Pop Up Art School

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Yes, You Can Make Extra Cash At Your Public Library

I recently spoke to someone from our Facebook group Freelance Art Teachers in Libraries. She wanted to know how she should promote her classes to the libraries where she lives.

The conversation brought me back to the early days of Pop up Art School. I had forgotten the questions I had at the start of our business and the points of discovery as we grew.

Libraries offer our workshops to the public for free, so many people assume that we teach for free. In fact, we charge anywhere from $200-$425 per workshop, depending on how long the workshop is, how far we travel and if there are one or two teachers. 

When I told our FB group member how much we charge per workshop, she asked, “Is that the price for a six-week class?” Nope! Those are the prices for a 1 to 2 hour—one time workshop!

It also surprised her to learn that a librarian’s job involves hiring performers/vendors for their event calendar. If you have a talent or passion — you have something you can offer to libraries in your area. 

Here’s how…

Our first year, we promoted ourselves by sending a mailing to the children’s librarians in Eastern Massachusetts. We had a modest WordPress site with five or six workshops listed. From that mailing we booked 12 workshops. One librarians out of the 12 recommended us on an online forum. From a shout-out from one librarian we booked 24 workshops the following year. We are now in our sixth year of business and we have booked 46 workshops for 2019, and it’s only April!

If you think you want to offer your skills to the public libraries near you, brainstorm a list of your skills. Here are some examples to get the juices flowing:

  • A history teacher, passionate about the Revolutionary War, can create a lecture and a slideshow for adults.
  • A creative hobbyist can teach the basics of their craft to teens and adults.
  • A yoga or meditation teacher can teach others how to balance the stresses of everyday life.

I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to speak to our Facebook group member because it opened my eyes to how we can explain our business model to others.

Yes, YOU can earn money using your skills and passions at your local library. Stay tuned, for more blog posts with tips for marketing yourself to public libraries.

Join our Facebook group Freelance Art Teachers in Libraries. The group is for sharing ideas about teaching art and other subjects in public libraries. Whether you are a librarian looking for new ideas or a teacher seeking an enjoyable side hustle, we are here to answer questions and support you!

Next week: how we are scaling our business with afterschool enrichment classes and blogging

Palaces for the People

I love podcasts. A new one I’ve been listening to is 99% Invisible. The host Roman Mars has a sultry voice that’s easy on the ears. I recently listened to his interview of sociologist Eric Klinenberg the author of the book Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life.

Klinenberg coined the term social infrastructure while he was researching the deadly heat wave in Chicago in 1995. During this catastrophic event, over 700 people died, and overall, death rates were higher in poor neighborhoods. However, some poor neighborhoods had lower death rates. What was the difference that saved lives? Better physical and social infrastructure that brought people together. During the scorching heat wave neighbors knew who would be at risk.

Klinenberg asserts that libraries are the most effective social infrastructure. In his research for the book, he visited libraries around the country to see what they were up to. Many people believe libraries are relics of the past, but he found many libraries are offering innovative programs that help vulnerable populations including:

  • Early literacy
  • Job search services for former convicts
  • Resume help
  • ESL instruction
  • Citizenship classes
  • Rooms for teens to socialize in after school

This list is proof that libraries are no longer book mausoleums with hushed voices. In the podcast he describes a program offered by the Brooklyn Public Library which runs Library Lanes, a virtual bowling league. Teams of senior citizens compete against teams at other branches. The teams play using Xbox game systems. They even wear bowling jerseys!

Pop up Art School, has taught art workshops in over 40 libraries in Massachusetts. In our travels, we’ve visited  teeny-tiny and dilapidated libraries and architectural beauties that are brand-spanking-new. This weekend, we taught at the Scituate Public Library rebuilt in 2017. The building elegantly balances large open spaces with comfort and warmth. It has a variety of public and private spaces including a fireplace flanked with easy chairs, an art gallery, and a dedicated table for playing chess. Patrons can even sit on the balcony and relax on the white rocking chairs.

