First, let me remind you of the upcoming fund-raiser for the Salem Public Library Children’s Room renovation, which is on Thursday, November 7th…
The Children’s Room renovation will include (according to library staff):
“The existing Children’s area activity room and adjacent under-utilized space (where the teen collection was previously housed) will be transformed into a modern, multifunctional room with capacity to meet the growing demand. Plans connect the two rooms with a movable wall, which will support two simultaneous storytimes, or allow staff to move the wall back to make the room into one larger space to accommodate bigger groups.”
PLUS, artist Kristin Kuhns was chosen to create enticing entrances to the new children’s facility on both the main and mezzanine levels. Here are her early conceptual designs…
Kristin has begun work. All the wood in these pieces will come from Salem from the Zena Forest, a sustainable forest run by the Deumling family, in West Salem. Mother Sarah manages the forest, and her son Ben manages the Zena Forest Products mill. I thought you might enjoy a peek at the beginnings of the library piece…
Sarah took Kristin out and she chose the tree she wanted, marking it with pink and green markers (not the usual Zena forest marking system!)
and here are Ben and Martin looking at Kristin’s drawing to see what part of the tree she really might want…
then the tree is cut, loaded and milled…
and here’s the whole Deumling family at the Mill…
Kristin begins by stripping the bark…
and then the creatures begin to come to life…(first photo courtesy of ML Zeek)
Please consider purchasing tickets to hear Ursula Le Guin, and support this wonderful project at the Salem Public Library!
On The Way 
Nice to learn about the Zena Forest….wonderful. It’s great to see Kristin in action; she is a very talented artist !
We made a wonderful choice in Kristin as the artist to create the entryways for the upcoming remodel and rennovation of the Library’s Children’s area! Thank you Bonnie for sharing the info on our Ursula K. Le Guin event, AND for the update on Kristin’s progress!
Awesome!
kristin never ceases to amaze us!
Lovely, Lovely, Lovely!
I’m so excited to see this project documented. All our kids who come into the Library Children’s Room through the years will find answers to their questions about how the entryway art was made and by whom. Thanks for posting this, Bonnie, and thanks for making this wonderful art, Kristin,
Delightful library creatures! Looking forward to seeing this wonderful project when completed.
So glad to see this great project with it’s ‘deep background’ documented! Kristin photographed in stages of her process is exciting, giving everyone a little glimpse into what work her “work of art” is! Wonderful!
This is wonderful! Hope to see pictures up in the library soon.
Can’t wait to see the finished piece installed. This is a wonderful entrance… what adventures away those who pass.
Saw Kristin last Sunday, wish i’d known of this ~ next time I shall thank her emphatically. For now, I thank ML Zeek (^.^) & Bonnie for the story & photos! This is beautiful, and Salem deserves it.