Books by the Lake – Little Free Libraries! Let’s Make some Sawdust!
Grand Isle Art Works is celebrating its 5th Anniversary as a business in July of this year. We are excitedly planning many events for the July11-26 time frame. There will be classes, a Trunk Show and Sale, artist demonstrations and new this year – a Community Build for Little Free Houses for Books by the Lake. The 5th Anniversary traditional gift is one made of wood. Grand Isle art Works want to give each island community its very own Little Free Library as a thank you for supporting our small gallery and café. You can find more information about these libraries at: http://littlefreelibrary.org/
Jim and I have put together a Kickstarter campaign to help fund this project. We made our goal! THANK YOU!
We are still accepting donations in the gallery – there has been lots of interest in the community to keep it going!
Our story!
Five years ago, Jim and Ellen were determined to have a place to locate artwork in their island community in Vermont. They set about to purchase a farmhouse that had seen much better times! In fact, it had been left open, literally, to the weather for over two years. For Jim and Ellen, it was love at first sight. They hardly noticed the tumble down cow and wagon barns built in the 1790s or the driveway the ended right AT the porch. The gallery became known as Grand Isle Art Works, which is located in Grand Isle, Vermont. The concept – build a gallery and cafe space that would give Vermont artists a unique place to show their art work.
Grand Isle is an island community located in the Champlain Islands north of Burlington, Vermont. Because of the nature of island communities, even though it is connected to the rest of Vermont by bridges and causeways, it is very isolated. Grand Isle County is the smallest and least populated county in the state. Social isolation is something that affects all of the county’s citizens. Books are a way to bridge this isolation.
From the very beginning Ellen wanted a Little Free Library (LFL) on the property. The Little Free Library project began in 2009 when Todd Bol built a small structure, a glorified birdhouse if you will, and filled it with books in honor of his late mother, a school teacher and avid reader. He placed the structure on his front lawn with a sign encouraging curious visitors to “Take a Book. Leave a Book.” She was positive Jim could/would build it for her. 5 years later…still no library. Then one of the gallery artists said, “Having a Little Free Libraries building party might be a great idea for the gallery!” And the idea was back in play and Jim and Ellen’s wheels began to turn.
July of 2015 is Grand Isle Art Works 5th Anniversary – an anniversary year traditionally marked with a gift of wood. What better time to consider something wooden that would bring the community together and give back to the community at the same time! Building Little Free Libraries – fits this bill AND allows for some artistic design and engineering possibilities.
What if we built a library – not just for the gallery – but for each of the 5 island communities in the Vermont County of Grand Isle and maybe more! What if the idea was opened to include teams of people to design their libraries from upcycled materials and/or LFL kits for this northwest region of Vermont? What if gallery artists pitched in to paint and decorate the libraries? How cool would that be? Books in remote areas accessible by folks all year long – 24-7! The idea could work. We have a location, a date and the will to make it happen!
Books by the Lake – Little Free Libraries! Let’s Make some Sawdust!
July 18 & 19, 9-5:00 pm
Collect-Design-Build-Paint-Decorate-Fill-Install Take a Book – Return a Book!
The goal is to build at least 6 LFLs – one for each island community +1 in our county. We will get the word out for people, artists, wood workers and materials to help offset the total price of 6 or more LFLs. We will borrow a BIG tent from a local non-profit for the weekend.
Teams – 2 people or more; Individuals with: hammers, screwdrivers, square, skill saws, hand saws, sandpaper, paint brushes, paint, tin snips, etc.
There will be a Call Out for upcycled items and build-design teams
We’ll need…small windows, small boxes – wooden, small cabinets, wooden file cabinets, roofing material, shingles or metal, open outdoor paints – all colors – brighter the better, hinges, knobs, cabinet pulls, etc., and more…be creative!
This is where you come in…We need to seed this project with building materials to make these houses a reality. We plan to purchase 3 LFL kits for those less inclined to “create”. Each LFL will receive a copy of the book, The Little Free Library Book written by Margret Aldrich. Each library will be officially listed in the national LFL register.
LFL Build Budget – 6 houses
Purchase 3 back up kits @ $300+ each – $900
Materials for Do-it-yourself: Design – Build Teams $400
Advertising print materials $95
LFL National Registrations @ $39.95 each $240
Copy of The Little Free Library Book for each library@ $25 each $150
Tent donation $100
Help us make these libraries a reality!
Our plans continue…if we get more than the award amount – we will work hard to add more libraries to the list!
Want to help?
