With over 200 exhibitors working in wood, paint, silver, wool, chocolate, clay, silk and much more, Kentucky Crafted: The Market is a sense explosion. That’s why we chose “tempt your senses” as this year’s theme. We dare you to come to the Lexington Convention Center on March 2 – 3 and be tempted by all of the music, textures, smells, sights and tastes offered by Kentucky’s best artists and crafts people. It will be impossible to walk away empty handed.
The Market experience is all about spectacle. Part of this visual excitement comes from the energy of the wonderful crowds filling the exhibit hall. But the majority comes from the myriad of palettes used by Kentucky Crafted artists. The colors are simply amazing, covering the spectrum from earthy, soft and tranquil to electric, vibrant and blaring. It’s like Carmen Miranda’s hat, a Monet painting and a Persian rug all in one package. Don’t be overwhelmed, though. The idea is to take the aisle tour, one booth at a time, savoring all the sights and deciding what absolutely must come home with you.
Schall Studio & Design – Booth 320
Like a perfect marriage, this dinnerware both complements and competes with food to make a beautiful table.
J. D. Schall is a master at achieving the clean lines and eye-pleasing functionality of modern design. His forms are simple, durable and practical. The key to his aesthetic is using brilliant glazes to create beauty without unnecessary fussiness and filigree.
Calan Originals – Booth 440
Walnut, cherry, bubinga, oak, pine. I can only name a few, but the hardwoods making up these boxes all bring their own hues and patterns to the sensory party.
“Wood” is not a color. Wood has many colors and variation, and it takes a skilled craftsperson to bring out the natural gradients in a common or exotic wood.
Truly Wearable Art – Booth 317
With sewn-in movement and magnificent colors, this skirt is impossible to ignore.
Laverne Zabielski creates couture quality hand-felted alpaca and merino wools as well as Shibori-dyed silks. Her fabrics can be found on red carpets, but are also perfect for your rainy-day shawl.
Ed Newell Photography- Booth 447
Did you know nature has a “best side?” Ed Newell found it.
You can look at an Ed Newell image and almost swear that these colors don’t exist in Kentucky or even on Earth; however, cameras don’t lie. Color is dependent on light, and Ed Newell knows just when light will reflect off an object in just the right saturation to bring out these impossibly beautiful scenes. Ed Newell is a new exhibitor in 2013.
Dancin’ Dog Designs – Booth 452
This is how you “make a mountain out of a mole hill,” or in this case, a segment of quartz.
Some artists add color to the bland, and others recognize the potential of colors found in nature. Dwayne Cobb uses the natural variations in metals, stones, gems and glass to create whimsical human-like forms, creatures and landscapes to adorn your neck and wrist.
Sarah Schmitt, arts access director
Are your sense tempted, yet? For more peeks and previews, check out our titillating Pinterest board.
