hello@streetroad.org
610 869 4712
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Street Road
725 Street Road Cochranville, PA 19330 

The Little Free Library
1016B Gap Newport Pike 
Cochranville, PA 19330
part of the ongoing series summer library​
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Librarian 9
Maya Wasileski 
November 11, 2022 to January 14, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 19th, 3-5pm

Maya Wasileski, a West Chester, Pennsylvania based potter, has been working in clay since 2017. After graduating from West Chester University with a bachelor’s degree in Studio Arts, she began work as a kiln technician with the university. Born and raised in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, she grew up with a natural inclination towards art and music. Her work has a heavy emphasis on function and form in combination with highly decorated surfaces.

See full details about the Summer Library project, including other Librarians' work, here.

Comforting Quarters

Thoughts on the Past in Comforting Quarters, M. Wasileski:

The spaces we inhabit and the objects that we choose to carry throughout our lives leave an imprint on us. We decorate and alter their appearance, and our surroundings tend to do the same to us. Our memories and emotions are closely tied to location and the things we have in our lives.

Have you ever opened an old bottle of perfume, or maybe it’s shampoo, or an old jar of hair gel? The smell will instantly take you years through the past, and suddenly you’re nervous about your first kiss, or that big performance. Maybe it’s not a scent — it could be your favorite stuffed animal, an old T-shirt, or even that book with the cornered pages. The one you swore to finish but haven’t picked up since. Skimming the last read page will leave old memories lingering in your head for days. Those little memories can hit you quickly, while you’re unwrapping a piece of candy or buying a coke from an old vending machine. 

I have filled the space with personal objects that evoke these kinds of nostalgic feelings for me. The smell of old books reminds me of going to the public library after school. Sometimes we’d stop at a gas station for some candy from a gumball machine. These memories are cozy and safe, and the objects which they are attached to reflect this. 
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For this exhibition, visitors are invited to use the turnstile candy machine to receive a small piece of paper. Each paper contains a quote from one of the books in this collection. It may prompt you to read the book it is from; it may not (if you wish, put it back in the machine and try again). The purpose is to inspire each visitor to read something new. Perhaps something you normally wouldn’t reach for. You are also invited to find a quote and write it down to put back in the candy machine, inspiring the next person who stops by. 

​While you’re reading, you are welcome to relax in the big red chair. Consider it a time machine, transporting you to a new world with every flip of a page. If you find yourself moved by a book, passage, or quote, you are invited to write it down and add it to the candy machine, inspiring the next person who visits.

quotes dispensed to visitors during the exhibition:

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VISITING
Please check our website or social media before visiting as our hours are subject to change.

Street Road HOURS
Fridays and Saturdays from 11am-3pm and by appointment.

Little Free Library HOURS
Mondays 6-9pm (beginning Jan 16, 2023)
​Thursdays 12-4pm
Fridays 10am-2pm
Saturdays 10am-2pm
and by appointment.

Our Little Free Library outdoor boxes at both sites are open 24/7 and are regularly restocked.

Please call 610-869-4712 or email to set up visits outside our regularly scheduled hours. 
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We are currently seeking volunteers for both locations: email us to enquire. We look forward to hearing from you!

DIRECTIONS
to Street Road here. 
to The Little Free Library here.

A word about 'here':
We acknowledge that we are on the ancestral lands of the Lenape, original people of the mid-Atlantic area, forced west by British and US governments. Most Delaware Indian tribe descendants are now located in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario. Lenni Lenapes in Pennsylvania are not officially recognized as tribes by the United States, though an estimated 5000 Lenape Nation descendants live in the Delaware River area. We pay respects to the Lenape people both past and present. Please consider the many legacies of violence, displacement and settlement that form part of our collective histories. While increased public recognition of these legacies and processes of redress such as Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission are positive steps, concrete focus on return of land and land rights remains a distant horizon.
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