Kentucky Crafted - The Market

Kentucky has a thriving art and craft industry that encompasses everything from handmade baby bibs to commissioned outdoor sculptures, and the best of the best is on display (and for sale) this weekend at Kentucky Crafted - The Market in Louisville. This program is sponsored by the Kentucky Arts Council and includes juried artists and craftspeople from all across the state.

Yesterday I left Liza home with Jason so I could do a "girls' day out" with my friend Joy and visit the craft show. I had high hopes based on the quality of the "Kentucky Crafted" merchandise I've seen at the Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea, and I wasn't disappointed. Rather a lot of my spending money for the next few months was left in Louisville with some deserving artists; here's what I came home with:

Three photographs from Lexington photographer Linda Fugate-Blumer, including this one:

Joy fell in love with the photo below, but wasn't able to afford the large framed version that Linda had displayed at the show. There's something compelling about it, with just the edge of the one rose petal in focus and the rest all soft and dreamy. Something tells me that a smaller version might make a good "goodbye" present when Joy moves this summer:

Here's the one I had to leave behind - again, all she had was a large framed copy. I think I may try to convince Jason that the smaller matted unframed print would make a good Mother's Day present. Wouldn't this be inspiring on the wall in my sewing room?

Please check out Linda's site if you have a few minutes - she's a really nice lady, she does great work, and her prices are reasonable for matted unframed prints.

Next stop: Hill's of Kentucky, where I bought two original miniature oil paintings by Cathy Hill of Louisville. Their web site is distinctly lacking in illustrations, so here are some junky photos I took of the two I bought. Notice the portrait of the photographer in the reflection on the larger painting :)



I have no idea where I'm going to hang them, but they were too cute to leave behind. Besides, my mother is a big believer in supporting the artists who make the art you love, so how could I say "no" to two originals for $60?

Next stop, the food aisle, where I spent way too much money on things that will be gone before I know it. These include some of the best bourbon balls I've ever tasted, the eloquently named Happy Balls. I had one as an after-lunch treat today, and I'm still blissed out. At about $2 a ball I'd better be!

Final stop, a metalworker named Erica Kirchner whose miniature copper cats caught Joy's eye. You can read more about them here. I managed to (barely) resist the lure of these adorable guys, only to succumb to the siren song of the coolest sea monster to ever grace a craft show:



Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to put this in my bathroom, on the wall above the tiling around the bathtub. How cool is that?!? And if that doesn't work out, I've got the stakes I can use to put it up in the yard. "Chessie" cost me an arm and a leg, but it makes me grin just looking at the thing propped up on the floor in my office, so I can't imagine I'll ever regret buying it.