Library Exhibits

Visit the Woodbourne Library December 5 - January 2 to view the whimsical work of Jeff Potter. Potter is a native Ohioan and currently an illustrator for Blood Scream Comics, a local comic book publisher. His illustrations have also appeared in titles published by Apogee Comics, Sparkle Comics and the magazine Once Upon a Time. When not involved in graphic projects, he tries his hand at oil paintings. These pieces are in the traditional representational mode with the subjects being predominantly whimsical, fairy tale characters and landscapes.

To see other samples of Jeff Potter's work, please visit the blog site: potterssketchbook.blogspot.com.

This annual exhibit honors our military veterans. Uniforms, artifacts, and historical items were on display. This year, the "Forever Honor" exhibit pays tribute to the Vietnam War experience including reflections on the summer's The Wall That Heals exhibit.

A reception following the Veterans Day Ceremony at 11:00 AM, November 11, at Stubbs Park, was held in the Cynthia Klinck Community Room at the Centerville Library (111 W. Spring Valley Road), and the public was invited for light refreshments.

Presented in partnership with Centerville-Washington History. For All Ages. Follow this link to see photos of the exhibit and the program.

Visit the Woodbourne Library November 3 – December 4 to view the work of R. Darden Bradshaw. Bradshaw works primarily with the historically rich and labor-intensive processes of wet and needle-felting, quilting, and weaving. Her abstract felted landscape works physically and metaphorically bind together experiences of place, walking, and the literature of place to examine cultural and social constructs.

See photos of the exhibit here

Visit the Woodbourne Library October 5 – November 1 to view the work of collage artist Marsha Pippenger.  “I am drawn to trees. Leafless trees. Bare trees with twisting sculptural branches that cast bewitching shadows. They remind me of people. I imagine them talking to one another, becoming friends, striking funny poses, supporting each other in sorrow, throwing their branches skyward in joy. This series is all about trees and their feelings.”

Pippenger has a lifetime of experience in the visual arts area creating and selling original work, conducting workshops, acting as a resident artist in schools, directing a university art gallery, and owning and managing a commercial art gallery. She is a Kennedy Center certified teaching artist actively supporting and promoting the arts in the Dayton community. Visit her website at PippengerART.com. See the Tree Whispers exhibit here

Visit Woodbourne Library August 31 - October 3 to see the second exhibit in Duet & Duality. Mike Elsass is an internationally-recognized artist with paintings in more than 2,000 private collections. He is well known as a creative force in the Dayton art community, having inspired a movement of creative resurgence.

......color - black and white; paper - metal; thought out - spontaneous; challenged - healthy; alive - transitioned; new - repurposed; individual - community; alone - collaboration; artist - mentor/coach; industrial - organic; diminish - evolve; harmony - diversity; sharp - smooth ....

These are just a few of the contrasts that stimulate the creativity that is Mike Elsass. These contrasts become a study in 'Duet and Duality' brought to life through this nationally revered artist's work. Inspired by the use of recycled metal coupled with a wide array of repurposed materials, Mike creates unconventional art while inspiring others to spontaneously do the same. Mike finds art in everything and everyone he encounters - and his work celebrates the harmony and diversity he sees.

During the September exhibit you can experience Mike's 'Duet and Duality' philosophy through Mike's pieces displayed throughout the library including this Ira inspired alive - transitioned collaboration. Inspired? Discover your own 'Duet and Duality' through Mike's Brush before Brain class. View photos of the exhibit here

Visit Woodbourne Library August 2 - 30 to explore the work of Ira Beryl Brukner (1948-2015), a self-taught abstract painter, of Yellow Springs, Ohio, who began painting in his late 40s. He published four books of poetry, performed with jazz musicians, and taught poetry in the schools. Internationally known artist Mike Elsass reimagined works of the late, local artist Brukner, and created artistic interpretation - celebrating the 'Duet and Duality' of alive - transitioned - ensuring that Ira's art lives on. Elsass perceives art in everything and everyone he encounters - his work celebrates the affinity and diversity of each experience. Employing the use of recycled metal coupled with an array of repurposed materials, Elsass creates unconventional art while inspiring others to spontaneously do the same. During the August exhibit you can discover Brukner's art, coupled with Brukner's poetry - while experiencing Elsass' and Brukner's 'Duet and Duality' collaboration. View photos of this exhibit.

