One of life's pleasures is buying, receiving or making art or craft by hand. From chic artsy treasures made uptown to hand-painted folk art from the country, crafts done by hand are a heartfelt addition to any home. This month's day trip outlines a journey to a rural crafts center in Floyd County, Kentucky-David Appalachian Crafts.
I am a partly retired crafter. I made my living doing folk art crafts from 1989-93 so I am sympathetic with craft persons and aware of their production challenges, marketing ups and downs, and materials and tools. I've worked with wood, bone, stone, shell, antler, gourd and metal to name a few media. I was curious to see how folks in Eastern Kentucky made arts and crafts. Artists often use local materials, woods and stone.
In fact, at David Appalachian Crafts I found painted channel coal. Another artist, Charlotte Anderson, uses old jeans and other fabrics to weave into her rag rugs. The upper floor shop is filled with a wide variety of intriguing crafts done by talented artists. There is jewelry made from handmade beads ("lamp worked") by Linda Pennington. Artist Louis Newman grows some of the hundreds of egg gourds which he paints into smart little ornaments. The prices are a reasonable range, from $14.85 for a painted egg gourd to $150 for a larger gourd painted full around.
The building's lower portion was a coal camp bathhouse and the current parking lot was where the swimming pool stood. The upper floor add-on was made from old lumber and rustic beams taken from a defunct school in Michigan. I spoke with director Sister Ruth Ann Iwanski who gave some background to the early beginnings:
"The mission here was begun by the Brothers of Charity who are out of Belgium but have some brothers in Philadelphia. Brother Michael is still on our board. David Appalachian Crafts is a nonprofit, independent organization, not affiliated with any particular Catholic order. The Benedictine sisters provide donations, a number of Catholic high schools and churches also give time, talents and funds. Donations and grants help subsidize the crafts program. We accept work that is creative and made from natural materials, not assembled items."
I browsed the shop and found a wide variety of crafts: quilts, kitchen wooden items like cutting boards, spoons, knives, rolling pins, biscuit cutters and oven rack pulls. There was jewelry made from gemstones or wood-earrings, bracelets and necklaces. I also admired walking sticks, baskets, wooden caricature figures, stain glass nativity sets, grapevine wreaths, hand carved wood bowls and embroidered purses. They had fabric potholders, hand quilted coasters, pillows, wall hangings and bonnets. Check out their Web site for holiday items like the cute Santa mouse and stuffed wreath.
Sister Ruth Ann also noted that they "do as much at craft shows as with retail and wholesale orders. In addition we're very involved with community service. We have free art classes, asking only for donations for materials. We have sewing classes on Monday and painting classes on Tuesdays. We help teach classes through the Hope in the Mountains in Prestonsburg, which is part of a drug and alcohol rehab program. When neighbors have trouble paying their utility bills, we offer assistance, asking them to donate in turn time back in the crafts store. We have a Christmas store with donated items for families in economic need. Those families can take without returning the first year. In the second year we have them go through counseling for budget planning and food management. And if they need help for a third or later years, we have folks give back 12 hours of time working for us."
Their crafts are in some Kentucky state gift shops and they do well selling to the Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea. They participated for all 26 years in Louisville's spring Kentucky Crafted: The Market. They have come a long way since 1972 when it was mostly ladies quilting. They drew some national recognition as they grew, adding furniture makers and weavers. They also work with the Kentucky Appalachian Crafts Council to spread the word.
Except for a few holidays (including Christmas and Thanksgiving) David Appalachian Crafts is open from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Mon. - Fr. and on Sat. from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. I bought some nice greeting cards and made note of a few other crafts to check out next time for family and myself. Happy traveling and shopping on your day trips and enjoy the holidays with those you love.
TO GET THERE
To get to David Appalachian Crafts from Lexington take Interstate 64 east to Exit 98 and exit on the Mountain Parkway. Follow the Mountain Parkway and signs toward Prestonsburg on KY Highway 114. At Salyersville continue straight toward Prestonsburg. After some 90 miles and just short of Prestonsburg, look for David Road/KY 404 and turn right. Drive 6 miles to David Appalachian Crafts, which is on the left. Be careful of the large, fast coal trucks zipping around the curved roads. Call them at (606) 886-2377 or find contact info through their Web site, www.davidappalachiancrafts.com, where they have photos of crafts and more information.