This month we are focusing on the laser etcher. On May 8th from 1 - 6:30 pm, it will be available to use at Sherwood Branch Library. Then May 15th it will be at the Johnson Memorial Library from 1 - 6:30 pm. Or you can schedule a time to use the laser etcher in the MakerSpace. Since it takes some time to etch images we will be scheduling times on a half-hour basis so you don't have to wait on a whole class of people to get their etchings done too.

We will have some precut wooden pieces that can be etched on with personalized images and words. You can also bring in your own item to etch, but the etcher can fit anything smaller than 10 x 10 centimeters. The laser etcher also can't etch anything reflective or clear.

Call or email Cara B. to set up your time for any of the locations.

Impressionist paintings depict a variety of outdoor scenes from rural landscapes, home gardens, parks, marinas, and seasides. These paintings were a huge change in the art world which is often thought to be caused by changes in access to a whole world of plants and vivid paint colors. But new theories about the look of impressionist paintings are related to air pollution.

The Impressionist movement started during the time of the British Industrial Revolution. Painters such as Joseph Mallord William Turner specifically painted the fog from factory smokestacks, so it is plausible that other painters during this period were just painting the way they saw the world around them. Impressionist painters usually painted outside, "en plein air" , (french for in plain air), and wanted to capture the feeling of what they saw around them. Historians took a look at paintings by Turner and Claude Monet and found how they changed over the years related to changes in pollution.

Earlier paintings by both artists are more detailed than they are in later years. When compared with each other around 1864-1872 Monet has higher contrast and detail than Turner. This matches up with how Paris, where Monet was located had less air pollution than London where Turner was located during this time. A letter written by Monet in 1900 mentions to his wife how worried he was that there was "Not even a wisp of mist" in the air and that his "paintings were done for". He later talks about in letters that the fires of the factories were then lit and he could start painting the landscape as he wished. The later paintings of both artists had less visibility of subjects once again matching the progress of the industrial revolution.

Climate scientists note that landscape views affected by air pollution tend to have a lower contrast between colors which moves everything toward a neutral white due to the small particles in the air. This is in line with the impressionist painter's color palette. Another Impressionist manner is obscured or less detailed subjects, which also aligns with polluted air visuals.

Learn more about the Impressionist art movement and the plants they painted with the video below from the National Galleries.

Hond, B. den. (2023, February 26). Air pollution made an impression on Monet and other 19th century painters. Science News. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/pollution-impressionist-monet-painters#:~:text=Low%20contrast%20and%20whiter%20hues,can%20absorb%20or%20scatter%20light.

nationalgalleries. (2010). Impressionism | 'en plein air'. YouTube. nationalgalleries. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG13_Dzult8.

Parker, C. (2023, February 27). Did air pollution influence famous impressionist painters? Smithsonian.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/air-pollution-impressionist-painters-monet-turner-180981710/

Patel, K. (2023, January 31). That dreamy haze in Monet's impressionist paintings? Air Pollution, study says. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/31/air-pollution-impressionism-monet-turner/

Turner, J. M. W. (1814). Apullia in Search of Appullus [Painting of landscape with a bridge in the background and group of people in the foreground] Tate, London England. London, England; Didier Descouens.

Turner, J. M. W. (1844). Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway [Painting depicting an early locomotive of the Great Western Railway crossing the River Thames on Brunel's recently completed Maidenhead Railway Bridge.] Tate, London, England. London, England; National Gallery.