events

This weekend is a big one for yarn lovers, knitters, and crocheters—there’s both a Handmade Crafternoon devoted to knitting and crochet, and there’s also a weekend-long Yarn Crawl that’ll take you all over the city! Here are the details on both events:

About the next Handmade Crafternoon:
Date and time: Saturday, October 10th, from 2:00 to 4:00pm
Location: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
42nd Street and Fifth Avenue
Margaret Liebman Berger Forum (Room #227, located in the northeast corner of the second floor)

We’ll have these three special guests, talking about art, wool, and what they do:
Sabrina Gschwandtner, author of KnitKnit
Teva Durham, author of Loop-d-Loop and Loop-d-Loop Crochet
Annie Modesitt, author of Romantic Hand Knits, Men Who Knit and the Dogs Who Love Them and more

If you’re in the middle of a project, bring it with you so that we can all stitch together. And if you are curious about learning to knit or crochet, we’ll lend you some supplies for the afternoon and help you to get started. I’ll have stacks of vintage knitting and crochet books and magazines to look through—think glamorous World War II styles and Mad Men-esque dresses and sweaters too. And just like last month, we’ll have a fundraising raffle too. So come and join the fun!

About the New York City Yarn Crawl:
What’s this Yarn Crawl, you ask? It’s a full roster of events and specials at yarn shops all over the city, and it runs from Friday the 9th through Monday the 12th. There’s plenty to do—including raffles and a scavenger hunt--so check out the site and plot your route!

Bloomingdale Library Event, Local History Lecture

150 W 100th St
New York, NY 10025
(212) 222-8030

Thursday, October 8, 2009 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Robert Holzmaier
Chief, Eleventh Battalion
Covering Manhattan's Upper West Side
36 Years in the Fire Department

Topics of lecture include:
Fire Extinguishing from 1609; First Controversial Fire Tax; Hooks & Ladders; Horses and Dogs; Connection to the Water Supply; Great Conflagrations; Attempts to Burn Down the City; Company Feuds; Uses of Volunteers; 130 Years in this Neighborhood.

Learn more here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/history/fire_service.shtml

Park West Neighborhood History Group
Columbus-Amsterdam Business Improvement District
For further information: 212-666-9774

Come swap books, and cookie recipes, listen to music, enter raffles, and chat at the Bloomingdale Library. Kids come in costume for stories and crafts! For all ages.

Tue, Oct 27 @ 6:30 PM

150 W 100th St
New York, NY 10025
(212) 222-8030

Interested in quilts, handmade clothes, and what goes into the work of fabric and pattern design? Then mark your calendars to come to December’s Handmade: Crafternoon and meet some modern women of craft who work wonders with textiles.

Heather Ross, author of Weekend Sewing; Denyse Schmidt, author of Denyse Schmidt Quilts; and Liesl Gibson of Oliver + S, will all be on hand to talk about their creative work. And as usual, we’ll have lots of Library books to look at, as well as a spread of materials on hand so you can get started stitching if you wish.

Here are the details:

Date and time:
Saturday, December 12, 2009, from 2:00 to 4:00pm

Location:
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
42nd Street and Fifth Avenue
Margaret Liebman Berger Forum (Room #227, located in the northeast corner of the second floor)

Question? Please leave it as a comment! Maura and I look forward to seeing you on the 12th!

November’s Handmade: Crafternoon will be all about paper and books! And really, is there anything better? If you’d like to try your hand at some basic book making (both sewn bindings and not), origami, or other paper-based creations, please come along! Our special guest will be artist and maker Mike Perry, who will share his creative expertise on this fun afternoon. We’ll have lots of supplies on hand to share so that you can make your own handmade book!

Here are the details:

Date and time:
Saturday, November 14th, from 2:00 to 4:00pm

Location:
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
42nd Street and Fifth Avenue
Margaret Liebman Berger Forum (Room #227, located in the northeast corner of the second floor)

Remember—it’s FREE, and there’s no advance registration required.
Question? Please leave it as a comment! Maura and I look forward to seeing you on the 14th!

