Studio MPL practices drawing with live models

The young artists of Studio MPL practice drawing live models.

Ruthie had held her splits pose for more than nine minutes, and she was beginning to ache.

Talk about suffering for your art.

The young artists in Studio MPL—Mentor Public Library’s art club for kids—practiced drawing live models during their most recent meting.

They didn’t have to look hard for models either. Several of the club members, including Ruthie, volunteered to pose for their friends.

Taryn sketches her friends while they pose.

Artists of all kinds often use live models to create realistic pictures, paintings and sculptures of people; so the exercise provided valuable practice to the kids in Studio MPL.

Every month, the kids take on a new art project. They’ve created imaginary friends, made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved, tried out pointillism and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. If your kid likes art—any kind of art—they can join the fun!

Next month’s session will be March 21 at our Main Branch.

Kids can sign up for Studio MPL on our website or by calling the library at 440-255-8811 ext. 221.

Caleb uses his own illustration as part of his pose.

Visit Mentor Public Library's Facebook page for more photos from Studio MPL.

Studio MPL has a creative Christmas

Giselle practices perspective by drawing a snowman.

Giselle practices perspective by drawing a snowman.

Studio MPL, our art club for kids, took a break from studying old masters, creating imaginary friends, making sun catchers, painting sunsets, weaving, and trying out pointillism to relax.

The young artists made ornaments and practiced perspective by sketching snowmen.

Maria decorates her ornament during the Studio MPL meeting.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. If your kid likes art—any kind of art—they can join the fun!

Next month’s session will be Jan. 18 at our Main Branch. You can register for it here.

Dharmesh shows his progress on his snowman.

For more photos from Studio MPL, visit Mentor Public Library’s Facebook page.

It's an artistic free-for-all at Studio MPL

Caleb uses an old hard drive as the heart of his mixed-media robot.

Caleb uses an old hard drive as the heart of his mixed-media robot.

Studio MPL, our art club for kids, had its first free-for-all contest on Monday.

The kids made anything they wanted, voted on their favorites and even designed the trophies the top vote-getters received.

The young artists followed their imaginations, creating robots, dress designs and even an oversized smart phone.

While not everyone could win the contest, all of these young artists are winners.

Feathers fall from above as Lynn brainstorms for her fashion project.

Every month, the kids take on a new art project. They’ve created imaginary friends, made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved, tried out pointillism and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. If your kid likes art—any kind of art—they can join the fun!

Next month’s session will be Dec. 21 at our Main Branch. You can register for it here.

Our young artists!

For more photos from Studio MPL, visit Mentor Public Library's Facebook page.

Studio MPL meets Vincent Van Gogh

Ruthie creates her own version of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" during Studio MPL.

Studio MPL—Mentor Public Library’s art club for kids—experimented with the style of Vincent Van Gogh on Monday.

They even tried their hands at sketching and painting their own versions of his "Starry Night."

Haley creates her evening sky before adding her stars.

Every month, the kids take on a new art project. They’ve created imaginary friends, made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved, tried out pointillism and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. If your kid likes art—any kind of art—they can join the fun!

Next month’s session will be Nov. 16 at our Main Branch. You can register for it here.

Gavin mixes different shades of blue and black together for his night sky.

For more photos from Studio MPL, visit Mentor Library’s Facebook page.

Young artists get the point (as in pointillism) at Studio MPL

Kaylee recreates La Grande Jatte using the same pointillist technique that Seurat innovated.

Studio MPL—Mentor Public Library’s art club for kids—tried their hand at pointillism and learned about the art style’s founder, George Seurat, on Monday, Sept. 21.

Lisa Layton, the children’s library associate in charge of Studio MPL, also explained how computers and digitally animated films use pointillism.

“The pixels they use to draw those are just another form of dots,” Layton said. “Seurat did that more than 100 years ago, so let’s give it up for George.”

Colin blends different shades of blue to create the water.

The children then tried their own hand at making their own version of Seurat’s masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. They received an outline of the famous park scene and could color it however they wanted, but they had to use Seurat’s pointillist style.

Every month, Studio MPL takes on a new art project. They’ve created imaginary friends, made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock.

Circles can be used to make all kinds of art. Remo experiments with making different kinds of eyes, using felt circles.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. If your kid likes art—any kind of art—they can join the fun.

Next month’s session will be Oct. 19 at Mentor Public Library’s Main Branch. The kids will learn about Vincent Van Gogh.

Giselle concentrates on her artwork.

For more photos from Studio MPL, visit Mentor Library's Facebook page.

Young artists test their brains with Studio MPL

By turning common objects upside down, Leah transforms a familiar item into a series of unfamiliar shapes.

