Home » 15 artists added to Kentucky Crafted program

15 artists added to Kentucky Crafted program

Helps promote arts, offers business training

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Fifteen artists were recently admitted to the Kentucky Arts Council’s Kentucky Crafted program that provides assistance to Kentucky visual and craft artists through marketing and promotional opportunities and arts business training.

arts“The corps of talent we’ve added to Kentucky Crafted is truly diverse and representative of the best in Kentucky art and craft,” said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director. “It’s always exciting to see artists flourish after adding the Kentucky Crafted brand to their respective studios.”

Berea printmaker Grace Wintermyer is one of the new artists admitted to Kentucky Crafted.

“I tend to second- guess myself and be very critical of my work, so being chosen for this program by a panel of experts is beyond rewarding,” Wintermyer said. “As a young artist, being able to associate myself with the Kentucky Crafted brand is an opportunity to have my work seen and taken seriously by thousands of art collectors and appreciators. This kind of exposure takes years off my journey in becoming a successful Kentucky artisan.”

One of the other new artists is Winchester’s Bill Berryman, who produces drawings and paintings. He has been an arts educator for more than 30 years, but has been developing his own arts business in the past five years. He said the Kentucky Crafted program was originally intimidating, but that it became a goal in the past few years. Last year he was juried into the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, and he set his sights on Kentucky Crafted.

“People kept telling me ‘you need to do this,’” he said. “I got my ducks in a row and stuck my neck out this summer. It’s a validation of all the hard work I’ve put in and the belief other people have in me. Just to be associated with the word Kentucky is an honor I may never be able to live up to or describe.”

The new Kentucky Crafted artists are:

  • Dave Tucker, Kentucky Oak Bourbon Barrel Furniture, Louisville, wood
  • Lindsay Frost, Unique & Unusual Woodcarvings, Louisville, wood
  • Sissy Watson, White Tulip Studio LLC, Louisville, metal
  • Sarah Spradlin, Sarah Spradlin Artworks, Paris, painting
  • Deborah Stratford, Stratford Art Prints, Louisville, print making
  • Bill Berryman, Bill Berryman Drawings And Paintings Of Fine Art LLC, Winchester, graphics
  • Tonya Vance, Lexington, fiber
  • Grace Wintermyer, Richmond, print making
  • John Marks, Fine Crafts of Kentucky, Walton, wood
  • Devin French, Devin French Glass Art, Louisville, glass
  • Steve Clay, Steve Clay Art, Glasgow, painting
  • Michelle Strader, Silver Run Ceramics, Catlettsburg, clay
  • Rebecca Miller Campbell, Miller Campbell Designs, West Liberty, mixed media
  • Amanda Bridges, Amanda Bridges Pottery, Winchester, clay
  • Lacey Roberts, The Painted Lace, Frankfort, fiber

In addition to marketing assistance, the Kentucky Crafted Program provides business training and exhibit opportunities to its members, such as inclusion in its online directory and exhibiting at Kentucky Crafted: The Market, the arts council’s award-winning fine art and craft showcase, which takes place annually in March.