Update (11/11/09): It turns out that we'll have one special guest on this afternoon--the amazing artist and maker Mike Perry. Grace Bonney cannot join us, but she promises to come out for another crafternoon in the future!

Alvaro Fernandez, co-founder and CEO of SharpBrains and co-author (with Elkhonon Goldberg) of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews to Keep your Brain Sharp will be discussing the growing field of research in this area at two NYPL locations this coming week: Wednesday, September 23, 10 A.M. at Bronx Library Center, 310 East Kingsbridge Road; and, Friday, September 25, 1:30 P.M. at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. By presenting the results gleaned from recent research and scientific studies, Fernandez aims to help us make informed decisions about brain health and cognitive fitness.

In partnership with the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, The Library recently held three film screenings/discussions focused on Alzheimer’s disease. One thing I learned is that there is no known way to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease: no “gold standard.” On the other hand, based on evidence we can say that engaging in mentally stimulating activities through education, jobs, and leisure activities lowers the probability of developing Alzheimer’s symptoms. And for some reason, the building up of a Brain Reserve helps people, even with the same Alzheimer's pathology (which cannot be delayed/ prevented), to withstand the effects of that pathology and to delay the appearance of symptoms.

I asked Alvaro for a few books he would recommend on the topic of brain fitness. Here are some of his suggestions and comments:

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, by John J. Medina, “A fun and accessible overview of the research and implications, written with a younger/ business audience in mind"; A User’s Guide to the Brain, by John J. Ratey. “An excellent introduction to how the brain works and important concepts such as perception, cognition, attention, emotions.”

He also recommended a few websites- Cognitive Daily and Mind Hacks.

For more about Alvaro and SharpBrains, see my earlier post here.

I hope you can join us for Alvaro’s *free* presentation—your brain will thank you for it!

Maura and I hope that you had as much fun as we did at our inaugural Handmade: Crafternoon last weekend! If you would like another chance to meet fellow crafty library-goers, see books and magazines from the Library’s collection, and try out new creative skills, please join us for our next Handmade: Crafternoon in October.

On Saturday, October 10th, Sabrina Gschwandtner, author of KnitKnit, and Teva Durham, author of Loop-d-Loop and Loop-d-Loop Crochet, will be our special guests, and they’ve promised to share some purls of wisdom and knitty-gritty yarns about their crafting experience. We’ll have some hooks, needles, and yarn at hand to share that day, if you want to learn the basics. And feel free to bring along your own wooly work-in-progress or a project that you plan to start. That way we can all knitalong together! And of course I’ll have stacks of old knitting and crochet magazines from the Library’s collections to share—think glamourous World War II styles, and Mad Men-esque dresses and sweaters too.

Here are the details:

Date and time:
Saturday, October 10th, from 2:00 to 4:00pm

Location:
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
42nd Street and Fifth Avenue
Margaret Liebman Berger Forum (Room #227, located in the northeast corner of the second floor)

Remember—it’s FREE, and there’s no advance registration required.
Questions? Please leave it as a comment! Maura and I look forward to seeing you on the 10th!

On Saturday, September 12th, Maura Madden (author of Crafternoon) and I will kick off our Handmade: Crafternoon series, and we hope that you can join us. This crafty gathering is free, and there’s no advance registration required. Here’s what’s in store for you that day:

Two special guests will join us and share their approaches to crafting with unusual and alternative materials. Jessica Vitkus (author of Alternacrafts) will show us how to make one-of-a-kind pierced and embroidered cards, and Hannah Rogge (author of Hardwear) will demonstrate how to turn stuff that you find in your toolbox and at the hardware store into unique jewelry.

We will have some materials on hand to share so that you can try your hand at these crafts. But if you would like to be sure to have what you need to make your own pair of hardware-inspired earrings, please bring with you:

• from the hardware store: 10 #8 flat washers
• from the craft store: 2 french earring wires

And if you happen to have embroidery floss and/or needle nose pliers to share with your fellow crafters, please bring them along!

