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Local Music Reaches 250 Featured Artists!
Please join us in celebrating the 250 artists featured on Local Music. Started in 2015 and updated weekly, this project features interviews with the finest original songwriters and composers in the Kansas City metro area, samples of their music and their book, and recommendations from the our web catalog. Local Music provides a way for the musical artists living and working in our communities a chance to tell their stories, share their music and inspire others. With Local Music we seek maximum inclusivity, with a diverse selection of artists and musical styles as a way to represent the breadth of musical creativity buzzing in our collective backyards. Over the past almost five years we have covered artists from a wide spectrum of genres, from hip-hop, folk and death metal to indie-pop, experimental and new classical, and everything in between. Enjoy Local Music »
Featured Artist Friday
Oxford Remedy is a band that seems destined for greater things. Comprised of sisters Kate and Grace McKown and Sydney Aldridge, the band -- all teenagers -- makes the kind of indie-rock that wouldn't have been out place blasting out of car stereos in the mid-90s. While the band members are hard at work at school, they are finding the time to record and release an upcoming EP. We are fortunate to share an exclusive interview with the band about their creative process, book, movie and music recommendations and other things.
TBT. There be turkey!
It's turkey time! Well, for some. If you prefer tofurkey or some other vegan alternative, that's great too. Whatever you choose to overeat, you probably will be sitting in a chair uncomfortably full and perhaps unable to move. That is an excellent time to browse through all of the great Thanksgiving photos at jocohistory.org
We just had to share this 1966 photo from the Wasiner family Thanksgiving. One child keeps her eyes on the bird. Another keeps her eye on the birdwatcher. The others? Eyes forward for this wonderful photograph. Everyone has their priorities.
For even more history be sure to follow our hashtag on Twitter.
Changes to our eLibrary
Macmillan Publishing has recently made changes to its library eBook lending policies. We know our patrons may wonder what this is all about and how it will impact them.
In summary, Macmillan Publishing will be withholding library eBook sales for 8 weeks after the book's release date. With this in mind, you may find eBooks and eAudiobooks on retail websites like Amazon 8 weeks before they are available for libraries to purchase. This will not impact print books and CD audiobooks, which will still be available on the day of their release.
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact us.
Library Hacks!
This edition of the Did you hear? podcast explores Library Hacks! Get tips, tricks, and secrets that only Library insiders know about.
Cedar Roe: Where'd They Go?
While Cedar Roe Library is having work done on its roof, Cedar Roe staff are helping out at various other locations.
Here's LeeAnn, an Information Specialist, helping to maintain the Career & Finance board at Shawnee!
Stay up to date with Cedar Roe!
Cedar Roe: Where'd They Go?
While Cedar Roe Library is having work done on its roof, Cedar Roe staff are helping out at various other locations.
Here's Carrie, who normally works as a Youth Information Specialist. You can find her temporarily helping out over at Shawnee Library, where she's leading some Baby Storytime on Tuesday mornings with some of our tiniest patrons!
Did you hear about the MakerSpace?
This week on Did you hear, our hosts Melissa and Dave chat with Nick Ward-Bopp, one of our MakerSpace Facilitators, about the great resources we have in the Black and Veatch MakerSpace at Central Resource Library. But the MakerSpace isn’t just at Central - we host Maker programming at various other locations, too!
Now at Leawood: Melanie Nolker
Introduce yourself and describe your work and the media/genre you work in.
Hi, my name is Melanie Nolker and I am a full time oil painter here in the Kansas City area. I paint with the colors of Monet, and with a palette knife (a small trowel) instead of a brush. Using the knife forces my work to be freer and more textural than in the years when I painted with watercolor, and the oil paint used generously makes my art very colorful.
Talk about the works currently on display. What would you like people to know about them?
The works currently on display represent a cross section of my interest as an artist. My love of nature and travel shows itself in the depiction of trees. My desire to capture people has grown as my skills improved, thus I have included some portraits in this exhibit. And the large-scale paintings all represent change in our world in the past few years. You will find paintings that speak to forest fires in California, the hurricane in Puerto Rico, global warming that affects our cities and gun violence in our schools.
Who are other artists you look to for inspiration? And what about their works do you like?
Artist that I am most influenced by are Vincent Van Gogh, Gustav Klimt and Wayne Thiebaud. Their bright colors, graphic quality and playfulness appeal to me and make me feel at home in their presence.
Describe your creative process. How often are you painting and where is your studio?
My creative process is most often simple. It flows from me like eating or breathing. That is not to say that I don’t hit blocks and struggle through them. I paint with many artists who have become friends over the years and the days in shared studios are a joy in my life. I paint at Buena Vista Studios in Roeland Park, with Jean Cook at Sheryl Levene’s Studio and I have my own studio at The InterUrban ArtHouse in Downtown OP. I paint four days a week and because I paint so often, my biggest issue is finding fresh inspiration. I give palette knife workshops several times throughout the year and that keeps me grounded in the basics of how to paint simply and intuitively.
What other writings do you recommend reading to have a better understanding of your artworks and your art practice/process? Please look through our on-line catalog and provide any links to resources that you would recommend.
One book that I really enjoyed several months ago was Lynn Whipple’s Expressive Flower Painting. It’s a paint-along book with steps and instruction that took me out of my comfort zone, and helped me feel loose and free as I played with new and old media and tools.