In my town, we are lucky enough to have a mayor who advocated to rebuild the main library. The new building will have 2- story windows facing a playground and park. The landscaping plan includes butterfly and sensory gardens with an amphitheater and picnic areas. There will be an auditorium with a separate entrance for groups to use the auditorium after hours. Our town has historical artifacts they housed in a basement room that was difficult to find. The new building will have a local history room with glass walls and doors. In addition, the building will be LEED certified. I hope the town will continue to fund the new library when it opens, so it can offer a diverse range of programs to contribute to the social infrastructure of the town.

What homeschools are looking for in an art class.

To learn more about what it’s like to teach art when homeschooling and what a homeschool parent looks for in an art program, we reached out to Krysten Lynch Callina.

Krysten has homeschooled her two sons for nine years and she’s the moderator of the Massachusetts Homeschoolers Connection Facebook group which helps facilitate support and fellowship among Massachusetts homeschool parents.  

What is your favorite thing about homeschooling?

The opportunity for kids to learn at their own pace and with their own learning style, and the freedom parents have to find what works for their children.

When planning an art lesson what resources do you use?

Library books, Pinterest, formal classes, YouTube, DIY.org

When you plan art lessons, do you teach them at home, gather a group of homeschooled kids or sign up for a lesson?

We have done both

If you could ask an art teacher to help you with your art curriculum what kind of help would you ask for?

Higher level lessons beyond arts & crafts that is connected to other subjects (history, English, mathematics)

How much importance do you place on visual arts in your homeschool curriculum? Do you try to incorporate art with other subjects such as science, English or math?

Our children were very interested in aspects of art including portrait drawing and anime style drawing, so we tried to incorporate that as its own subject. However, we love museums, so we spent a lot of time at different museums discussing art through the ages and across cultures. My kids are very experiential / hands-on focused learners, so that is what worked for us.

Do you use your public library? What resources do you use the most?

We did more when my kids were smaller…for books, videos, books on tape, planned social activities.

What kinds of programming do you wish your library would offer?

I’m happy with their offerings.

I appreciate that she’s exposed her children to art museums. The act of looking at a piece of art only scratches the surface. There’s so much information there about world history, art history and cultural history. A painting or sculpture is a snapshot of the time and place in which someone created it.

Krysten has taught visual arts to her children through lessons at home and outside classes. I’m most interested in her response to what kind of help she would request from an art teacher:

“Higher level lessons beyond arts & crafts that is connected to other subjects (history, English, mathematics)”

If you’re like me, you’re a walking encyclopedia of art techniques, art mediums and art history. Art teachers bring  unique skills to the table that can be used to enrich subjects like math and English. Furthermore, our lessons appeal to hands-on learners who might otherwise struggle with rote learning.

Many thanks to Krysten for sharing her thoughts and experience with us!

Do you homeschool your kids? Are you a librarian who serves homeschool families? Or, are you an art teacher who would like to provide art experiences for homeschooled kids? If so, leave us a comment.

Library Card Art

Hi, Janell here. A fun fact about me. Along with teaching art to awesome kids I’m also an illustrator. (janellgenovese.com) I’ve had some super fun clients and have created illustrations for a variety of markets including books, magazines, toys, bedding, posters, etc.

One day while teaching at my local library I was approached by the director about doing an illustration for their new library card for children. I was thrilled! The library was one of my favorite places to go when I was a child. I can remember getting my new library card and feeling like I’d been given something special that was all mine. Now the kids in my town would get their new card with one of my illustrations on it!

When starting an illustration I like to make a list of words that help me set the mood for the visual. For the library card I wrote:

  • cozy  
  • adult reading to child  
  • imagination  
  • home
  • adventure/fun
  • books
  • safe  
  • for everyone

My specialty is drawing anthropomorphic animals. I chose Hedgehogs to be the characters in my illustration. If you look closely, the hedgehog family is reading one of my favorite children’s’ books, The Little Red Hen.

Here is the finished illustration.

I’m so proud to have my artwork on something as special as a library card.