Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea
Mixed Media Pillows Created by Dinah Smiley at Kentucky Artisan Center

On Saturday, October 21, Dinah Smiley of Louisville, will demonstrate how she creates her unusual mixed media pillows from 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea.

Dinah Smiley, a life long resident of Kentucky, developed her love of nature and art in a small coal mining town in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky.  She continued to fuel her love of nature and art and earned a BA degree in fine art, studying painting, illustration, and photography, at Morehead State University in the heart of the Daniel Boone Forest in Morehead, Kentucky. She is self-taught in digital art and has spent the last five years creating a seamless marriage between the painter and the digital artist within herself. Her venture into fiber art began as she sought out ways to put her photographic images onto fabric.

Dinah says “Composition begins the minute I look through the viewfinder of my camera.  I use natural light and focus primarily on botanicals, nature scenes.  Then I transform these photographs, utilizing a wide variety of computer and hands-free techniques. I draw on my painting and color skills to create these uniquely original pieces from one or more of my photographs.  Each pillow begins with one of my original digital photos which I then print onto silk or linen. The second phase of creation reveals my passion for illustration and painting.  I personally produce each print using pigment based inks and acid-free archival or watercolor paper.” 

Works by Dinah Smiley are regularly found at the Kentucky Artisan Center, located 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 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free. The Center currently features works by more than 650 artisans 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 Commerce Cabinet of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.