Artist (and Hillsdale Library Director) Dave Franz’s perspective on drawing: It’s play!
Art belongs to everyone. It is the natural expression of living – where experience meets skill and tools become extensions of being. Each creation reflects the maker’s truths, shaped by feeling and perspective. Because art lives through perception, its meaning shifts with every gaze, proving that art, like life, is always subjective. Think It, Make It, Share It.
I developed my ability to draw during a very boring 7th-grade Social Studies class. Instead of being disruptive, I stayed quiet and just doodled on my Canvas notebook cover for an entire school year. Anyone can draw. You just have to give yourself permission to try. It is just moving the pencil on the paper and learning what happens when you fill in between lines and start shading in where the shadows should be. It is truly play. If you don’t like a result, use the eraser or grab another sheet of paper. I particularly enjoy just playing with lines, geometry, and lighting.
Franz’s pieces, on exhibit in the library’s Meeting Room Gallery throughout December, were created over a nearly 40-year period.
If you make ANYTHING, please consider SHARING it with your community on NJ Makers Day, Saturday, March 21, 2026.
Learn about exhibiting artwork, photographs, and other collections at the Hillsdale Free Public Library.
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