Kentucky: a road trip through the state - Part 37 - Orlando / Florida Guide
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As you travel around the state you will come across many craft and art workshops some are in towns and others have been set up in the barns of old farms. You just need to keep an eye out as your drive around as you may come across a real gem. The next few sections will give you some pointers to places we found or were told about but these are only the tip of the craft iceberg.
Kentucky has registered around 3, 000 resident full-time and part-time craftspeople. The Kentucky Craft Marketing Program provides business assistance and advice to craftspeople and is run by the state. Crafts producers whose works are accepted into the Program carry the ' Kentucky Crafted' label. This gives you the knowledge that the products have been through a jury process to ensure only the highest quality are allowed to display the label. During the winter it also sponsors a market in Lexington that attracts country wide buyers from across the United States who are looking for high quality crafts. The show is also open to the public so if you happen to be around when it’s on then you should defiantly drop in.
While you are in the state keep a look out for festivals and special exhibits as these are an excellent opportunity to see the works of local craftsmen. The Lexington Art League sponsors arts and crafts displays at Mayfest, Mother' s Day weekend in Gratz Park and downtown during the Fourth of July festivities. There is also the Woodland Arts Fair on the third weekend in August and a Holiday Art Fair on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving at Loudoun House.
In Georgetown you find Heirloom & Gretchen' s, the owner Gretchen Soards sells stained glass panels and sun catchers and also makes custom lamp shades. Potter Fritz Wolff creator of the award winning Wimbledon Collection of dolls has now turned back to pottery. He' s built an 18, 000 square foot ceramics studio overlooking Connemara golf course near Nicholasville.
One of the best collections of folk art in the U. S. can be found in Morehead which is about an hour' s drive from Lexington. The Kentucky Folk Art Centre has a permanent collection of more than 1, 000 works by nationally known Kentucky folk artists. There is a wide variety of works on display such as walking sticks, paintings, woodcarvings of animals, historical figures, painted furniture and many other diverse objects.
As well as its permanent collection displayed in the Richardson gallery, the museum also hosts three annual folk art exhibits in the Adkins gallery. It also contains a museum store where you can purchase original art, books and jewellery.
In the state capital of Frankfort you can find one of the best selections of handmade items in the state at Completely Kentucky. The name tells you everything; in the shop only Kentucky made items are shown with the works of more than 650 craftspeople represented.
This is only a taste, so as I said earlier keep your eyes open while you travel. One of the best tips I can give is where possible try not to use the Interstate roads but stay on smaller ones where you will find the hidden gems.
The next section of our trip looks across the whole state and continues in part 38
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