Artisan Center News

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In this issue... • Upcoming Artisan Demonstrations & Events • Artisans in the News • Calendar The Kentucky Artisan Center is located at 200 Artisan Way, just off Interstate 75 at exit 77 at Berea. The Center’s exhibits, shopping, and travel information areas are all open daily from 8 am to 8 pm and the café from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Admission is always free. An adjacent bicycle and walking path lead into downtown Berea. For more information, call 859-985-5448.		June 2011 From the Director – Summer is always an exciting time at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, and this summer looks to be no exception! Visitors are enjoying our Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen exhibit and our LaVon Williams folk art exhibit, as well as the thousands of other works by Kentucky artisans currently on display and for sale at the Center. Artisan demonstrations continue on Saturdays, and we are now offering free guided tours of our exhibits at 11am and 2pm on the second Saturday of each month. There are now two ways you can keep in touch with all of our events on-line. Event listings with links to full press releases are featured on our website in the calendar section and we also now have a facebook page, which lists events with a photo. Be sure to add our sites to your internet favorites. And as always, there are great artisan studios, cultural events, hiking trails and other activities and events this summer in Berea. It is with good reason that Berea was among the destinations selected for inclusion in Midwest Living's 2011 "Best of the Midwest" publication! Visit soon to enjoy all the wonderful work artisans in Berea and around the state are creating! Victoria A. Faoro Executive Director Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea An Agency in the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet / Commonwealth of Kentucky

UPCOMING EVENTS Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen Exhibit Continues through Aug. 20 Don't miss this exhibit marking the Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen's 50th Anniversary. This exhibition includes works in all media by 70 current juried Kentucky Guild members who reside in Kentucky. Founded in 1961, The Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen (KGAC) is the oldest organization in Kentucky working to preserve and promote the rich heritage and exciting future of art and craft. The KGAC headquarters is located in Berea, Kentucky, officially designated as the "Folk Arts and Crafts Capital" of Kentucky. KGAC has been an integral component in Kentucky having gained a national and international reputation for its rich ongoing heritage of visual art and fine craft. LaVon Williams: Kentucky Folk Artist Exhibit Continues through Aug 1 The exhibit LaVon Williams: Kentucky Folk Artist - Works from the Kentucky Folk Art Center at Morehead State University Collection, continues to be featured in the lobby of the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea. At the May 21, Meet-the-Artist Reception, Williams spoke about his work's being inspired by his own "American experience." In an earlier May 18 interview with Nick Lawrence on the WUKY radio program "Curtains at Eight," Williams spoke of growing up "surrounded by art." His grandmother made quilts, his mother was a seamstress, and his uncle was a woodcarver. LaVon's mother taught him to sew and it was his uncle who taught both LaVon and his brother to carve. LaVon's father was a musician. Music and jazz "filled the house" when he was young - including the music of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk. LaVon added that he often listens to music, especially jazz, when carving. He commented that he couldn't remember a time "when art wasn't a part of his thinking and environment." The influence of music can be seen in several of the carvings that Williams has provided for sale at the Kentucky Artisan Center. During the Meet-the-Artist reception at the Center, Matt Collingsworth, executive director of the KY Folk Art Center at Morehead State University commented on Williams' importance nationally as a folk artist, and also spoke about their Center's annual "Day in the Country" folk art event in Morehead, KY. An exhibit catalog produced by the Kentucky Folk Art Center at Morehead State University is available for purchase at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea ($10 plus tx & shipping). For more information about purchasing a catalog or works by LaVon Williams, please call 859-985-5448. Upcoming Exhibit - An Artful Array: Bowls by Kentucky Artisans Development of a new exhibition titled An Artful Array: Bowls by Kentucky Artisans is underway, to be on display at the Center from August 27, 2011 through February 25, 2012. This exhibit will showcase both functional and non-functional three-dimensional bowl forms created in a variety of mediums by artisans living in Kentucky. Artists have been invited to submit work for consideration. Contact Center staff for an application or download from the Center's website. Entries are due July 9. Berea & Kentucky Artisan Center in Best of the Midwest The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea and five other Berea attractions were selected for inclusion in Midwest Living magazine's 2011 Best of the Midwest® travel edition. This publication highlights editors' top pick travel destinations throughout the Midwest. In recommending Berea as a destination, the editors point to Berea's "centuries-old crafts culture" which has "earned it the title of Folk Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky." The editors recommended visiting the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea to "get an overview of the extensive local crafts traditions - including tasty bourbon balls." Other recommended Berea locations include: the Berea Welcome Center, Berea College, The Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant, Main Street Café and Snug Hollow Farm. Victoria Faoro, executive director of the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea comments, "We are proud to be among the many attractions that make Berea, Kentucky, a very appealing and unique destination for Kentuckians as well as travelers from around the country." The 2011 edition includes more than 3,000 recommendations of where to go, where to stay, what to eat and what to do in the Midwest. Free Guided Tours at Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea will offer visitors and travelers free guided tours of the Center's two current special exhibits at 11 a.m. and at 2 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month. These free guided exhibit tours will be led by the Center's Information Specialist Gwen Heffner, who will answer questions, explain to visitors the many techniques used, and relate biographical information about the artists. Each 30-minute tour will include both exhibits. 30TH Annual Berea Craft Festival July 8-10 Held at historic Indian Fort Theater in the Berea College Forest, the Berea Craft Festival offers a woodland setting showcasing over 120 top artists from 20 states. The festival will have a variety of daily craft demonstrations and entertainment all weekend including strolling musicians and folk dancers. Children's activities will be held all three days from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. making the festival a great family event.

