2020 is certainly a year that we will forever remember. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to flex and develop our 21st Century Skills (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity) in order to reinvent our way of life and stay connected to our community. Faced with these challenges, local artist Cara McKinley has worked with PPLD’s Creative Services staff to completely reinvent and rebuild the annual Maker in Residence Program (MIR), adapting it to meet current social-distancing needs.
Explore the Fall Maker in Residence classes to learn more about the project videos and live chat opportunities!
For this project, Cara McKinley will create four sculptures to serve as the frames for community-created air-dry clay art, which will pull together the unique artistic perspectives of local community members who are together but apart during COVID-19. These wire sculptures will be on display at the following library locations: Cheyenne Mountain Library, Penrose Library, Rockrimmon Library, and Ruth Holley Library.
This project builds up a story of the woven solitary actions during quarantine and social distancing, reminding us that we all still have a hand and a voice in the community as a whole. Each individual expresses themselves freely as we weave our stories together.
Want to participate? Supplies will be provided as Take and Make (and Return!) kits at every Library location on a first-come, first-served basis, beginning on Mon., Oct. 5. After completing your air-dry clay art, please return it to PPLD following the instructions on the Take and Make Kit so that it may be displayed on one of the four wire sculptures!
Note: Take & Make Kits are available while supplies last.
We hope you’ll also join us at a MIR Live Chat: Community Build, where you can chat with Cara about the process, ask questions before you begin or show off your finished piece, and see what others have created!
No registration is required to participate in the Maker in Residence videos and live chats; just click on the “Remind Me” button on the event calendar listing and enter your email address to receive an email reminder 24 hours before the event!
Important Dates:
- Fri., Sept. 25: Sculptures arrive at participating Libraries.
- Mon., Oct. 5: Community Build instructional video premieres. Take and Make kits are available at every Library location while supplies last.
- Fri., Oct. 23 from 4 - 5 p.m.: MIR Live Chat: Community Build
- Wed., Nov. 11: Deadline to return your finished air-dry clay art piece to feature on a community sculpture!
Reception / Artist Q&A
Sun., Nov. 15 from 2 - 4 p.m.
If you watched an MIR video, participated in a project, contributed towards the Community Builds, or just now learned about the Maker in Residence Program, we encourage you to join us for this LIVE video event!
The Maker
A transplanted surfer from South Florida, Cara has always been enthralled in looking at the natural world. After completing her Post Baccalaureate Studies at Indiana University Bloomington and Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Cara moved to the rocky terrain of Colorado to recreate her observations in clay and multimedia. Using video, sculpture, installation and assemblage allows her the opportunity to indulge in the essence of an object and her world to create a shared reality. She makes in variable spaces in a continuous process of play using traditional and non-traditional media. Household objects, found items and natural materials such as sticks, sand, clay, tinfoil, metal, and glass express a way to enjoy and pay homage to nature.