Even though Ben Strohm works in a library, he doesn’t turn to a book to unwind.
He makes chainmail constructed from interlocking steel rings, woven together just as one would knit or crochet.
His 28-pound V-neck shirt, comprised of 20,000 rings, is one of 54 items on display in the lobby of the Stryker Center, the government building that houses Williamsburg's City Council chambers. All of the artists behind the eclectic collection, “Shelf Expression,” are employees or volunteers of the Williamsburg Regional Library across the street.
“I’ve got a closet full of these,” said Strohm, program services director, who was inspired by his days as a Dungeons & Dragons gamer at James Madison University. He uses pliers so frequently that he quips, “I don’t have any trouble getting into pickle jars.”
The space in the Stryker is often used as a gallery for local artists, including those from groups such as the Williamsburg Arts Council. This is the first time library staff and volunteers were invited to feature their work.
Connie Bland volunteers in the library’s Makerspace, a creative area with a 3D laser printer, along with Cricut, sewing and embroidery machines. Bland teaches embroidery machine classes and made a quilt on display called “It’s All Triangles!” She wanted to show her students what they could do with the quilted squares sewn in class.
Artists were asked to submit items by mid-January, which motivated Bland to finish.
“I start a lot of things but I had a timeline and only missed it by a day,” she said. “It’s an honor to feel like I was invited to do this.”
Eletha Davis, who has been in charge of library outreach for the last 42 years, contributed several silhouettes, what she calls “poofy designs” made from leftover Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations. One of them is in memory of her grandmother, another is named for a friend from her Richmond church and two others reflect her affinity for big hair and large earrings.
“I like to show people you can make anything from anything,” she said. “I like to take a blank sheet of paper to create stuff.”
Katherine Wilkins is the artist behind two dainty blank books — one bound in Coptic stitch and another in cross-stitch. She enjoys rare books and started binding after taking classes in Richmond.
“I’m blown away by everybody’s work,” said Wilkins, finance and general services coordinator.
Several of Bob Keroack’s photographs hang in the exhibit. The program services assistant earned a pair of degrees at William & Mary in the mid-1970s when he started taking photos for the Flat Hat newspaper. As a sophomore geology major, he got his first yearbook assignment: to shoot a concert of “some guy named Springsteen.”
For the last 20 years, Keroack has traveled with the football team to take game action photos; two of his best shots are on display along with seasonal shots and a panoramic view of Lake Tahoe.
The exhibit features multiple prints, a child’s Christmas dress, handspun weavings on a drop spindle, additional quilts,and a knitted sweater.
“Shelf Expression” will be on view at the Stryker Center, located at 412 N. Boundary St., Williamsburg, through Feb. 28. Admission is free.