Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea
Angela Arnett to Demonstrate Painted Gourds at Kentucky Artisan Center

On Saturday, June 4, Angela Arnett of Waynesburg, will design, carve and paint gourds from 10:30 am – 3:30 pm at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea.

A Kentucky native, Arnett has been working with gourds for years and is a member of the Kentucky Gourd Society and a juried member of the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program.

The gourds that Arnett uses are grown in Kentucky. Each is cleaned and sanded and then completely covered with intricate geometric designs similar to those used by traditional artists for hundreds of years. She is particularly drawn to imagery that has visual movement and reflects the patterns and colors used by Southwest Native American potters and basket makers.

Each gourd is completely hand painted with acrylics without the use of stencils. Arnett utilizes positive and negative spaces in her patterns to full advantage. She begins her designs by drawing on the gourd with a pencil and then wood-burning the design into the surface of the gourd. She chooses a wide variety of earthy colors, using the acrylic color of sandstone to emulate the effect of using talc paste, and to enhance the blend of her colors.

Gourds by Angela Arnett are regularly available at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, located at 200 Artisan Way, 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 and a special exhibition titled, Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen: Works by Juried Members. In the lobby the exhibit LaVon Williams: Kentucky Folk Artist - Works from the Kentucky Folk Art Center at Morehead State University Collection is on view through Aug. 1. For more 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.