Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea
Pottery Rowe Creates New Products for Sale at Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea’s Satellite Store During WEG

Spurred creatively by the opportunity to have their works for sale at the Kentucky Artisan Center’s Satellite store during the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, numerous Kentucky artisans who regularly sell at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, have created brand new designs based on equestrian themes.

One such Kentucky artisan with new designs is Melvin Rowe of Pottery Rowe in Louisville. Rowe, an avid horseman, has been designing pottery with equestrian motifs for nearly two years since learning that the World Equestrian Games were coming to Kentucky. “Knowing that the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea was going to have a Satellite Store at WEG gave me the opportunity to further explore designs in equestrian art. I got really excited by all the possible ways that I could design works with horse imagery. “

Rowe started making mugs with horseshoes stamped into them two years ago and it has now grown into a line that now includes platters and serving trays, ornaments, necklaces and plaques.

Horsemanship goes back four generations in Rowe’s family and five years ago he purchased “Ringo” a 17-hand modern paint (part paint, part thoroughbred) gelding. He now enjoys trail riding and endurance riding with his wife, Vivian. They currently have two donkeys, a miniature horse, a quarter horse, an off-track thoroughbred and last winter rescued a buckskin quarter horse that had been abandoned on a farm in Northern Kentucky. After taking lessons in “natural horsemanship” Rowe and his wife began training and turning retired race track horses into riding horses. Their newest addition is a pony 13-hands tall, acquired for kids to ride on the weekends.

Ceramics by Pottery Rowe will be available at the Kentucky Artisan Center’s Satellite Store in the Kentucky Proud Product Pavilion - one of three buildings that form the Kentucky Experience complex at WEG being held at the Kentucky Horse Park Sept. 25 - Oct. 10, 2010

Visitors with general admission tickets will be able to see creativity come to life every day at the Kentucky Artisan Center Satellite Store where works by more than 400 Kentucky artisans will be available for sale. Kentucky authors and artisans will demonstrate, sign their books or perform on site each day from 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. The Kentucky Artisan Center Satellite Store will be open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. except on Sept. 25 when it will be open until 10 p.m.; Oct. 5 when it will close at 5:30 p.m.; and on Oct.10 when it will close at 5 p.m.

The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is located at 975 Walnut Meadow Road just off I-75 at exit 77 (Berea), with exhibits, shopping and travel information areas, open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the café is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

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