Studio MPL—Mentor Library’s art club for kids—tested the artistic and organizational parts of their brain on Monday, May 18.

They did this by drawing recognizable objects—hands, horses, even a Pablo Picasso painting—while the objects were flipped upside down.

“By turning them upside down, you transform a horse into a group of unfamiliar shapes instead of the familiar ‘horse,’” said Lisa Layton, the children’s associate from Mentor Public Library who oversees Studio MPL. “This forces you to use the organizational part of your brain when drawing it, instead of your artistic side.”

Mira recreates a Pablo Picasso painting with markers during Studio MPL, an art club for kids at Mentor Library.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of most months. Each month, students work on different art challenges, as well as their own projects. However, it will be on hiatus during the summer and shall return in September.

In the meantime, kids can participate in Mentor Library’s summer reading program. This year, the theme for children is “Every Hero Has a Story.” The kickoff party is May 30 at MPL’s Main Branch.

Kids can win fun prizes—up to the grand prize of a $50 gift certificate from Toys ‘R Us—just for reading (or being read to) and coming to fun programs at Mentor Public Library.

Colin starts sketching his superhero for MPL's "Every Hero has a Story" summer reading program.

To see more photos from Studio MPL, visit Mentor Library's Facebook page.

Studio MPL kids make their own version of Munch's 'Scream'

Colin creates his own version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" during Studio MPL on Monday.

Studio MPL—Mentor Library’s art club for kids—looked to painter Edvard Munch for inspiration last Monday.

Munch is best known for his Expressionist painting, The Scream. Using Much's painting as a reference point, the kids drew their own emotions or (if they couldn't decide which emotion to draw) made their own versions of The Scream.


The young artists used crayons, colored pencils, markers and chalk—whatever best expressed their feelings.

Gavyn uses markers to express her emotions.

Every month, the kids take on a new art project. They’ve created imaginary friends, made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. If your kid likes art—any kind of art—they can join the fun!

Next month’s session will be May 18 at our Main Branch. You can register for it here.

For more photos from Studio MPL, check out our Facebook page. For more information on programs and events for children, teens and adults at Mentor Public Library, visit our online event calendar.

Mya mulls over what to draw during Studio MPL.

Studio MPL & the Art of the Imaginary Friend

Jayce's imaginary friend is named Louis. She created him using randomly selected attributes.

Jayce's imaginary friend is named Louis. She created him using randomly selected attributes.

Studio MPL—Mentor Library’s art club for kids—flexed their artistic muscles by drawing their own imaginary friends on Monday, March 16.

The young artists drew inspiration from The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat, which MPL children’s associate Lisa Layton read to them. The 2015 Caldecott Award-winning book tells the story of a young who creates an imaginary friend.

“The story has so much depth and meaning,” Ms. Lisa said. “So we peeled back the layers of the story through the artwork. At first, the kids see a blobby character. With a second look at the illustrations, it becomes clear that Beekle is a sheet of paper. The story is a metaphor about how an author and illustrator come together to create a story.”

Mira's imaginary friend, Max, has a blue head, pumpkin body and big smile.

The kids then created their own imaginary friends. These new friends had fur, claws, top hats, pumpkin bodies and many more fantastical details.

“Cool moment, because the kids wanted to talk about them,” Ms. Lisa said. “Their imaginary friends were so vibrant and important to them.”

Finally, the kids worked in groups to create a second imaginary friend. They suggested different attributes: purple eyes, a fur coat, likes to sing, and so on. Then, the kids randomly picked from the compiled attributes and used them to draw imaginary friends.

Layton explained that the exercise serves two purposes: one, it encourages artists to work together (like a writer and illustrator) and, two, the random suggestions can serve as a cure for artist's block.

Rosa and Taryn work together to create imaginary friends.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. If your kid likes art—any kind of art—they can join the fun!

Next month’s session will be April 20 at our Main Branch. You can register for it here.

For more photos from our Studio MPL session, check out our Facebook page. For more information on programs and events for children, teens and adults at Mentor Public Library, visit our online event calendar.

Rose makes a rainbow background for her imaginary friend.

Studio MPL explores Egypt with art

Mira looks through the phonetic, hieroglyphic alphabet to see what she wants to paint on her stone.

Studio MPL—our art club for kids in first through fifth grade—continued to explore Egyptian art during its meeting Monday at our Main Branch.

In January, they turned their names into cartouches. This month, they colored scarabs and used hieroglyphs to decorate amulets. (We can neither confirm nor deny that the amulets are magical.)

