We'll be sprucing up the library during the week of December 5. Visitors will notice some long needed renovations (replacing the lobby wall covering and updating the accent walls) which have been made possible through careful management of the 2011 operations budget.

What a blustery day we have for Halloween this year! Hold on to your hats kids, and try not to let your candy blow away. When you get home, be sure to check out one of our fun craft books and keep the Halloween spirit going by making one or more of the supercute crafts or one of the yummy treats that some of the books have to offer. Enjoy!

The month of October is truly a special one. Why, you ask? During October 1-31st, we are celebrating Squirrel Awareness Month. There are so many great ways you can be a part of Squirrel Awareness Month, including checking out some of our fabulous art books. You could make crocheted squirrels, paintings of squirrels, ceramic squirrels, or squirrel collages. So let your inner squirrel run wild and have fun being creative!

Even though it is chilly and cloudy here and there, curl up with a soft blanket and delve into Monet's world. Enjoy his gently moving waters, or barely there breezes as his fluid and graceful brushstrokes convey messages of relaxation and pensive thought. We have some great books on Monet that you can check out for your pleasure and have a little Monet on Monday (or Sunday, if you are so willing).

This Sunday, July 19th, is the birth anniversary of the artist Edgar Degas.  He lived from 1834-1917.  During his life, he became famous for painting and sculpting many subjects including a lengthy series having to do with dancers and dancing, most notably in the field of ballet.

Peter Paul Rubens was born on June 28, 1577. He is best known as an influential Flemish painter during the Baroque era. You make think Rubens conjures up images of sandwiches and lunch, but actually, the artist was famous for painting Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. His paintings are full of action and movement as the subjects are rendered in vivid colors and in interesting poses. An excellent website to learn more about this famous artist is www.peterpaulrubens.org.

Today is the birth anniversary of American Impressionist, Mary Cassatt.

Welcome to Spring, everyone! One artist who embodies the feeling of floating on a springtime breeze in the sunshine, at least for me, is Claude Monet.  His impressionistic works capture the way subtle changes begin to take place with flowers blooming, light breezes blowing, and the days getting ever so slightly longer.

Starting March 8th and ending May 31st, the DIA will be hosting paintings by the artist Norman Rockwell.  He spent his time painting scenes from the world around him, many of his paintings having a small town feel to them that was both welcoming and enduring.  His recognizable art lives on all around us and brings us back to a time when soda fountains were all the rage and kids really did do the darndest things. For a chance to see Mr.