19 Artists Selected for Kentucky Crafted Program

Lexington screenprinting artists Sara and Brian Turner have been creating art together since meeting at the University of Kentucky in 1998. In 2003 they opened Cricket Press, and this year they will be able to add the distinction of the Kentucky Crafted brand to their body of work.

The Turners are among 19 artists who were selected for Kentucky Crafted, the Kentucky Arts Council’s adjudicated arts marketing program. In addition to being able to use the Kentucky Crafted brand to promote their product, the Turners and the 17 other artists added to the roster of more than 335 visual and craft artists in the Kentucky Crafted Program will have access to marketing and promotional opportunities and arts business training.

“A lot of people are aware of us, but they don’t really know what we do,” Brian Turner said. “We thought that applying to the program, in the hopes of getting accepted, would help open us up to a wider audience.”

“We have a lot of peers already in the program,” Sara Turner said. “They had many good things to say about it and consider it a well-respected program.”

Sara Turner said she and Brian have never had a period of time, since starting their business, when they were not producing work. She hopes adding the Kentucky Crafted brand to their credentials will help keep that momentum going.

“I think this will be a good thing for Cricket Press, adding another level of integrity to what we do, who we are and what we can provide people,” she said.

Artists adjudicated into the Kentucky Crafted Program, listed by name, business name, city and artistic discipline include:

• Chad Balster, Chad Balster Glass, Louisville, glass
• Robert Clark, Horse & Dragon Studio, Georgetown, painting
• Jessica Daman, Sugar Mountain Jewelry, Florence, metal
• Ray Daugherty, RaysLens.com, Sadieville, photography
• Jennifer Dunham, It’s In The Cards, Versailles, graphics
• Johnny Gordon, Gordon Glass Studio, Louisville, glass
• Amy Henson, Rock Bottom Soap Co., London, natural/organic
• Ernest Hunt, Hunt’s Woodcraft, Lawrenceburg, wood
• Kimberley Mahlbacher, HeirloomCroft Art in Wool, Louisville, fiber
• Laura Poulette, Meadow House Studio, Berea, mixed media
• Gerald Price IV, LeGrand Metalsmithing, Berea, metal
• Al Scovern, West Third Ceramics, Lexington, clay
• Scott Soeder, Scott Soeder Illustration, Louisville, graphics
• Shawnna Southerland, Shawnna Carney Southerland, Berea, fiber
• Jason Sturgill, Xenosketch: the Art of Jason Sturgill, Lexington, mixed media
• Billy Tackett, Billy Tackett Studios, Florence, painting
• Sharon Tesser, Sharon Tesser, Louisville, fiber
• Sara and Brian Turner, Cricket Press, Lexington, printmaking

In addition to marketing assistance, the Kentucky Crafted Program provides business training and exhibit opportunities to participants, such as inclusion in an online directory and exhibiting at the annual Kentucky Crafted: The Market, the arts council’s award-winning fine art and craft showcase.

For more information on the Kentucky Crafted program, contact Dave Blevins, arts council arts marketing director, at david.blevins@ky.gov or 502-892-3120.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, fosters environments for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. The arts council is celebrating 50 years of service in 2016.