Cartoons, driftwood and religion, oh my! Three subjects that can allude to anyone make their showcase debut at the Cortez Public Library this month. On display, are a few unique pieces from three different kinds of collectors. Douglas May, Karl Looff and Danny Roberts have volunteered their own collections for the public eye.
“Anyone can participate, local or in the area,” said Laura McHenry, the children’s librarian. “It’s been really successful and pretty crazy.”
McHenry is in charge of putting up the displays, changing them out and organizing the calendar for future displays. She started the effort when she found some Japanese water colors in the storeroom. Except for three to four months out of the summer, when she uses the cases for the children’s displays, McHenry has a calendar full of eager participants. “The library has a list, a pretty long list, of people who want their stuff up,” Douglas May said.
The library is booked with patrons through 2013. May, an antique dealer, is showing a 13-piece collection of personally drawn cartoons. They differ in content but are all satirical episodes of human nature. Some cartoons are done in color and some are black and white. “I’ve always drawn,” May said. “I was bored with just straight pictures. I started writing down ideas and decided to do cartoons.” May’s cartoons are currently on sale at the library but he said he’s never sold anything but a few acrylic paintings in the past. “I just do it for fun. I get on (a roll) and draw a bunch of stuff, it sits around and I end up giving it to my friends,” May said with a laugh.
Also on display, an immense amount of archaeological pieces that Karl Looff has shared, including impressions and driftwood.
“Karl and his wife are quite the collectors,” McHenry said.
Many of the objects have been recovered from the Painted Desert region in Arizona and the South Pass region in Wyoming. The pieces come from the Triassic Period and Tertiary Period.
Danny Roberts has amassed a 15-piece collection of Christian iconography, the study of artistic meaning and symbols found in artwork from color and natural objects. Among the various pieces, she has crucifixes, small statues and handpainted fixtures. All three displays will be up throughout the month of September with May’s continuing through October. For more information on how to display artwork at the library contact Laura McHenry at 565-8117.
rachels@cortezjournal.com