Solid colors got you down? Then try Transparent Ink! 

Transparent ink starts with a neutral base that is also called Mixing White. A small amount of pigment is added in order to blend a lighter shade of the main color. This shade allows other colors printed underneath to show through, creating a unique effect as well as opportunities for color mixing when overprinting. 

We'll demo some quick principles of basic ink mixing for you to observe, and blend up a rainbow of transparent tones for you to print with on a Vandercook cylinder press. 

Join us for a celebration of Taiwanese art and folk music!

AADL welcomes musicians from the Sisalgarden Urban-Rural Educational Development Association of Pingtung County, Taiwan, who will perform passages from the musical, The Chants of Motherland Sagas.

Following the performance, the audience will be treated to a lecture on the Yueqin instrument in folk music and a musical instrument demonstration.

Turn an ordinary paper lantern into an extraordinary glowing pink jellyfish! This easy craft project will give you a chance to create something unique using LED lights, flowing ribbons and various other decorative craft supplies.

Local crafter Beth Battey will teach you how to make a cool chain mail twist bracelet, using links, pliers and patience!

This project will take the entire program time to complete.

In partnership with Natural Area Preservation, take a short stroll guided by a NAP educator through the natural area near Traverwood. Collect items to inspire your block carving, then come back to the library to carve a block and print some simple notecards.

This event involves sharp carving tools and is intended for teens and adults.

The Ann Arbor Public Schools' Arab-American Advisory Group partners with Dr. Wessam Elmeligi, Director of the Center for Arab American Studies at UM-Dearborn, in this program chock-full of Arabic poetry.

Do you have something you want to design or print on a 3D printer? This open lab will provide access to the library's 3D printing resources including printers, filament, and design stations! Time will be allotted for printing larger items, as well as opportunities to ask questions about the library's 3D printers or troubleshoot your own.

Do you enjoy playing board games or putting together a puzzle but have too many on your shelf? Interested in finding a new game for your next game night, or a puzzle for a rainy day? Join us for a Puzzle and Board Game Swap!

Items will be accepted at all locations starting April 1st. Please bring items that contain all of their parts. You do not need to drop off items in order to pick something up.

Do you have wrapping paper lying around that you don't think you'll use again? Ever open a roll of gift wrap and then forget about it? Want to refresh your gift bag options? Bring it to swap! Accepting wrapping paper for any occasion, spools of ribbon, new or gently used gift bags and bows. You do not need to bring materials in order to pick up new supplies. We'll also have an array of inks and stamps to use to design your own wrapping paper.

In Spider-Man: into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales must confront a plot that would mean the end for New York City as he comes to terms with his destiny as the new Spider-Man. But he's not alone, as a tear in the fabric of the universe unleashes a slew of alternative Spider-Heroes.

This 117-minute film is rated PG..

Join us for a concert with singer-songwriter Mike Ward, joined by cellist Sara Gibson and singer-songwriter Annie Bacon.

Mara will guide you through a series of meditations intended to help you feel more grounded, centered, and embodied while expanding your consciousness and disciplining your mind. With practice, these meditations may support your sense of well-being and resilience.

Whether you are an experienced meditator or just beginning, these meditations can meet you where you are. Mara has been guiding these meditation experiences for over 15 years, helping people find a calm, innate sense of well-being that can be of great assistance in a chaotic world.

This meeting will be streamed on this page at 7:00 PM on Monday, April 29th, 2024.

You can attend this meeting in person on the 4th floor of the Downtown Library, or you can watch it live on YouTube from this page.

To sign up to make a public comment to the board in person during the meeting, show up for the public comment times at the beginning or end of the meeting, and fill out a comment form.

Conduct some hands-on experimentation with words, sounds, technology, and images to produce your own unique poems. We'll have stations where you can create electrified blackout poetry, Dadaist cutups, concrete poetry, and more.

Watch AADL staff and other community members in a book discussion with The Unerased Book Club.

This month, they'll discuss East Goes West by Younghill Kang.

Sheela Lal and Fatema Haque are co-facilitators of The Unerased Book Club, a project of Rising Voices of Asian American Families that reads, and builds community through, Asian American literature.

Each week, AADL staff members share recipes in a specific category – from “Unusual Veggies” to “Favorite Cookies” - whether tried and true or tried and failed. The recipes that are discussed in this episode are attached to this event page. Please join the conversation in the comments section! What are your favorite recipes from this week’s category?

Letterpress is the traditional process of printing by hand using moveable type. This lab will feature a short guided activity to get familiar with assembling & printing a letterpress project. Participants will be able to use wood type, handset lead type and ornaments, and learn how to hand ink and print on a Vandercook cylinder press. If you like, stay longer to work on a more involved project.

New to letterpress? Please arrive at the start of the program for a 20-minute demonstration of how to use our equipment.

Come sing and play! Get more music in your life and join us for this family-friendly sing-along. Bring your voices and/or instruments—lyrics and chords will be projected, so all can sing and strum along. Beginners welcome! You choose from 350+ familiar folk/pop songs. This event is led by Lori Fithian and Jean Chorazyczewski.

Enjoy some classic Japanese sci-fi with a modern twist! Award-winning electronic musician Joo Won Park will provide a live score to the 1965 movie Attack from Space!, directed by Koreyoshi Akasaka and Teruo Ishii and starring Ken Utsui.

In Attack from Space!, benevolent aliens from the planet Emerald send superhero Starman to protect Earth from invasion by an evil alien race called the Spherions. When Starman arrives on Earth, he discovers a conspiracy involving Earth's top scientists, and he must root out the traitors and also stop the impending alien invasion.

Make a decorative fluffy lady bug with glittering wings!