It had a slow start, but the Art on the Spot initiative offered at the Estevan Public Library proved to be a popular program.
Art on the Spot ran from late February until the end of March. Roxy Blackmore, the adult program co-ordinator for the library, created spots of different sizes out of art quality paper to ensure they could handle the paint. Then people dropped by and created artwork on those spots of paper, to be hung at the library.
“We put out some paint, and we put out some pastels and different art mediums, and people could decorate a spot,” said Blackmore.
Well over 100 submissions were received. They’re now hanging from the library’s windows. People of all ages capitalized on the opportunity to be creative and make something beautiful.
There wasn’t a theme or a requirement for the designs. People could create whatever they wanted.
“It did very, very well,” said Blackmore. I didn’t know what to expect, because it was an independent program, so it didn’t require a lot of effort on my part. We were pleasantly surprised. It looks very nice in here.”
The program had a slow start, and it didn’t receive any submissions for the first few days. Blackmore believes the lack of activity early on was because people didn’t want to be the first one to complete something, nor did they want to be the last.
“If someone starts something, it catches on,” said Blackmore. “Once people saw a couple of spots in the window, they asked ‘What is that?’ and wanted to be a part of it.”
The artwork will remain at the library for a while, and then a decision will be made on what to do with the brightly-decorated artwork.
