon for library fun--you never know what might happen!

Projects especially chosen for the school-age crowd; all ages welcome with adult help.

The Personal Archiving Lab at Central Library is a collection of equipment that can be used to digitize at-risk analog materials like home movies video tapes audio cassettes photographs and more. Stop by the Central Library on Mondays, 2-4pm (Room 209) for a tutorial on how to use the library's Personal Archiving Lab. Tutorial duration is approximately 20-30 minutes. The instructor may not be able to accommodate those who arrive after 3:40pm.

Following the tutorial, you will be able to make an appointment during library hours to use the equipment - up to 3 hours per day - for your personal archiving project.

The Personal Archiving Lab supports the following formats: VHS and VHS-C tapes DVDs (not BluRay); audio cassettes; MiniDV and Hi-8 tapes; photographs (including negatives and slides) and other paper-based documents. It does not support 8 or 16mm reel-to-reel film or audio tape.

Patrons who use the lab must bring some form of external storage — a portable hard drive, or a thumb drive — on which digital files can be stored.

Call 608-266-6350 for more information.

The Madison Writing Assistance (MWA) program offers free, one-to-one writing support for community members at library branches throughout the city. Our friendly, experienced writing coaches are happy to help with writing projects across a wide range of genres, including resumes, cover letters, application essays, grant proposals, fiction writing, memoirs, and more.

Schedule an appointment online with the link below, by phone, or in person.

MWA services are made possible through generous donations from the Evjue Foundation and UW Anonymous Fund, along with administrative and program support from the UW-Madison English Department, the UW-Madison Writing Center, and our Library and neighborhood center partners.

Join local chef Huma Siddiqui-Seitz for this cooking class. Huma's cooking classes are based on using Pakistani/Indian spices in simple, easy and delicious recipes. In this class, Huma's demonstration will feature Mediterranean Chicken with spinach and couscous with garbanzo beans and green onions.

Registration is required. Registration opens two weeks before the program (10/7/24).