We’ll have an inspiring spread of vintage books, magazines, and images from the Library’s collection to inspire you in your embroidery and jewelry making. And remember, the Library will be open from 11:00am until 6:00pm that day, so if you want to dig around in the collections you’ll have time to do so before and after the event! Here are the details on next week's Handmade: Crafternoon!

Date and time:
Saturday, September 12, 2009, from 2:00 to 4:00pm

Location:
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
42nd Street and Fifth Avenue
Margaret Liebman Berger Forum (Room #227, located in the northeast corner of the second floor)

Questions? Please leave it as a comment! See you on the 12th!

Interested in learning how books were made during the hand-press era? If so, please join me at the Library this evening for an illustrated history of the craftsmanship of paper making, printing, and bookbinding. I’ll be gathering some how-to books on book arts from our collections to share with you too, to help you get started making books. There's no need to register, and it’s a free class—here are the details:

Wednesday June 10th, 6:00 to 7:00pm (classroom will open at 5:45pm)
New York Public Library
Celeste Bartos Education Center
First Floor, South Court Classrooms
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue & 42nd Street

One last note: I'll teach this class two more times this summer (at 2:00pm on July 25th, and at 2:00pm on August 22nd), so please mark your calendars for one of these dates if you are interested but can't come this evening.

Many New York artists and makers will at some point face the befuddling legal issues of intellectual property, copyright, and more. To help to answer your questions and set you on the path to being legal-savvy in your own creative work, NYPL’s Mid-Manhattan Library will present Ask the Lawyer: An Artist Career Development Lecture on Monday May 11th, at 6:30pm. This event, hosted by the Art Collection, is one in a series addressing the growing needs and concerns of New York City's independent creative workforce.

Presented in cooperation with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, legal experts Elena M. Paul, Esq. & Alexei Ormani Auld, Esq. will be on hand to cover a wide array of legal and business issues with an overview of the major legal topics affecting artists and professionals within arts organizations. The topics to be addressed include: intellectual property (copyrights primarily), contracts, entity choice and formation (including nonprofit and for profit options), and more. This will be an interactive panel, so please bring your questions!

Monday May 11, 2009
6:30 p.m. on the 6th floor

Mid-Manhattan Library
The New York Public Library
40th Street and 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212-340-0871

Elevators access the 6th floor after 6pm.
All events are FREE and subject to last minute change or cancellation.

Economy has you down? Can’t afford to go away this summer? Cheer up! Plan a vacation right at home in New York City. Go library hopping and enjoy a plethora of high quality cultural performances at the New York Public Library - for FREE!

Last Saturday, I visited the Bronx Library Center (where a free performance is offered every Saturday at 2:30 pm), and was treated to the finest quality of Latin Jazz performed by an ensemble led by one of the masters of Latin Jazz – Edy Martinez. Edy Martinez is one of the developers of Latin jazz and an honoree of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
He has won much acclaim for his cds Midnight Jazz Affair and Privilegio.

Edy Martinez and ensemble in concert at the Bronx Library Center →

This is just one of the many high quality free performances you can enjoy at the New York Public Library. Each month vast array of programs are offered. Here are a few highlights of what’s coming up:

Jose Obando – a Salsa Expert and Museologist and his ensemble will be performing at the following libraries:

Aguilar Library – Saturday, May 9 at 2 pm
Van Cortlandt Library - Saturday, May 16 at 2 pm
125th Street Library – Saturday, May 30 at 3 pm
Inwood Library – June 13 at 2:00 pm
Castle Hill Library - June 27 at 2:00 pm

Jose Obando’s performances are more than just music performances. He educates the audience by explaining the history and cultural context of the actual selections performed. Subsequently, individuals who have no formal knowledge of this music appreciate it all the more.

If you’re a theater fan – then you don’t want to miss Brief Shorts - A Tribute to Ionesco's Centennial by the Xoregos Performing Company, a talented group of actors.

← Xoregos Performing Company with Erin Jennings and Keith Carter.  Costumes by Carla Gant.