If your child enjoys art, Egyptian history or both, it's easy to do similar crafts at home. All it takes is some paint and a stone or two. If your child wants to spell their name in hieroglyphics, they can use the Virtual-Egypt website to get a translation. (Disclaimer: these aren’t exact translations from our alphabet to hieroglyphics. They’re the closest possible phonetic translations for each character.)

Landon shows off his finished scarab.

Studio MPL meets every month and your kid (or kids) are welcome to join us. And, like everything else we do at the library, it's free.

Every month, the kids take on a new art project. They’ve made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. Our next session is March 16 at our Main Branch. You can register for it here.

For more photos from our Studio MPL session, check out our Facebook page. For more information on programs and events for children, teens and adults at Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org.

Rose paints her amulet during the Studio MPL meeting at Mentor Library.

Studio MPL makes cartouches and you can too

Help your kid turn his or her name into a cartouche like Ruthie did.

Studio MPL—our art club for kids in first through fifth grade—turned their names into colorful cartouches on Monday.

A cartouche was a designation for a royal name written in hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt. Some pharaohs would even have their names inscribed into amulets and wear them. (So cartouches are sort of like those bracelets with names on them—except for Egyptian rulers, and in hieroglyphics.)

Even if you missed Monday's Studio MPL get-together, you and your kids (or grandkids or nieces or nephews or whatever) can still make your own cartouches.

It's a fun art project and also allows you to teach (and learn) a bit about ancient Egypt.

You can get as creative with your cartouche as you want.

You can use the Virtual-Egypt website to get a translation of your or anyone else's name into hieroglyphs. (No, these aren't exact translations. They're the closest possible phonetic translations for each alphabetic character. It's about as close as you can get without hiring a papyrologist.)

Once you've got your translated name, you can draw and decorate it anyway you want!

Payton favors a psychedelic background.

If your kid enjoys the cartouche craft or has an artistic bent, they may like our Studio MPL art club.

Every month, they try a different art project. They’ve made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. Our next session is Feb. 16 at our Main Branch. You can register for it here.

For more photos from our Studio MPL session, check out our Facebook page. For more information on programs and events for children, teens and adults at Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org.

Wands, Wizards & Writing this MLK Day at Mentor Library

It's going to be a Harry Potter party this Jan. 19 at our Lake Branch. (Don't worry. No snakes are invited.)

Schools are closed this Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but we'll be open with a full carte du jour of programs for teens and kids.

If your kids are looking for something fun to do on their day off, we have you covered.

At our Lake Branch, we're throwing a Harry Potter party at 6:30 p.m.. Kids can make their own wands, while playing wizarding games. (No curses allowed!)

Meanwhile, Studio MPL—our art club for kids in first through fifth grade—will have its monthly meeting at 4 p.m. at our Main Branch.

During the last two years, the kids in Studio MPL have made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock; so, whatever they have planned for this Monday, it's going to be fun and creative. (And maybe a little messy.)

Each month, Studio MPL experiments with a different form of art.

Our new Teen Writing Club is also meeting at 4:30 p.m. at our Main Branch. Each month, our young writers get together to hone their craft by trying a different story prompt. This month's theme is creating complex characters.

If any of these programs interest you, we'd recommend registering for them soon—either by calling Mentor Library or by using our event calendar online. Each of these programs only have so many available slots—our Frozen program on Monday is already completely booked—and we don't want anyone to get left out because they waited too long to register.

If you have any questions, you can call our Lake Branch at 440-257-2512 or our Main Branch at 440-255-8811. See you at the library!

Our teen writing club tackles different story prompts and shares their stories each month.

Drawing with Olaf and Studio MPL

This is Olaf. He likes warm hugs.

You want to know how to get kids excited about something? Find a way to incorporate Frozen.

Our young artists from Studio MPL practiced their drawing by using their favorite snowman, Olaf, as a model.

Studio MPL is our art club for kids in first through fifth grade. Each month they try something different: making sun catchers, painting sunsets, weaving and even trying out some of Jackson Pollock's techniques.

This month, they practiced drawing. By breaking it down into steps, they transformed familiar geometric shapes into Olaf.

Maria learns how to combine simple shapes to make more complicated characters.

This was our last Studio MPL meeting of the year, but it will be back again in January.

Next month’s session will be Jan. 19 at our Main Branch. (Yes, we're open on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.) You can register for it here.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month. If your kid likes art—any kind of art—they can join the fun!

For more photos from our Studio MPL session, check out our Facebook page. For more information on programs and events for children, teens and adults at Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org.

Giselle offers some drawing tips to Taryn during Studio MPL. One of the great things about our art club is that the kids can help one another.

