*This post is part of Free for All’s “Making Magic” series, which will focus on Kelley’s exploration of the opportunities in the library’s Creativity Lab.

If you’re a creative person, you know there is nothing better than learning something that expands your idea of what you can do with your work. And if you’ve been following this blog, you’ve read about my excitement at learning to use the Creativity Lab’s laser cutter for the first time. That two-hour class entirely changed the way I thought about graphics designed in Adobe Illustrator. Suddenly, instead of being useful only for computer and print images, I could take my graphic drawings and cut or etch them into a variety of materials including plywood, leather, driftwood, cork and denim. Once two dimensional images could become  earrings, coasters, wall art and more. In fact, I was so excited that I decided that I wanted to teach other people how to do the same, and so Laser Art was born.

Last week marked the end of the Creativity Lab’s first Laser Art class.  Many Lab users are just learning to use the equipment, so they cut free pre-designed work downloaded from the internet. The idea of a laser art class is to teach people to use the Lab’s laser cutter to make original artwork. Classes are project based, and participants learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator along with step-by-step instructions for safe laser cutter operation. Students all work on a similar project, but the assignments are carefully chosen to leave plenty of room for unique and creative design work.

Being as the Creativity Lab is in the lower level of a public library, it seemed appropriate that our first Laser Art class focus on bookmarks. The Lab always has ⅛” thick plywood available for makers to use for learning and independent projects, but for the Laser Art class we wanted something special and gift-worthy, and also something thinner to be more in keeping with the dimensions of a bookmark. After some searching, we purchased 1/16” thick bamboo for the class. The smooth texture, warm color, and unique woodgrain of the bamboo makes it truly something special for artistic work. Over the course of four two-hour classes, students learned the basic skills necessary to make and cut their designs. Everyone left with a completed bookmark.

The next laser art class will be in the spring and we have an Intro to Illustrator class coming in February, but the topics are to be decided so let us know if you have any suggestions! In the meantime, you might want to take a look at our new digital books collection from the American Graphics Institute. You’ll find books, video tutorials, and lesson files for learning digital design software, office applications, and web coding skills. Of course, Adobe Illustrator is included in this package, and is my main reason for pointing it out in this post. Please note that access to this collection is limited to patrons at the library.