Brief Shorts, a quintet of unusual danced plays by five contemporary playwrights including its tribute to Eugène Ionesco. Celebrating the centenary of Ionesco’s birth, they will perform his 1953 playlet, Maid to Marry. The program also includes works by Adam Kraar and Adé Adémola, both living in Brooklyn, Rick Foster, who lives in Northern California and Curtis Zahn, a published Southern California playwright and poet.

Brief Shorts will be performed at the following libraries:

Yorkville Branch Library - Monday, June 29 at 6:30 pm
Muhlenberg Branch Library - Tuesday, July 7 at 6 pm
Morningside Heights Branch Library - Thursday, July 9 at 6 pm
96th Street Branch Library - Saturday, July 11 at 2 pm
Hamilton Grange Branch Library - Monday, July 13 at 5 pm
Webster Branch Library - Thursday, July 16 at 6 pm
Kips Bay Branch Library - Saturday, July 18 at 2:30 pm

To see more performances, please visit our calendar at http://www.nypl.org/calendar

Or just stay tuned to hear more about upcoming events … (Sneak preview: Circus in the library, shhh!)

From Friday, April 17th to Thursday, April 23rd, 2009, New York City will celebrate Immigrant Heritage Week. Declared an official, annual celebration by Mayor Bloomberg, Immigrant Heritage Week is a unique celebration of the vibrant immigrant cultures, history, and communities found in every corner of the City.

In the past years, the celebration began on Monday but this year it starts on Friday, April 17th. Why April 17, you might ask?

 read more »

Monday March 16th might just be the best day to visit Deirdre Donohue's art installation, Sevdah, at the Mid-Manhattan Library, because on that evening the artist herself will be there, in conversation with Bernard Yenelouis, curator and educator at the School of the International Center of Photography. This event begins at 6:30pm, Monday 3/16/09.

I'm drawn into Donohue's work because of the intensity of the details that she creates using a traditional medium, embroidery, on a large scale. When I visited the installation last week, I wanted to study each small fabric square's evocative imagery, patterns, and textures. You can read more about her work here. And even if you can't make it to the artist dialogue Monday the 16th, the art itself will remain on exhibition until April 22nd--don't miss it!

Image: from Sevdah, by Deirdre Donohue

This week's a big one for the craft-conscious of New York City, because Handmade Nation--which is both a film AND a book available at the Library--comes to town!

This long-awaited documentary of the indie craft movement will have its New York premiere at the Museum of Arts and Design on Thursday evening. In addition to the screening, director Faythe Levine will be there to talk with artists Mandy Greer, Kate Bingaman-Burt, and Callie Janoff. As of this morning, the event is 80% sold out. So if you plan to go don't delay in purchasing your own tickets. The Museum will screen the film two more times, though without the panel discussion, on Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th at 2:00pm each day.

But there is more! On the evening of the 11th, Powerhouse Arena in Brooklyn's hosting a great book launch event celebrating and exploring craft in America. Levine and Handmade Nation co-author Cortney Heimerl will be joined by Sabrina Gschwandtner of KnitKnit fame and Andrew Wagner, editor in chief of American Craft.

So, I recommend that you give yourself or a friend a very special valentine this week by checking out one of these events, or by reserving a copy of Handmade Nation at the Library. You can also learn more about the film, the book, and the creative people behind both at this awesome Design*Sponge interview.

I had a such a great time meeting those of you who came to my class on Friday--thanks for being there and for contributing so much to the discussion. I hope that you'll come back to dig into our collections in the future. In the meantime, as suggested by one attendee, I've put together the following list of magazines and books that I had in the classroom, for your reference:

Bernat's Handicrafter

Embroidery: The Journal of the Embroiderers' Guild

Minerva Style Book

Box furniture: how to make a hundred useful articles for the home by Louise Brigham

Creative hands, an introduction to craft techniques by Doris Cox and Barbara Warren

Hobbies : leisure and the culture of work in America by Steven M. Gelber

Clark's O.N.T. book of crochet and tatting by Frances A. Harris

Clark's O.N.T. "woolsaver" knitting and crochet book by Frances A. Harris

Formschone Lampen und Beleuchtungsanlagen by Gerhard Krohn and Fritz Hier

The simple art of wall decoration by Lois B. Livingston

Home dressmaking; every woman's practical guide to the art of making smart clothes, with chapters on sewing for babies and children, and renovations by Agnes M. Miall

