By Amanda Roberts
NOPL Creative Director
The Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) offers many digital resources to access from home with your library card and PIN. One resource that is new to NOPL is Creativebug. Creativebug offers online video arts and crafts workshops and techniques to learn how to paint, knit, crochet, sew, screen-print, and more.
Experience the art of making with thousands of award-winning video classes taught by experienced designers and artists. Creativebug delivers the latest in art and craft education by providing courses that teach new and relevant techniques.
A Daily Practice Series takes you through various crafting methods and gets you acquainted with different media, art styles, techniques, and teachers. Learn how to improve your sketching, try color meditation, or receive creative prompts to keep your work fresh.
There are also challenges, such as the Daily Painting Challenge, where you do a month-long painting course. In the Daily Painting Challenge, Lisa Congdon, an illustrator and author best known for her colorful graphic drawings and hand lettering, shares her love of designing colorful patterns and painting. Each day you will learn how to paint a new pattern, including traditional designs, botanicals, geometric shapes, and motifs made from everyday objects.
Lisa Congdon also instructs courses on methods for gel pens, gouache, and colored paper creating sketchbook explorations, hand-lettering crafts, and collages.
Within Creativebug you can search classes by craft, instructor, class type, and more, meaning you can filter courses for beginners, kids age 5 years and up, home décor, quick classes, paper crafts and more. The videos can range from 10 minutes to a few hours, so you can find what you fits your schedule. Bookmark your favorite classes and come back when you have the time. Plus, you can view the materials list, download patterns, and participate in the discussions.
To get access to Creativebug, sign up for a library card through our website or if already a NOPL member, visit our digital downloads page at nopl.org/digital-downloads/. Those who wish to watch on a tablet or smartphone can download the free Creativebug app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. To get started, visit nopl.org.
