|
Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea
Regional Carvers Create Walking Sticks at Kentucky Artisan Center
On Saturday, July 17, members of the Berea Welcome Center Carvers will carve walking sticks from 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea.
Dating back to ancient times, walking sticks and canes have long been a symbol of strength and power. Initially used as a weapon, they eventually came to represent authority and social prestige. Often depicted in paintings, walking sticks became a widely recognized accessory of elegance and social status in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with special rules of etiquette which included where and how to carry them. Today, walking sticks made for hiking are designed from industrial materials and to aid walking for the elderly. Folk artists and woodcarvers have used walking sticks as a format for carving, often using the curves, twists and abstract natural shapes of found wood as the starting point for their creativity.
Woodcarving is an ancient art found in every culture and part of the world. Carving styles include whittling, line carving, chip carving, pierced carving, relief carving, in-the-round carving (sculpture), architectural carving and chainsaw carving. Some of the woods generally used for walking sticks are maple, alder, cherry, willow, aspen, sassafras and beech.
Organized in 2000 by John Adams, Keith Flowers, Larry Smith and Jerry Jackson, members of the Berea Welcome Center Carvers hail from all over central Kentucky. Community activities provided by the group include carving classes, carving demos at schools, monthly Kentucky Artisan Center demonstrations and special events. Adams, along with Jack Gann, and several other members, often teach woodcarving as part of the Continuing Education Program at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond.
The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is located at 975 Walnut Meadow Road, just off Interstate 75 at exit 77 (Berea). The center’s exhibits, shopping, and travel information areas are all open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the café from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The center currently features works by more than 650 artisans from 100 counties across the Commonwealth. For information call 859-985-5448 or visit the center’s website at www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov
The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is an agency in the Kentucky Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet.
|