Visit the Woodbourne Library July 3 - 31, 2023 to view this 12-panel exhibit. Researched and designed by an interdisciplinary team of Miami University faculty and staff, the Finding Freedom Summer Traveling Exhibit teaches timely lessons about the civil rights movement, racial injustice and civil unrest. This project was funded as a deep-learning grant by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio. Based on the 1964 Freedom Summer Training Program hosted on the campus of Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, the panels tell a compelling visual story using documentary photography rooted in local history, activism, and civic participation. The Freedom Summer Training Program prepared approximately 800 volunteer college students to register Black voters in Mississippi.

Visit Woodbourne Library June 1 - 28, 2023 to view various art forms created by library staff in the third annual After Hours: A Staff Exhibit. Some art is located at Centerville Library. Selected art is for sale. View photos of the exhibit.

Debuting May 9, "Through the Eyes of Dyslexia: Living with the Good and the Bad" is a visual story of life with dyslexia. Fine Artist Sarah C Maxwell uses animals to tell her story of overcoming the challenges that go with this learning disorder. By acknowledging the hard parts and bringing attention to the good parts, she hopes this show will help others with this learning disorder be confident. View photos of the exhibit.

Woodbourne Library hosts Women Strong: Diversity in Color April 5 - May 2, 2023. Artists making art, sharing stories, and celebrating diversity. Artists and friends Janet Lasley and Audrey Davis had a plan to bring other women artists together to share stories, artistic techniques and media. They wanted the group to be a range of ages and to work in a variety of artistic media. They wanted them to come from different ethnicities, backgrounds and life experience. They wanted us to share our stories. "Women Strong" was born. Exhibiting are the following artists: Audrey Masden Davis, Lois Fortson, Cydnie King, Janet Olney Lasley, Nasrin Majidi, Marsha Pippenger, Erin M. Smith, Frances Turner, Yufeng Wang, and Elyssa Wortzman. This exhibit honors the memory of Janet Olney Lasley. View photos of the exhibit.

Woodbourne Library hosts INspiration March 1 - April 3, 2023. INspiration is the fourth in an annual series of artwork created by 15 premiere artists of Dayton. INspiration shows the beautiful incubation process of an idea from an artist's mind into a finished artwork. This comes from the artist's life experiences, their reflection, and the enhancement of an idea. An artist's imagination and skillful hands create a great work of art. Artists exhibiting: Charmaine Boggs, Katherine Cruse, Lori Daugherty, Mike Elsass, Joanne Jannetta, Cathy Jeffers, Bonnie Kuntz, April Lemaster, Tess Little, Marsha Pippenger, Marc Pitman, Loretta Puncer, Julie Riley, Sharon Stolzenberger, and Keith Thue. View photos of the exhibit.

Woodbourne Library hosts Children's Underground Railroad Quilt January 27 - February 27, 2023. At Centerville's Fall Festival in October 2022, children from the community painted and drew symbols from the Underground Railroad onto quilt squares. Under the direction of Linda French and Cindy Majusick, the Creative Quilters have fashioned the commemorative quilt to hang on display. In partnership with Centerville-Washington History.

Woodbourne Library hosts Paul Laurence Dunbar: Diamond of the Gem City January 23 - February 28, 2023. The exhibit highlights the life, work, and legacy of the multi-faceted writer through a series of text panels, archival materials, and three-dimensional objects. The exhibit was created by the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center at Wilberforce University, a division of the Ohio History Connection.

Born in Dayton in 1872, Dunbar became one of America's greatest poets, whose work later fueled a Black literary revolution. His life was marked by personal triumph and inherited trauma, which left indelible impressions on the world around him. This exhibit puts that life in context and positions him within a community of African American activists, including Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Hallie Quinn Brown, Frederick Douglass, and Brigadier General Charles Young. It also frames him not just as a hero but also as a human whose flaws help tell a complete version of our American story.

From December 15, 2022 - January 19, 2023, Washington-Centerville Public Library, through generous funding from the Dorothy R. Yeck Endowment for the Arts, hosts Young at Art: A Selection of Caldecott Book Illustrations, an exhibition featuring beautiful artwork from children's picture books. Through picture books, readers embark on visual journeys that engage all of the senses and encourage curious, imaginative, and thoughtful interactions with the world around them. Since 1938, the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, has recognized the significant impact of art on early reading experiences, awarding the Caldecott Medal for excellence in this area. Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, the prestigious and highly coveted medal is awarded annually to the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The exhibition Young at Art: A Selection of Caldecott Book Illustrations includes original illustrations from Caldecott Medal recipients and from "runner-up" Honor books, as well as other illustrations by award-winning artists.

The Caldecott Collection of Children's Book Illustrations is part of the permanent collection of the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas. Young at Art is a program of Exhibits USA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and the National Endowment for the Arts.