Lane Report

SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS
Above: Small leather journal, made by Kentucky
Crafted artist Melissa Oesch, owner of Reimagined
by Luna in Lexington.
BLACK Friday, Small Business Saturday
and Cyber Monday have
passed, but that doesn’t mean
you’ve missed an opportunity
to find the perfect gifts
for your friends and family.
The Kentucky Arts
Council has launched its
annual Give a Gift Made in
Kentucky campaign on its website and
social media. Artists whose works and
events are part of the 2016 campaign
are members of the Kentucky Crafted,
“Folding River Oats Vase,”
by Kentucky Crafted artist
Mary Rezny, owner of
MS Rezny Studio/Gallery
in Lexington
Give a Gift Made in Kentucky
Unique gifts made by Kentucky artists are available online and in stores
Performing Artists or Architectural Artists
directories, or they are Al Smith
Individual Artist Fellowship recipients.
In addition to artists in those
directories, the Give a Gift campaign
has been expanded to
include holiday events hosted
by Kentucky Arts Partnership
organizations.
The Give a Gift section of the website
is a great place to find Kentuckymade
art and craft, recordings or
tickets to events.
Artists who chose to participate in Give
a Gift find inspiration from their Kentucky
surroundings and communities.
“Since I arrived in Kentucky in 2001, I
found far more opportunities than were
available to me previously – I can honestly
say my artwork and art career have grown
exponentially ever since,” said Bruce
Frank, a Kentucky Crafted artist living in
Georgetown. “A large part of this was my
early involvement with the Kentucky Arts
Council and its many educational and
exhibition opportunities.”
“My current body of
work could not exist outside
of Kentucky,” said
Berea artist Laura Poulette.
“My painting process
begins with a walk in
the woods and meadows
surrounding my Madison
County home.”
Work by artists in the
arts council’s Kentucky
Crafted program is represented
not only in their
own studios, but also in the
shops of 28 Kentucky
Crafted Retailers in Kentucky,
Missouri and Ohio.
Kentucky Crafted Retailers
offer a wide variety of merchandise
and actively promote
the Kentucky Crafted
brand. It’s a distinction
available to gift shops, galleries
and other businesses
that sell art and craft. If you
own a business and are
interested in becoming a
Kentucky Crafted Retailer,
contact Dave Blevins, the arts council’s arts
marketing director, at david.blevins@
ky.gov or (502) 892-3120. ■
Tom Musgrave is communications director
of the Kentucky Arts Council.
“Wednesday,”
a sculpture by
Architectural
Artists
Directory
artist William
Kolok, owner
of Kolok Wood
and Stone in
Owensboro.
THE LANE REPORT • LANEREPORT.COM DECEMBER 2016 39