Paper Sculpture by George Arthur Sadler

Paper silhouettes by Mildred Swannell

Another collection of one hundred textile designs compiled by S. Takahashi

Paper folding and modelling by Aart van Breda

Los milagros en metal y en cera de Puerto Rico by Teodoro Vidal

Wood Type from William H. Page and Company

Remember that these books are just the tip of the handicraft iceberg here at the Library. Don't hesitate to ask if you want help in finding particular materials. And also, please let me know if you have specific requests for future classes and programs. I'm always looking for ways to match your interests so don't be shy!

Thanks again! And if you didn't make it to Friday's class but would be interested in future classes, stay tuned because our next season's schedule will be finalized soon.

It's time for all you would-be crafters and makers to come to the library! This Friday afternoon I'll be offering a free one-hour introduction to the Library's resources--both vintage publications and online sources--that I hope will inform and inspire you in your own DIY endeavors. I'll also bring along a stack of books and magazines to share, to give you a taste of what's waiting for you in the stacks.

The classroom opens at 3:00, and class starts at 3:15. There’s no registration and the class is free; just come on in and grab a seat!

Here are the details:
When: Friday, February 6th, 3:15pm
Where: NYPL's Humanities & Social Sciences Library, South Court Classroom
Questions? southcourt@nypl.org / 212-930-9284

I look forward to meeting you!

The image above is from 1889, taken during the centennial celebration of George Washington's inauguration. I wonder what kind of celebration there will be 100 years from tomorrow . . .

To be sure, one will not need to wait 100 years to see a celebration. Washington, D.C. is gearing up for the largest crowd it has ever seen. I won't be there on Tuesday, but I will be watching. In fact, if you want to join me, stop by the Humanities and Social Sciences Building. We'll be watching inaugural festivities in the South Court classrooms.

Another hectic work day is about to begin. The commute has been an exercise in frustration and when I finally emerge from the clogged subway stairs I need to make a quick dash to get to the office on time. Hurriedly passing Bryant Park I notice out of the corner of my eye a group of people purposefully moving slowly in unison. Risking a late start I take some time to see what they are doing. The movements are graceful and the participants seem much more relaxed than me. Overhearing a conversation between some passersby, I learn they are practicing Tai Chi. What is it about anyway and why can I never feel that relaxed that early in the morning?

Are you interested in finding out what Qigong and Taiji (Tai Chi) are about and how they are practiced? Do you have some experience but want to learn more? Either way, you should check out a program being held at the Mid-Manhattan Library on Tuesday, October 7, starting at 6:30 p.m. titled Nurturing Health via Qigong and Taiji with Yang Yang, Ph.D.  read more »

Stephen King hailed A Three Dog Life as, “The best memoir I have ever read.” Very true, my own mother wouldn’t talk to me, after I had journeyed far & wide on a Metro-North train to visit her, until she had turned the last page! “Just a minute,” she said, opening her front door for me and simultaneously marking her place in the book with her finger, “I’ll hear all about your life in the City after I finish this book; go fix yourself something to eat.” Curious about what could possibly be keeping my mother from me, her favorite and only daughter, I scooped the book up immediately upon her setting it down and proceeded to read straight through the night.

If one word can be used to sum up this book it is courage, as defined by Theodore Roosevelt when he said, “Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”  read more »

Everyday here in the Milstein Division, we get questions from all over the city and around the country about the history of New York City. Questions range from the very specific, “What was the weather in Manhattan on May 7th 1864?” to the dauntingly vague, “My great-grandfather lived in New York, his name was Patrick Murphy. Could you send me information on him?” Fortunately, the library’s collection of reference material on New York City history is astounding and rare is the question that goes unanswered. But for those who don’t have direct access to our print collection and are interested in researching the history of our great metropolis, I invite you to a free research class at the library this week.  read more »