Between all the fun you have on some of best casino sites online, it’s worth perhaps pursuing something like taking up art classes. There is less pressure when doing it as an adult.

Libraries often have myriad classes open to patrons of all ages, from classes in the finer points of culinary arts to yoga. Arts classes and programs are becoming increasingly popular amongst adults as technology enables a great deal of innovation in these classes.

The Madison Public Library has been involved in the development of several Arts & Crafts classes. Students learn the skills necessary to make original art pieces from participating in a series of group and individual art classes.

For more than 10 years the Madison Public Library has offered a regular series of courses in one-on-one-sessions with local artists. Program Coordinator of Adult Programs, Lauren Morrill, says these classes are so popular that they even have repeat students.

“We have lots of repeat students,” says Morrill. “They come back and say ‘I’m going to take the class again because I can’t get enough.'”

The Adult Programming team works hard to bring in instructors who are high-quality, as well as local. The current classes are all designed to be very informative, such as the local artist Sharon Ruphard of Sharon by Design. Ruphard utilizes her artistic and design expertise to guide patrons through the artistic process.

“We want the students to understand how the different processes work in the whole process,” says Morrill. “It gives people a different way of seeing something. In the process of learning something you can take away something different, and you see things differently. It makes it easier for people to express their ideas.”

This winter, the Madison Public Library is bringing in locally-based artist, Joellen Stevens. Stevens specializes in miniature portraits. Stevens has a number of images that she specializes in. This winter, Stevens will be teaching a step-by-step process of how to paint one of her miniatures.

While Morrill says she is not aware of any specific background that they look for when hiring a teacher, she admits that having a high degree of quality in the person teaching the class is also very important.

“That’s a good question, we do have a process that we’re a little different than some programs,” says Morrill. “We have a student first before we have an instructor. We have our students go through several rounds of discussion to help them understand and evaluate if the instructor is the right one. We usually don’t hire until we have a good idea of how to work with the instructor.”

Morrill encourages potential students to first reach out to the library and see if there is a particular class they are interested in.

“The first thing we do is to speak with the person, and see if they can offer us a good program,” says Morrill. “It’s not only the teachers’ experience, it’s also their expertise in the art field. We have instructors who are very knowledgeable and very knowledgeable.”

Through the years, the Madison Public Library has had a great deal of success with its Arts & Crafts classes. They are continuing to find new ways to bring in the community. For more information about any of the classes, or the library itself, contact Morrill at (608) 251-3990 or visit their website.