ARTISANS IN THE NEWS Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea Painter and Printmaker John Lackey has been commissioned to create the award that will be given to recipients of the 2011 Governors Awards in the Arts. John's print titled "Trilobite" can be seen at: www.homegrownpress.com Jacque Parsley and Gayle Cerlan have works included in "Triptych," a mixed media exhibition at Billy Hertz Gallery in Louisville. "Triptych" runs through June 18. Bruce and Kelley Hoefer of Turning Wheel Pottery were featured on Kentucky Educational Television (KET) program "Kentucky Life" on June 4. Murray ceramic artist Wayne Bates was commissioned by the Kentucky State Chamber of Commerce to create an installation of nine platters. Sculptors Erika Strecker and Tony Higdon created a commissioned sculpture for the newly expanded Mercer County Library in Harrodsburg titled "Of Time and Tilth." The sculpture is a large sculptural screen that is 15' x 15' 5" and is made up of found, made and fabricated agricultural implements. The library is open 7 days a week and can be contacted at http://www.mcplib.info/ The organization Louisville Clay held their annual pottery sale "Home Thrown, Home Grown" at the Bardstown Road Farmer's Market May 20 in Louisville with KACB artisans Linda Bowman, Marianne Brown, Amy Elswick, Matthew Gaddie, Laura George, Tonya Johnson, Martha Puckett, Laura Ross and J.D. Shall participating. "Common Threads: Contemporary Textile Art from the Commonwealth", will be on view at the Claypool-Young Art Gallery and Department of Art and Design at Morehead State University from June 4 - July 25, 2011. KACB artisans participating include: Kathy Loomis, Louisville; Mary Nehring, Versailles; Marti Plager, Louisville; Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, Lexington; Cathy Vigor, Ashland; Joanne Weis, Louisville; and Laverne Zabielski, Somerset. Raison D'Etre performed on the Governor's Stage at the Derby Day Celebration in Frankfort, at Mayfest Arts Fair held in Lexington, and at the Southeast Regional Folk Alliance in Montreat, N.C. First Lady Jane Beshear celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Floral Clock at the Capitol with hundreds of garden club members from throughout the state and second grade students from Peaks Mill Elementary School in Frankfort. Award-winning garden designer and Kentucky native Jon Carloftis helped design and plant the garden along with volunteers and the Garden Club of Kentucky. Flame Run Gallery will be having a kid-friendly glass art exhibit with proceeds to benefit the Children's Hospital Foundation from June 3 - July 30. Children are invited to an opening day kid-friendly reception from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on June 4 with glass artist Steve Scherer doing a flame-working demonstration. On June 25 the Harrodsburg Festival of Books and Art will feature Kentucky authors reading and selling their books. For more information contact: director@harrodsburgfirst.com Artisan Opportunity: The Kentucky State Fair is offering artists the opportunity to showcase products and services to visitors on the Fair's Toyota Motor Manufacturing Blue Ribbon Stage. The State Fair, which will take place from Aug. 18-28 in Louisville, is looking for exhibitors who would like to conduct a 30-60 minute demonstration of their specialty in arts and crafts, hobbies, gardening, and home improvement. The deadline for applications is July 11. For more information please contact Bryan Blair at 502/ 367-5212 or visit www.kystatefair.org
CALENDAR 10:30 AM – 3:30 PM (unless otherwise noted) EXHIBIT – Now Through August 20, 2011 “The Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen: Works by Juried Members” GALLERY EXHIBIT – August 27, 2011 - February 25, 2012 “An Artful Array: Bowls by Kentucky Artisans” LOBBY EXHIBIT – Now Through August 1, 2011 “LaVon Williams: Kentucky Folk Artist” JUNE CARVED GOURD DEMONSTRATION Saturday, June 11 Bonnie Drake, Bloomfield, KY WOODCARVING DEMONSTRATION Saturday, June 18 Berea Welcome Center Carvers, KY FELTED JEWELRY DEMONSTRATION Saturday, June 25 Kristy Sturgill, Nicholasville, KY JULY CARVED WOODEN DECOY DEMONSTRATION Saturday, July 2 Bob Gibson, Lawrenceburg, KY Berea Craft Festival - Indian Fort Theatre, Berea, KY July 8-9-10 PASTEL PAINTING DEMONSTRATION Saturday, July 9 Diana Colgate, Shepherdsville, KY WOODCARVING DEMONSTRATION Saturday, July 16 Berea Welcome Center Carvers, KY WATERCOLOR/COLLAGE DEMONSTRATION Saturday, July 23 Kathleen Esser, Lexington, KY LAMPWORKED GLASS DEMONSTRATION Saturday, July 30 Steve Scherer, Glasgow, KY AUGUST QUILTMAKING DEMONSTRATION Saturday, August 6 CROCHET NECKLACE DEMONSTRATION Saturday, August 13 Lin Oglesby, Harrodsburg, KY WOODCARVING DEMONSTRATION Saturday, August 20 Berea Welcome Center Carvers, KY MONOPRINT DEMONSTRATION Saturday, August 27 Ken Swinson, Maysville, KY

Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea 200 Artisan Way Berea, KY 40403 859-985-5448 kyartisancenter@ky.gov kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov Artisans are invited to submit information for future columns to kyartisancenter@ky.gov.

The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is an agency in the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. If you would like to respond to anything in this newsletter, please contact staff at kyartisancenter@ky.gov.