Making cornucopias with Studio MPL

Eva begins by outlining the pumpkin in her cornucopia.

On Monday, Studio MPL—our art club for kids in first through fifth grade—made cornucopias of self-expression. They made collages from magazines to show what they were thankful for this year.

This continues their theme of self-expression. Last month, they used hair to depict their inner selves.

Remo colors the grapes in his cornucopia.

They've also made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month.

Next month’s session will be Dec. 15 at our Main Branch. You can register for it here.

For more photos from our Studio MPL session, check out our Facebook page. For more information on programs and events for children, teens and adults at Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org.

Natalie uses rounded geometric figures like spheres and ovals to sketch a turkey.

Studio MPL and the art of the good hair day

Kelsey focuses on her pink and magenta locks.

The summer hiatus is over and Studio MPL is back!

Oh, you haven't heard of Studio MPL?

It’s Mentor Library’s art club for kids in first through fifth grade, and it's six scoops of awesome.

They've made sun catchers, painted sunsets, weaved and even garnered inspiration from Jackson Pollock.

Giselle laughs as she draws brightly colored shocks of hair during the Studio MPL meeting Monday.

This month, we talked about art as a reflection of who we are—and we did it using hair. We gave the young artists colored pencils, markers and other art supplies, and we told them to draw a person's hair; and the hair would represent what's going on inside of them.

And the kids got more creative than we could imagine. One girl made her hair a series of googly eyes. A boy turned his artwork into two necklaces—one that he could wear and another for his grandma.

Darin packs a lot of bright colors close together to create contrast.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month.

Next month’s session will be Oct. 20 at our Main Branch. You can register for it here.

For more photos from our Studio MPL session, check out our Facebook page. For more information on programs and events for children, teens and adults at Mentor Public Library, visit www.mentorpl.org.

Ella's hair looks like a rainbow with its layers of color.

Making Sun Catchers with Studio MPL

Gavyn coordinates her sun catcher so it matches her outfit.

In April, the kids from Studio MPL painted sunsets. Last week they made sun catchers.

I think they're working on some sort of solar motif.

If you haven't heard of Studio MPL, it's Mentor Library's art club for kids in first through fifth grade. They meet on the third Monday of each month.

Each of the kids could choose what color material they would fill their sun catchers with.

In past months, the kids have learned everything from weaving to inking to how to use fluorescent paints. They’ve made paper cutouts in the style of Matisse and even channeled Jackson Pollock.

Studio MPL is going to take a break for the summer but it'll be back in September. For more photos from Studio MPL’s most recent session, go to our Facebook page.

Monika Wolk attaches threads to her sun catcher so it can hang outside.

Speaking of summer, kids, teens and adults can start signing up for our Summer Reading Program on May 31. This year, a lot of our programs have a scientific theme. And, as always, you can win a lot of cool prizes—just for reading.

For more information on Mentor Library’s summer reading program, call 440-255-8811 or visit your nearest branch.

Painting Sunsets with Studio MPL

Colin concentrates on his sunset painting during the Studio MPL meeting last week

There's something about a sunset. Just ask Tomie DePaola, Frederic Edwin Church or pretty much any other artist.

Studio MPL, our art club for kids in first through fifth grade, painted sunsets last week. Lisa Layton, who's in charge of Studio MPL, said she didn't just pick this subject matter for its beauty.

"Painting sunsets is a necessity for any artist," she said. "Children tend to think of the sky as blue. Painting sunsets takes them outside of that usual way of observing nature to discover all of the wonderful colors the sky can become."

Lily giggles while she and Gavyn practice painting rainbows.

Before breaking out the paint, Lisa read the kids The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, which tells the story of Little Gopher and how he brings the colors of the sunset down to earth.

Then Lisa explained to the young artists how they can layer and blend colors to paint a realistic sunset.

"We started with yellow at the bottom of the canvas for the setting sun, then red in the middle and a dash of blue on top," she said. "For the final touch, we blended the colors with water to make orange and purple. It's magical how the canvas changes when the colors are blended."

Kaylee blends the colors in her sky, so her painting looks more realistic.

Studio MPL meets on the third Monday of each month.

In past months, the kids have learned everything from weaving to inking to how to use fluorescent paints. They’ve made paper cutouts in the style of Matisse and even channeled Jackson Pollock.

With the weather finally getting warm, Lisa said Studio MPL's next project would probably be something that they can enjoy outside like a sun catcher or wind chimes.

But the only way to know what they’re going to do next is to get in on the fun.

The next Studio MPL meeting is 4 p.m. Monday, May 19, at the Mentor Public Library’s Main Branch.

For more photos from Studio MPL’s most recent session, go to our Facebook page.