Chicago Public Library is happy to announce the summer and fall 2026 Makers-in-Residence, Emma McKee and Josie Everett. Emma and Josie will offer engaging opportunities for Chicagoans to learn and apply unique artforms and skill sets while creating amazing pieces of their own. Both makers will host workshops and meet-the-maker opportunities at Harold Washington Library and all three regional branches - Legler, Sulzer, and Woodson. Emma and Josie look forward to meeting and working with CPL patrons across the city.
Emma Mckee, Maker-in-Residence
The Greatest
3 Bulls Banners
Chairman Fred
Emma McKee aka the “StitchGawd” is a Chicago based cross stitcher and fiber artist whose work uses traditional heritage methods to focus and highlight contemporary cultural commentary, the visual zeitgeist and social history. She is perhaps best known for her one of a kind stitched pieces for athletes and artists including Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Chief Keef, Saba, Smino; Candace Parker, Zach Lavine, Allen Iverson, and Brittney Griner.Beyond her custom work, Emma is a natural historian and a diehard fan of all things Chicago. She's done stitching for the lyric opera, made art for the Mayor and has done countless pieces with her main love, the Chicago Bulls. Emma also spends time doing youth mentorship and teaching teenagers across the city, working with After School Matters, Marwen, Community Goods, Chicago Bulls Community, and the Simple Good.
Meet the Summer Maker-in-Residence: Josie Everett
Josie Everett, Maker-in-Residence
I’ll Give you the Moon
If I had a Flower
Josie Everett is a multidisciplinary artist, linocut printmaker, puppet artist, and costume designer based in Chicago. She works out of her studio under the name Rosie Josie Studio and sells her print work online, at local art festivals, and shops in the Chicago area. Her prints have been featured in Minnesota Monthly Magazine and in the Springboard for the Arts’ CSA (Community Supported Art) Box. In 2021 she was commissioned by The Springboard for the Arts to create a DIY Linocut Paper Puppet Theater Kit for the CSA box. Her costume work has been seen at Northwestern University, Steppenwolf Theater, Paramount Theater, Remmy Bumppo, Court Theater, and more. Community, collaboration, and storytelling are central to her artistic work. Josephine holds a B.A. in Theater, Arts, and Dance from The University of Minnesota and an M.F.A. in Stage Design from Northwestern University.
About the Maker-in-Residence Program
CPL's Maker-in-Residence program invites a member of the Chicago creative community into the library to build on their digital fabrication practice, collaborate with the public, and explore approaches to making. The Maker-in-Residence is in its seventh year.
Learn more about Maker Lab equipment or check out our upcoming classes.
The Maker-in-Residence program is funded by Exelon, Peoples Gas, and other generous donors to the Chicago Public Library Foundation.