Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea
Woodworker Jerry Cooper to Carve Celtic Wooden Jewelry at Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea

Press Release Date:  Thursday, October 02, 2008  
Contact Information:  Gwen Heffner
Information Specialist, Curator
gwen.heffner@ky.gov
Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea
Phone: 859/ 985-5448
Fax: 859/ 985-5449
 


On Friday, October 3, woodworker Gerald Cooper of Berea will demonstrate how he carves from walnut his unique wooden Celtic jewelry from 10:30 am – 3:30 pm at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea.

A native of Niagara Falls, New York, Gerald Cooper has been working with wood for over 30 years. He served as a minister in four states before moving to Berea in 1985, where he and his wife Joyce ran The Cooper Shop in Old Town, Berea, for 14 years. Gerald is a juried member of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen as well as the Southern Highland Craft Guild. His background as a minister has led him to create commissioned works for churches, utilizing his low relief carving skills to make intricately carved crosses. Recent travels to Ireland and Scotland have inspired him to work with Celtic imagery. Gerald creates wooden jewelry by carving walnut into Celtic knots, doves, treble clefts and Celtic crosses.

Gerald is also adept as a wood turner. He creates turned wooden bowls, decorative Ikebana containers and numerous items for the desk and office from cherry, walnut and other hardwoods.
 
Works by Gerald Cooper can regularly be found at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, 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 11:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free. The Center currently features works by more than 650 artisans from over 100 counties from all across the Commonwealth. For more information call 859-985-5448 or visit the Center’s web site at www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov 

The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is an agency in the Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet.



 

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Gerald Cooper carves a Celtic Knot into walnut for a wooden necklace pendant at the Kentucky Artisan Center.