Come join us as we celebrate ink this October!
Stop by any of our San Mateo County Libraries locations throughout the first two weeks of October to join us for Ink in October. We will have a variety of ink-based art materials to play with and a new drawing prompt for inspiration every day. You can turn in your art for us to display at the library or take it home to show it off to your friends and family!
There is possibly no writing tool more foundational than that of the pen and ink. Ink has been used for millennia, from the first Egyptian reed pens to classic feather quills to our modern-day plastic pens. Not all pens write the same, though: that reed pen will feel very different from our usual ballpoint pens when you put it to paper! Different pens create different experiences when using them, whether it’s how they feel on the page, what type of ink they use or what type of tip they have. So, to celebrate this diverse medium, we will be playing with different types of pens to create art together.
Taking on an Art Challenge
October is a particularly popular month for artists of all backgrounds to further their own celebrations of ink by taking on an art challenge. Using ink is a great way to help you develop confidence in your drawings—there's no time to worry about mistakes when you can’t erase them away!
Art challenges kick-start creativity while building a schedule that helps you keep practicing consistently. They can expand your horizons as an ever-growing artist, give you the chance to share your artwork and see what other people have been equally inspired to make. Ink in October itself is inspired by the art challenge Inktober, opens a new window, which sets the goal of creating one new drawing using ink daily throughout October.
Creating a drawing every single day may sound like a daunting task—and using something as permanent as ink at that—but it’s a challenge that’s been taken on by artists every year from all around the world! In fact, Inktober is just one of many community art challenges, opens a new window. So, if playing with Ink in October at your library leaves you eager for more challenges to explore, check out these other themes:
- Drawtober, opens a new window offers six prompts over the course of the month, so you can take your time
- Witchtober, opens a new window celebrates all things witchy
- Flufftober, opens a new window is all about drawing things that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside
And of course, art challenges aren’t just limited to October—Swordtember, opens a new window challenges you to draw a new sword design every day in September, Huevember, opens a new window encourages you to play with colors over the course of November, and MerMay, opens a new window prompts you to draw mermaids throughout May.
Join Us for Drawing Lessons!
Not sure how to start drawing when taking on an entire art challenge? Then join us for a series of drawing lessons from artists at the Charles M. Schulz Museum, opens a new window and the Walt Disney Family Museum., opens a new window Whether your interest lies in character creation, storytelling, cartooning or the creative process as a whole, you can join us at a library location near you.
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Learn About Cartooning With the Charles M. Schulz Museum
Explore the art of cartooning and animation! Students will create a comic strip, a hand-drawn animated sequence for the zoetrope and experiment with basic stop-motion computer animation. -
Learn About the Creative Process With the Charles M. Schulz Museum
Get creative for Ink in October with the Charles M. Schulz Museum! Walk through the creative process from inspiration to finished product to craft an individual and group project. Learn to draw some Peanuts characters, create a 4-panel comic strip and work collaboratively on a stop-motion animated short using the Charles M. Schulz Museum’s iPads. -
Come Learn With the Walt Disney Family Museum
Walt Disney was a storyteller whose characters captivated audiences through their unique personalities and distinct designs. In these workshops, students will gain an understanding of either the fundamentals of character design, storyboarding or background design.
No matter what challenge you choose to undertake, the true goal is always to discover whatever gets you inspired to draw and then have fun with it! Regardless of whether your preferred medium is dip pens, brush pens, ballpoint pens, paints, markers or even digital art, Ink in October is open to anyone of any skill level. All you need is a pen and paper, and here at our libraries, we’ll provide you with both!
Interested in learning more about drawing with ink or another medium? Here are a few titles to get your artist’s journey started!
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