Patterson Library

09/10/2026

Book Club interest? Joining a book club is a great choice if you want to read more often, try new types of books, and make friends who share your interest in reading.

09/10/2026

What are you reading? Join us at 4pm today for BOOK TALK. This monthly organically lead book club gears itself to discovering new books to read from your own peers.

09/08/2026

The author presentation tonight with E.B Stepansky has been cancelled.

Send a message to learn more

08/27/2026

From the Octagon Gallery curator, Nancy Nixon Ensign-
My cousins, Sandra Hurd and Dr. Joel Potash, donated a stunning Chris Gentner sculpture to the Patterson Library this summer! You can see it beautifully displayed right at the entrance of the Octagon Gallery, greeting visitors and art lovers at the front of the addition. Public art transforms shared spaces into vibrant, meaningful places that everyone can experience together. Unlike museum art, it is accessible to all people regardless of their income or background.

Dr. Joel Potash-"My wife, Sandy Hurd, her mother, Pat Greenleaf, and I were driving through Westfield a couple of decades ago, when we passed a house and saw colorful steel objects projecting above the house’s fence. We stopped and inquired about the many sculptures in her backyard. Mrs. Gentner told us they were the Cleveland Institute of Art masters project of her son, Chris, which he had brought home and deposited in the yard. I got Chris’s address, contacted him, and arranged to buy all the sculptures in his Mom’s backyard. Chris delivered most of the sculptures to our home in Syracuse, along with Dunkirk shale on which to install them, and several to Sandy’s mom’s house in Portland. Three of them are currently in our own yard in Syracuse, two are at our daughter’s home in Cape Cod, one was given to Stone Quarry Art Park in Cazenovia, and one, which was at Sandy’s Mom house in Portland, is now at the Patterson Library. Chris is a graduate of the Westfield Academy and Central School."

https://www.gentnerdesign.com/
https://www.gentnerdesign.com/blogs/genter-in-the-press
Rooted in the language of sculpture and rich with character defining details, Christopher Gentner's work is at the crossroads of design and art, transcending materiality and form through a rare combination of aesthetic dexterity and mastery of craft.

08/27/2026

08/20/2026

Join us tomorrow night from 5pm-7pm in the Patterson Library Octagon Gallery with artist Joseph Grice for his solo exhibition of paintings "Reverence".

Joseph Grice is an artist and illustrator based in Jamestown, New York, whose work explores the intersection of human experience and the natural world through the imagery of birds. Working primarily in oil paint, Grice creates narrative-driven paintings that use avian subjects as metaphors for emotion, relationships, identity, and the shared experiences that connect us. His work celebrates the beauty and complexity of nature while inviting viewers to recognize aspects of themselves reflected in the wildlife around them.

Raised in a creative family, Grice developed a passion for art at an early age. Influenced by the storytelling of Arnold Lobel and Shel Silverstein, as well as the scientific bird studies of Jamestown native Roger Tory Peterson, he cultivated an artistic practice that balances observation, imagination, and narrative. Time spent exploring the outdoors fostered a lifelong appreciation for wildlife, which continues to inform his work today.

Grice earned an Associate of Science degree from Jamestown Community College in 2007 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from SUNY Fredonia in 2010. While formally trained in fine art, his background in illustration remains a defining influence, resulting in paintings that combine strong visual storytelling with careful observation of the natural world.

In 2022, Grice completed an artist residency at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, where he studied Peterson's original works spanning more than six decades. The experience culminated in a solo exhibition at the institute in 2023 and deepened his exploration of the relationship between traditional ornithological illustration and contemporary fine art.

His recent work positions birds as symbolic stand-ins for human emotions and behaviors, creating paintings that are both intimate and universal. By blending scientific observation with conceptual storytelling, Grice seeks to create images that encourage reflection, empathy, and a renewed connection to nature.

Grice's work has been exhibited throughout Western New York and has participated in group shows across the east coast. In 2026, he was awarded a New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) grant, sponsored by Arts Services Inc, to create a public mural for Chautauqua Art Gallery. He recently won first place at the Thumb Box exhibition for the Buffalo Society of Artists at Meibohm Fine Arts in East Aurora, New York, and participated in A Founder's Legacy exhibition for the Society of Animal Artists, hosted by Brookgreen Gardens in Murrel's Inlet, South Carolina.



He lives and works in Jamestown, New York, with his wife and family.

​

His most recent work will be on display at the Octagon Gallery, in Westfield, NY from August-September 2026, and at Crary Art Gallery, in Warren, PA from December 2026-January 2027.



https://www.josephgrice.art/

08/13/2026

Just a few days left to experience Jennalyn Speer's "In/Habit-Living with Birds" exhibition in the Patterson Library Octagon Gallery.

"Her artwork aims to educate and raise awareness about bird conservation with the goal of promoting our biological, cultural, emotional, and spiritual attachment to the natural world.
Jennalyn's work visually interprets scientific data about birds in the attempt to aesthetically communicate their complexity, ecological interdependencies, and the threats they face that lead to their loss. On her website, she notes that since 1970, there has been a net loss of over 2.9 billion birds from North America. This amounts to the disappearance of close to 1 out of every 3 birds from the United States and Canada in the last 50 years. Over 300 bird species in North America alone have populations currently in decline. She considers painting a form of activism as well as a personal and social commentary in response to the tragedy of this loss."

08/07/2026

Join us Wednesday, August 12 at 11am for our End of Summer Reading Awards & Picnic!

*If you are planning to attend please sign up

** If your child has completed through level 3 or higher and you are unable to attend the picnic, please stop in after August 12 and pick up their certificate!

08/07/2026

Join us and Messinger Woods to meet live animals and learn about wildlife rescue! Monday, August 10 at 11am.

08/06/2026