Summer Reading Program Kick-Off

We had a great time at the Summer Reading Program Kick-Off this morning.  The kids were able to show off their athletic prowess at the Kiddie Olympics.  Special thanks to UFC Smyrna for setting up the course and staffing it with adult athletes. 

Afterwards the kids received their medals.  The Smyrna Police department stopped by with a lovely Police Dog and the Friends of Smyrna held a children’s book sale.

On Your Mark, Get Set...READ!!!

Summer Reading Program Registration Opens

The Summer Reading Program kick-off is on Friday, May 27th from 10:30am to 12pm. You can stop by the Youth Services Desk anytime to register and receive your calendar of events.

This year's theme is On Your Mark, Get Set...READ! 

Vinyl & Vino

"Vinyl & Vino"
Record and CD Sale

Saturday, May 14
6:00pm to 8:00 pm
Smyrna Library-After Hours
(Must be 21 Years Old to Attend)

$10 admission
(Includes 2 Free Drink Tickets)
Music, Refreshments, and Cash Bar

Hundreds of LPs and CDs to choose from - large selection of classical and opera LPs.

Smyrna Library is accepting donations of CDs, LPs and 45s to add to this sale.

Oils, Pastels & Watercolors by Susan Knight Smith Opens at Smyrna Public Library Art Gallery

The May/June art gallery exhibit for 2016 has opened - Oils, Pastels & Watercolors by Susan Knight Smith. Susan’s exhibit is on display until June 30. The art gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the Smyrna Library. The art gallery exhibits are sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Biography:

Susan Knight Smith works primarily in pastel, a medium that allows her to combine her love of expressive drawing with vibrant color. In addition to landscapes, she paints portraits, figure studies, still life, intimate garden scenes, and particularly enjoys plein air painting, or painting out of doors. Susan’s paintings reflect her love of nature, her fascination with the juxtaposition of colors and the play of light, and an enchantment with particular or unique people, places, or things. Of her work, she simply says, "I paint what delights me." She finds much to delight her in the metro Atlanta area where she lives, or near the E. Tennessee home where she grew up. She has also found inspiration for many of her paintings on trips to France, Italy, Mexico, the Arizona desert, and the coast of Maine.

Her work is in over one hundred fifty collections in the United States and has appeared in publications including the cover of ArtCalendar magazine. Exhibiting in over 50 juried regional, national, and international exhibits, Smith has won numerous awards.

Susan has been a working artist for over 25 years, was a teacher before she entered the field of art, and is happy to now be combining these two loves.

Susan paints from her home studio in Powder Springs, GA.

She lives with her husband Roy. They have four children, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild!

Glass Art, Acrylics and Pastel by Ann Tewelow Opens at Smyrna Public Library Display Gallery

The May/June art gallery exhibit for 2016 has opened - Glass Art, Acrylics and Pastel by Ann Tewelow. Ann’s exhibit is on display until June 30. The display gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the Smyrna Library. The display gallery exhibits are sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Biography:

I am so fortunate to be able to spend my retirement doing what I love to do and sharing my love of art with others. I hope that you will enjoy the creations in glass and pictures in glass, pastels, watercolors or acrylics.

I am fortunate enough to be living my dream of "doing my art when I retire". I have always had a love of and interest in art since my childhood which included earning painting opportunities in elementary school, giving me the desire and assurance that one day I wanted to be able to enjoy doing the art I loved to share with others. 

After marrying and having 3 children with my husband who was serving in the Navy, including being stationed in Naples, Italy for four and half years, we enjoyed touring most of Europe on vacations. Studying oils and acrylics while in Naples, my art was included in exhibits and private collections. ("Roman Mist" was in The Vatican.) Returning to the Naval Air Station in Atlanta, Georgia, I set aside my art while raising the children and pursuing other endeavors, including working with Cobb County as Coordinator of the Mable House Art Center and The Art Station. Upon retiring, I have been able to again return to my art. 

It has been my privilege to have participated in numerous exhibits at home and abroad and to have been honored to receive awards for my art as well as earning commissions and sales, been invited to be a juror for exhibits but the most rewarding is the reaction of friends and viewers to my work.  As well as continuing my work with pastels, acrylics and watercolors, I have expanded my interest to include working with glass. The beauty of glass with the depths of its reflective qualities and colors has always held a deep fascination for me. Taking up the art of fused and slump glass when I retired, I discovered the art of pate de verre and fritography as two new glass methods. In the attempt to create a niche of my own, I have begun to create my own molds from clay which are then fired. I have since added mosaics, etching and sandblasting on glass and mirrors to my repertoire. All these mediums have allowed me a wide range of creativity. I trust you will enjoy my art as much as I have enjoyed creating it.

I hope you will appreciate my work as much as I enjoy doing it to share with you. 

Innovative "Curiosity Creates" Program Art Show

The innovative Youth Services Department's  Curiosity Creates program opened a temporary art gallery in the reading room. 

Curiosity Creates is focused on tweens (age 8 to 12). The program hosted a series of art workshops taught by local artist Kathi Wall Fly. Each workshop highlighted a different artistic method and medium. Additionally, the library offered Curiosity Creates Open Lab, a weekly open lab to work independently utilizing skills attained during the workshop. The tweens learns about watercolors, graphite pencil, colored pencil, sculpture, pastel, and mixed media.  All materials were provided for both the workshop and lab. 

This program will be profiled at the 2016 Georgia COMO Library Conference. 

Click here to enjoy the photos.

New Youth Art Books

Check out some of the fantastic new art books purchased to support the "Curiosity Creates" art workshops for tweens. And join us for their gallery opening Tuesday, May 3, at 6 pm. You can meet the artists!

First Sunday Lecture: "Where in the World is CREATWOOD?"

Nancy McGee, lifelong Smyrna resident, presented "Where in the World is CREATWOOD?" today at the Smyrna Public Library.    

Her First Sunday Lecture Series presentation focused on the families that came from West End Atlanta to this Smyrna neighborhood in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the locations they occupied.

She also discussed how the land and land use evolved over the following century and the memories and achievements that are linked to the CREATWOOD families and area.

The First Sunday Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.