Kentucky Arts Council News Release- Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet

Kentucky Arts Council's Artist Programs Have March 16 Application Deadline
March 4, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ed Lawrence 502-564-3757 ext. 473 ed.lawrence@ky.gov

FRANKFORT, KY — The Kentucky Arts Council is currently accepting applications for the Kentucky Crafted program, the Performing Arts Directory, and the Arts Education Roster. Online applications are due March 16 and will be reviewed by independent panels to determine acceptance into the various programs. The Kentucky Crafted program is an arts marketing support program for professional visual artists and craftspeople residing in Kentucky. It provides an introduction to wholesale and retail marketing opportunities such as Kentucky Crafted: The Market, the Buyers Market of American Craft and the Capitol Derby Celebration. Once accepted into the program, artists can utilize the Kentucky Crafted ® logo and brand, have representation on the Web through the Kentucky Arts Council's Kentucky Crafted Directory and may receive referral and other promotional benefits. To access guidelines, instructions and application, go to http://artscouncil.ky.gov/guide/prog9/kcmp_gdl.htm. For more information about the Kentucky Crafted program, contact Arts Marketing Program Director Craig Kittner at 502-564-3757 ext. 484, toll free 888-833-2787 or craig.kittner@ky.gov. The Performing Arts Directory promotes, showcases and provides professional development for contemporary and traditional performing artists, companies and groups in Kentucky. Eligible artistic disciplines are dance, music, theatre, storytelling and other performing disciplines. The Performing Arts Directory provides performing arts venues with access to experienced, professional performing artists, as well as showcase and marketing opportunities and training for professional artists. To access guidelines, instructions and application, go to http://artscouncil.ky.gov/guide/prog3/pad_gdl.html. For more information about the Performing Arts Directory, contact Individual Artist Program Director Tamara Coffey at 502-564-3757 ext. 479, toll free 888-833-2787 or tamara.coffey@ky.gov. The Arts Education Roster encourages professional artists to share their talents with Kentucky's students and teachers by working in school residencies. Artists that produce high quality artistic work in all disciplines and demonstrate the competencies to work in an educational environment will have the opportunity to market themselves as teaching artists for fee-based residencies in Kentucky schools. The Kentucky Arts Council's Teacher Initiated Program requires schools to select artists from the Arts Education Roster to conduct the one-, two-, three- or four-week residencies that the grant provides. To access guidelines, instructions and application, go to http://artscouncil.ky.gov/guide/prog3/pad_gdl.html.For more information about the Arts Education Roster, contact Program Branch Manager Chris Cathers at 502-564-3757 ext. 488, toll free 888-833-2787 or christopher.cathers@ky.gov. The Kentucky Crafted Directory, Performing Arts Directory and Arts Education Roster are available online at http://artistdirectory.ky.gov. The Kentucky Arts Council is a state agency in the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet that creates opportunities 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, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Hunter's Moon Festival (and the drink of the week)

Tomorrow, Saturday October 11th is Hunter's Moon Festival here in Grand Rivers. I have been a proud vendor at this super fun event since moving to Grand Rivers in 2005. From the parade full of great floats and even decorated golf carts, to the rockin' street dance at night, this event filled day is fun for everyone. This year the lovely Kim Kraemer, the head of tourism for Grand Rivers, has also put together a huge storytelling event Friday and Saturday nights at the Badgett Playhouse, featuring nationally known storytellers!! There are also dozens of art and craft vendors, several food vendors with local yummy foods, and kids events including those huge inflatable things all kids love. I, for one, am all about getting a funnel cake and some kettle corn. To make things even better, the weather promises to be beautiful at around 86 degrees!

Look for my booth and my show specials while you're there! Mention "octoberfest" and get 20% off. When you get home, get in the mood for fall with some chocolate. Make this Chocolate Martini!

Death by Chocolate Martini

1 1/2 oz vodka (I like Stoli)

3/4 oz creme de cacao

3/4 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

Chill martini glass by filling martini glass with ice and water. Let sit while measuring liquors into strainer. Dump out ice water, and drizzle chocolate syrup around inside of chilled martini glass. Shake ingredients over ice, strain into glass.

Rad Rockin Recycled Gift Boxes On the Cheap

I have been working all week making sure everything is all ready for the Hunter's Moon Festival here in Grand Rivers. One thing I have been working hard on all year is trying to look more pulled together and "professional," while sticking to a tight budget and maybe even being a little earth-friendly too. With the holidays coming up, I have been searching high and low for affordable gift boxes for my jewelry, but boy oh boy, are they expensive! I would have to charge more for my jewelry to afford the silly boxes. Then I found this fabulous tutorial video on Etsy shwoing how to make boxes from paper. A few calendars and Rolling Stone magazines later, I had these:

While I was at it, I cut up a stack of old (probably vintage by now) greeting cards into 1 1/2" x 2" pieces that are colorful on one side and blank on the other, and made gift tags out of them. By the time you fold up the boxes or cut up the cards for tags, the original pictures don't matter, all you see is a super rad, modern colorful look that I find irresistable.

From now until the end of the year, buy something from my Etsy shop or come visit me at the Hunter's Moon Festival this weekend and get a free handmade box, tag, and a fun bow with any purchase, just in time for the holiday season! The Hunter's Moon Festival is a great time, has tons of food and craft vendors, along with inflatables and kid's activities. Add to that a big parade (and a golf cart parade afterwards, since we are a golf cart friendly resort town, lol), a street dance with the wonderful Tabitha of Southern Fry'd (a great local band), and funnel cake, and it is a great day for the whole family!! We hope to see you there!

