Blog: Month: February 2020

Converse Memorial Building & Art Tour: An Exploration of Visual Literacy

Join us on Saturday, February 15th at 11:00 a.m. for an exciting tour of Malden Public Library’s Converse Memorial Building and Art Galleries.  Do you wish you could better understand and critique the images that saturate your waking life?  That’s the purpose of visual literacy.  We will explore the concept of visual literacy while exploring great works by European and American master artists.   The Malden Public Library art collection was made possible through the generous donations Elisha and Mary Diana  Converse.  Limited to 25.  Register by calling 781-324-0218.

“The Miracle Flower”:
Learn Pastels with Gregory Maichack
Thursday, March 12th 6-8PM

Learn the art of pastels with artist Gregory Maichack in this adult art workshop. Call 781-324-0218 to sign up. Space is limited.

In this new, highly researched two-hour workshop, participants have fun producing their own pastel painting inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s enormous mural, The Miracle Flower, which Elizabeth Arden, the cosmetics mogul, commissioned her to paint in 1936.

Gregory Maichack is a seasoned pro at teaching pastel techniques, as recognized by the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Boston; Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), and hundreds of libraries and local cultural councils. He guides participants through the process with everything they need to know to pastel paint any subject. Expressive and fun, you will quickly learn how easy and direct pastel painting is and as always, all will keep their pastel painting.

This event is generously sponsored by the Malden Cultural Council and the Friends of the Malden Public Library.

The Art of Slowing Down: One Painting / One Hour

Enjoy the pleasure and power of slow looking! Join us on Saturday, March 28th at 11:00 a.m. for One Painting / One Hour in the Converse Memorial Building’s Ryder Gallery.   A growing number of museums now offer “slow art” tours or days that encourage visitors to take their time.  One Painting / One Hour was developed from the observation that viewers, in museums and galleries, spend an average of 15 to 30 seconds in front of any given art work; and the pace of life on the Internet makes this seem normal.

As part of the library’s focus visual literacy, this program is a chance for participants to slow down and dive deep for 60 minutes of focused looking, consideration, conversation, and interpretation of a single artwork.   In March we will focus our collective attention on English landscape painter John Linnell’s The Barley Harvest (1874).

The Malden Public Library art collection was made possible through the generous donations Elisha and Mary Diana Converse.  The program is limited to 15.  Register by calling 781-324-0218.

YA Holiday Party – February 13th

Young Adults in the 6th through 12th Grade are invited to celebrate the season at the Malden Public Library with games, snacks and crafts. Join us on Thursday February 13th, from 3:00 – 4:30 PM as we take over the Maccario Room of the library.

We’ll have board games, the Nintendo wiiU and ps4 set up, Valentine’s card crafts, snack, drinks and pizza! Join us to relax and spend time with friends in the Malden Public Library.