Paint brushes and pastels fill the minds of artistic members of the community, especially now that the Chester County Library has developed the Maker-in-Residence Program.

The program allows for artists, musicians, song writers, designers and more to share their talents with the community. The program selects a maker who is passionate about their craft and can teach Chester County Library patrons. The residency has open studio hours for the selected maker to create at the library in front of the visitors, and will run through June. There is also a 90-minute workshop where guests can learn about the maker’s specific craft, and a culminating piece in June, which ties into the celebration of Juneteenth.

“It could be visual arts, music-related, writing related, (or) really any sort of creativity. It could even be theatrical or performing arts. It just depends on what kind of creative practice the maker engages in,” said Mary Gazdik, a Chester County Library Director.

The library selects a maker based on a combination of their artistic practice and focus on the community, as well as resources and space needed at the library. All interested makers filled out an application by Jan. 31; this year’s committee selected Megan Greenholt. Her residency will begin on March 27. Greenholt dyes her own fabric and yarn using different natural dyes. These include dried marigolds, indigo plant, pokeberry and goldenrod.

The goal of the program is to get members of the community more involved in artistic expression and utilize the resources available to them at the library, usage of which decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aims to expose people to the arts and provide them ways to engage in different creative practices.

“We’re looking to get people engaging with the spaces to understand that makerspaces aren’t just places where you come and do 3D printing, or that kind of thing,” Gazdik said. “There are four areas of all kinds of creative practice.”

Prior to becoming the Chester County Library Director, Gazdik spent 10 years building a makerspace program for a library in Delaware County. As a result, she is very excited about the amount of applications the Chester County library’s makerspace has received. According to Gazdik, the program has reached many creative and artistic people.

“The more people can engage in different kinds of practices that engage that part of the brain, I think it’s really important to the overall development of a person,” Gazdik said. “It really fills in the role of the library and engages people in lifelong learning.”