Back from Vacation!

We're back from a wonderful vacation to beautiful Clearwater, Florida! While we we're there, we avoided rain and bad weather and were very blessed with sunny skies, lots of fun, and light breezes almost every day. Sierra was all about the dolphins this trip! We enjoyed a cruise the first day where we saw dolphins, who liked to play and jump in the wake of our boat:

And other nearby boats:

We went to the Clearwater Rescue Aquarium, and visited Winter, the tail-less dolphin with the prosthetic tail and other rescued dolphins:

We spent a day in the sun on Caladesi Island, voted the best beach in the US in 2008 and collected shells and sand dollars when we weren't swimming:

We also swam in the pool almost every day, where Sierra proved she can, indeed, swim, despite her claims otherwise and a false fear of the water the past few years. To top it all off, we went to Clearwater Beach and enjoyed the sun, sand and surf, which thanks to the hurricanes that completely avoided us, were awesome!

Now that we're back, fall has begun in Kentucky and the best season here has begun- craft show season! Back to work!

xoxo

Vacation

After meeting all kinds of great, interesting people all weekend and nearly sweating my body weight in water at the Arts and Crafts Show, I am off to Clearwater, Florida for a week of family fun in the (hopefully) sun! I will be back, in rare bloggin' form September 9th. Be sure to visit my Etsy shop that week, as I will be adding an entire new line of mix and match pendants and necklaces that range from super kitschy to super pretty, dozens of new gemstone necklaces, bracelets and earrings, and new paintings! Until then...

Spray Paint Fun Part 3

This week I am scrambling to get everything done for the KWW Arts and Crafts Show this week, and needed to make some sort of display for my mini paintings. Maybe I'm cheap, or maybe its my eco-friendly raising that makes me dig through all the junk around the house before I buy anything, maybe its a little of both. After searching in vain for the right kind of wood to construct such a thing, I finally settled on an old, broken poster frame that has been sitting in the garage since I moved in. After fixing the frame with good ol' Gorilla Glue (that glue rocks!), I painted it lime green to match this cheap easel that's been collecting dust for several years now. Then I cleaned up the plastic "glass" from the frame and painted one side with glass frosting spray paint. I then hot glued the plastic in the frame to make sure it was secure, and then laid some of the same cutouts leftover from the necklace display board project and sprayed bursts of white and blue spray paint. The last thing was to add some shelves to put the paintings on, so I searched some more and came up with trim scraps from another household project and screwed them into the frame. Voila!

Be sure to come see what mini paintings I have- at marked down show special prices- this weekend! While you're there, pick up a goodie bag of handmade samples from me and other Etsy crafters, like these swell potscrubbers handmade by Mary Ellen's Crafts. I used one myself and can tell you firsthand, these nifty things really rock! Get one free and find out yourself, and then swing by her shop and show her some love!

Fun with Spray Paint #2

My second fun thing to do with spray paint? How 'bout this fab necklace display I made from boards that came in the back of frames, push pins and corsage pins, and spray paint? All it took was a few cardboard cutouts, a good base coat of one color (also spray paint, of course) and several swooshie (yes, its a word) layers of different colors as I moved the cutouts between colors. The only cutouts I didn't move was where you see the light blue doves- the dark blue dove was a stencil dove I made and painted last.

Be sure the come to the KWW Arts and Crafts Show this weekend in Grand Rivers and check out the all new and rad pendants and necklaces I put on the display! While you're there, register to win a gift certificate and recieve a wonderful goodie bag full of handmade samples from other Etsy artists, like the super talented and very, very funny Annie Rexic!
At annierexic.etsy.com, you can get fresh and funky handmade pins, clothes and jewelry, all complete with hysterical descriptions that will keep you in stitches! She has some of these fun little handmade pins included in the goodie bags for you to take home. So be sure to drop by and say hello!

margaritas and free samples!

Its been a busy week of getting last minute things done for the big arts and craft show next weekend. So make yourself a Margarita and relax with me!

Margarita:

1 1/2 oz tequila

1/2 oz triple sec

sweet and sour to fill

splash of Rose's Lime juice

garnish with a lime after pouring in a salted glass, and enjoy!

I have been busy today putting together fun "goodie bags" chock full of handmade with love samples from other Etsy artists to give away, so make sure to come out next weekend and get yours while they last! A taste of what to expect:

And from me:

New show

Spring is almost here! Finally! Alter being so cold for so long, I am stoked to have booked several shows for later this year when the summer is in full swing and festivals abound!! The newest one I have signed up for is probably one of the biggest- Kentucky Western Waterland's 33rd annual Arts and Crafts Festival Labor Day weekend. If you have never been, its one of the biggest in the area, and always interesting. This year their show will be right here in lovely scenic Grand Rivers, one of Cosmo's most romantic places in the U.S., at our new Little Lake Park. Set back in the trees, this "little" park is a shaded, cool place to spend a leisurely day looking at crafts, eating nummy festival food, and hanging out with your loved ones. Their show features all handmade only items, and includes a super huge variety- from over 100 vendors, including wood carvers, broom makers, painters, sculptors, and some of the craftiest folks this side of the Mississippi! So mark your calendars!! If you have not yet ventured over to my website, wander on over now and see my calendar to see where else I'll be this summer. My goods will vary from NEW fun jewelry, bedazzled versions of my printed clothing, and of course, NEW cooler vases that have yet to be unveiled!!! And while you're here enjoying our quaint little town be sure to check out the sunset at the jetty: