Intergenerational Art Program Success

Shelly Colins Fuerbringer

Recently in the IFLS Keeping Up with Kids blog, Shelly Collins Fuerbringer from the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire shared some great art ideas that, while targeted towards youth, actually engaged all ages.

Click here to get the scoop. [Inspiring Intergenerational Community Art Projects. Fuerbringer, Shelly Collins. Keeping Up with Kids blog. August 27, 2025.]

Happy Trees! Paint Like Bob (Ross)

Have you been yearning to try a Paint Night for your patrons, but can't afford the cost?  Maybe you have an avid group of artists always looking for a new challenge?  You should host a Bob Ross Painting Party!

For those of you unaware of the calming majesty of Bob Ross, his Emmy-Award-winning Joy of Painting program--aired on public television in its heyday, but now also available on Netflix, Youtube, and in DVD format--is one of the most popular and recognizable art programs on television.

For our first go, we decided to pick the Bob Ross video tutorial "Grey Winter" - - only three paint colors were necessary and most of the brushes were readily available through our craft suppliers of choice.  We had 20 of each brush available, but depending on your budget, you can always add or subtract (and have folks share.)  We decided against buying the painter's knives and instead encouraged participants to use the back end of their smaller brushes or popsicle sticks for the portions of video that called for that particular technique.

For canvases, we ordered these handy-dandy 9x12 boards from Nasco.  At $1.20/each, we knew we'd be hard-pressed to find a better bang for our buck.  We also purchased our three acrylic paint colors from Nasco and had more than enough for two separate sessions of Bob Ross goodness.

On the day of the program, we set up our room and dispersed the necessary materials, giving each participant a paper plate to use for their paint palette.  Each station also had a book display stand to serve as an easel.  NOTE: Make sure to cover the base of your book stand with masking tape or the like, as they're likely to be painted upon!

Before beginning, reassure folks that everyone's art will look different--and that's ok!  Rather than focusing on the finished product, they should instead enjoy the process and exploration. 

While each Bob Ross tutorial is around 30 minutes, plan for at least 60-90 minutes for your program, as you'll like want to pause the video after each step.  This allows folks to catch up without feeling like they need to create at professional-artist-speed, as well as gives them the opportunity to replenish any supplies, review a previous step, or simply take a break.

Other supplies that will come in handy:

• paper towel (lots!)
• individual cups of water

We had a blast with this program and definitely plan to revisit Bob and his happy, happy trees in the future.

52 Weeks: Week 14 Paint the City

Brought to you by the Wisconsin Library Association Youth Services Section, 52 Weeks of YA Programming is a collection of teen programs submitted by YSS members across the state.

Week 14: Paint the City Submitted by YSS Member Beth Henika

52 Weeks: Week 11 Get to Know an Artist

Brought to you by the Wisconsin Library Association Youth Services Section, 52 Weeks of YA Programming is a collection of teen programs submitted by YSS members across the state.
Week 11: Get to Know an Artist Submitted by YSS Member Kymberley E. Pelky

Painter on His Way to Work. Arles, August 1888

Developmentally Appropriate Art Exploration

Art begets writing and writing and reading go hand-in-hand. When children first learn to hold a crayon or a marker, they are taking some of their first steps towards writing. Zero to Three provides a useful overview of the stages in children's artistic development and how these skills promote writing readiness. Just as with other aspects of child development, the ages given are a range and children may reach different stages at different times. Every child follows their own timetable. This information can be helpful in creating process oriented art activities in the library as a program or as a storytime craft experience. View the Learning to Write and Draw article here.

Finished watercolor doodle art project. Photo credit: Sarah Cournoyer

Intent on exploring the art experience. Photo credit: Sarah Cournoyer

More art resources:

Dresser Public Library has an Artsy Smartsy arts-based early literacy program that Tiffany Meyer shared about during the UnStorytime Programming for Preschoolers session at the Wisconsin Library Association's 2014 Conference. View the session slides here.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children has a great article on How Process Art Experiences Support Preschoolers explaining the characteristics of process-oriented art vs. product-oriented art in a bullet-point list including tips, ideas, and further resources.

The Artful Parent has many ideas that translate well into a library setting.

Art Attack!

I love blogging and social media for the way they make learning about new concepts or initiatives so easy.  One great idea gets posted or tweeted and the snowball rolls on from there.  The connectivity is so immediate and so constant that you almost can't help learning something new to try in your work every day.

Today's "Aha!" moment is from the ALSC blog (ALA's Association for Library Service to Children). Our colleague Heather Accero from the Rochester MN Public Library has a great post about an Art Room they created for kids to explore and make art.

While I love the concept, even more fun is how they found the space to make this room. Heather gave up her office and it was re-purposed!  By looking for ways to include art, they found creative ways to make the space happen.

Rochester is just a short 60-90 minute drive away from La Crosse and Eau Claire and might be worth the stop to visit colleagues in these cities on your way to observe the wonder of the Art Room in Rochester!

Yarn Bombing with Preschoolers!

Check out the cool blog post on Library As Incubator about yarn-bombing with preschoolers!

As an extension of Extra Yarn (Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen's Caldecott-Honor book), Rebecca Dunn recommends having kids create yarn magic wands out of sticks (from the ground) and yarn (from your basket of extra yarn you have hanging around).  The results are wonderful!