Category Archives: Displays

Updates about decorative or temporary displays.

Clark Memorial Library is hosting an art display featuring pieces by the members of the Bethany Senior “Art Gang”, an art club sponsored by Bethany Senior Services. The display is upstairs, to the left of the check-out desk. Come take a look!

The Art Gang began as an hour-long weekly watercolor class where each new member believed that they were never going to be able to succeed. It is now a “true friends” club that celebrates the success of all members and normally runs at least two hours – and the art produced is unique and beautiful! Members explore a wide range of techniques: wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, dry brush, glazing, bleeding, feathering, masking, splattering, sponging, and even salt texturing, led by local artist Mary Lou Narowski.

The group meets Thursdays at 11:00 AM in the meeting room at Bethany town hall. The cost is $9.00 per session – all supplies are provided. Please join us as we always have room, and the laughs are abundant! For more information contact Robin Glowa, Director of Bethany Senior Services, at 203-393-2100 x1124.

Clark Memorial Library is celebrating the summer with displays featuring all sorts of outdoor activities and sports. Come learn about sports history or famous athletes and trainers, and follow the stories of people overcoming their limits to succeed both on and off the field!

Have you seen our “All Together Now!” displays? We have books for Pride Month, Juneteenth and African American Music Appreciation Month, Flag Day, and National PTSD Awareness Month, as well as ones about the history of the United States in general. It’s a celebration of all the people who have helped to create America as we know it, those who continue to defend it, and everyone who calls it home today.
Be sure to stop by and take a look!

A reception will be held on Saturday, April 10 with the local artists featured in our Arts@Clark! exhibit for June and July, Diane Chandler and Abbey Catalano.

Diane Chandler is an award-winning representational painter who resides in Wallingford, CT. After several years of focusing on portraits, she has been experimenting with other subjects; plants, trees, landscapes. She aspires to create arresting images that invoke a visceral reaction with viewers.

Abbey Catalano just completed her junior year as a Ceramics major at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, MA. Her work has been featured in several juried exhibitions at MASS Art. This past year she attended a week-long workshop in clay at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine as well as the National Conference for the Education on Ceramic Arts in Ohio. A resident of Hamden and graduate of Hamden Hall Country Day School, Abbey has participated in Clark Memorial Library’s Annual Summer Outdoor Exhibits in Bethany, CT for the past two years.

Diane’s oil paintings are on display in the Community Room downstairs; Abbey’s ceramic sculptures are in the display cabinets just outside the Community Room. Come to the reception for a chance to not only see their creations, but talk with the artists themselves!

May is National Inventors Month! Have you seen our themed displays? They include books about all sorts of inventors and inventions, both historical and fictional, as well as educational media to help you create inventions of your own.
Pick one up when you visit the Library and get inspired!

Arts@Clark! Presents:
James Vanderberg art exhibit continues through May!
Clark Memorial Library,

Have you seen the art exhibit in the Library’s Community Room? Throughout April and May, the exhibit features the work of local artist James Vanderberg. James moved to Bethany with his family in July of 2019 from Brooklyn, New York; he has taught Studio Art and Art History, and is currently the Educator for High School, University, and Community Engagement at the Yale Center for British Art. His art has also been featured in our past Annual Public Art Exhibits!

You can stop by any time during Library hours to visit the art exhibit. The Community Room is at the end of the right-hand hallway off of the Library’s side entrance.

A picture of James Vanderberg with some of his paintings.

National Library Week is an annual event sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries of all kinds – school, public, academic, and specialty – all across the country. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries and librarians to the communities they serve and to promote library use and support.

This year’s theme is “There’s More to the Story” – a reminder that the Library offers a lot more than just print books! We can provide resources like audiobooks, digital media, DVDs, puzzles, museum passes, meeting and study space, technology access and assistance, a variety of programs and activities, and more. But books are still a big part of what the Library is, and we’ve been bringing in all sorts of new material. Most of it can be found on our New Books display, to the right of the public computers upstairs. If there’s something you’d like to see in the Library’s collection but don’t right now, please fill out one of our book request forms (available at the Library) to let us know!

Graphic Novel & Illustrated Fiction Displays

During April, Clark Memorial Library is celebrating graphic novels, comics, and illustrated fiction. They’re a great place to start for young and beginner readers, and a whole new way of experiencing stories for those of us used to text-only media. Stop by and give one a try today!

The Children’s Room graphic novel and illustrated fiction displays

Now that spring is officially here, it’s the perfect time to check out our new Gardening and Crafts display! It’s just outside the Teens & Tweens area upstairs, and includes books on flower and vegetable gardening, landscaping, caring for houseplants, paper-crafts, and many kinds of needlework. Come take a look!

Liz Scott Recycled Art

Recycled Art Displays

These cardboard creatures are displayed at various points inside the Library.
These cardboard creatures are displayed at various points inside the Library.
These cardboard creatures are displayed at various points inside the Library.
These cardboard creatures are displayed at various points inside the Library.
These cardboard creatures are displayed at various points inside the Library.
These plastic jellyfish-like pieces are displayed outside, next to the parking lot.
These plastic jellyfish-like pieces are displayed outside, next to the parking lot.
These plastic jellyfish-like pieces are displayed outside, next to the parking lot.
These plastic jellyfish-like pieces are displayed outside, next to the parking lot.
These plastic jellyfish-like pieces are displayed outside, next to the parking lot.

Thank you to local artist Liz Scott for these recycled art pieces, which are currently on display both in and outside of the Library!