Chicago Public Library’s 2026-2027 Arts and Music Department Call for Artists exhibition cycle continues with a new exhibit, Quiet Knowing. Featuring mixed media works by Molly Cranch, Quiet Knowing is rooted in the artist's close observation of nature.
Through Quiet Knowing, Molly Cranch works primarily in mixed media drawing and painting, using layered materials and gestural mark-making to explore pattern, movement and close observation of the natural world. Cranch works from an embodied approach to drawing, focusing not on copying what is seen, but on translating impressions through mark-making. Areas of detail and openness coexist within each image, allowing forms to emerge gradually through the process. Her work features animals and nature-inspired imagery, reflecting themes of motherhood, connection and the quiet moments of care and presence found in everyday life.
Molly Cranch is a Chicago-based artist, picture book author-illustrator and arts educator. Her acrylic paintings and mixed media works have been exhibited in galleries and museums nationwide. Cranch holds a bachelor of fine arts from Washington University in St. Louis, a K–12 Art Education certificate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and an master of arts in Illustration from Falmouth University. Through her studio practice and teaching, she encourages curiosity, creativity and deeper attention to the world around us.
Quiet Knowing will be on display July 12 to September 26, 2026 in the eighth-floor exhibit cases at Harold Washington Library Center.