WELCOME!

Julia Mitchell Tapestry
for the new Library

Julia's studio is in a well lit second story barn, full of yarn in cubbies against the wall, organized by color. Baskets of yarn are tucked away in all corners, her finished pieces decorate the walls and are draped carefully on an unused loom. She welcomed us on a late afternoon into her studio to view the current piece she is working on, a piece for the Library's tokonoma, fashioned after the Japanese memorial alcove, to be installed when the Library's construction is finished.

The piece is reminiscent of another work that she especially loves, blue irises, green leaves and a layered affect with grasses in the background. As we look at the surface of the unfinished tapestry we see a few groups of yarn, color blended to create the effect of depth, light and color which are simultaneously woven into the piece. Within each group she uses wool and Japanese silk, linen forms the warp. The sketch of what the finished tapestry will look like hangs above the loom, as well as a "cartoon", a pencil sketch that lays underneath the weaving as a guide to help with the design. The layering of color and texture as well as a strong sense of the basic structure of the weaving jumps out at us as we look at the piece that is perhaps a quarter finished.

Julia has been working in this medium since she was in high school, refining her technique and her eye for 40 years. We are so grateful to have one of her pieces grace our new Library.

The West Tisbury Library presents:
Story time with Mother Goose on the loose*

* Mother Goose has flown south for a while to escape
the cold but she will return soon to roost in her new
nest in the new West Tisbury Library.
Watch for her.

Please call 508-693-3366 for more information.

Because it is basically a small, cozy and intimate space, we will have room for our newest materials-adult, children, teen books and DVDs. We will have WiFi and laptops, passport applications, inter-library loan, printing, copying and fax available for public use.  We are storing our Library materials at other institutions (schools, other libraries, non-profit groups) and at the Airport Storage. They will not be accessible until we reopen in our expanded space, but, since we will be joining the CLAMS library network, most books will be readily available.

Our hope is to re-open with our fabulous renovated and enlarged space in our current location by January 2014.
Books that are checked out with a due date before Oct 15 can be returned here, books due and returned after October 15 can be returned to the Middletown Village location. We will be maintaining our website, so feel free to look there for up to date information. Our phone number will remain the same as will our friendly and helpful staff.

Please bear with us during this exciting transition. We are looking forward to helping you, our patrons, in any way we can while we inch our way closer to the finished project.

From the Vineyard Gazette:

“I literally feel like we just reached the top of Mount Everest, it is really that kind of thrilling,” said library trustee Dan Waters. “West Tisbury might be a little farm town, but once in a while we rise to some big, defining labor of love as a community. We did this a few years ago with the new ag hall and this time with building a library, and if you think about it those are both gathering places. These are our defining moments as a town.”

Selectman Cynthia Mitchell agreed. “The clear winner tonight and the reason voters came to the polls was due to the great work at the library. The library should take great pride in what they’ve done,” she said.