July Exhibit 

GRAND HALL, LOCKHART GALLERY, & FARMERS NATIONAL BANK GALLERY

"Forkland Arts and Crafts" by the Forkland Community Artists

Hand painted gourds, painted saws, and turkeys crafted from pine cones are all on display at the Arts Center this month. What do any of those things have to do with art you ask? They have everything to do with art! 

The traditions of Forkland, Kentucky (or the "Fork," as natives sometimes refer to the area where Boyle, Casey, and Marion Counties meet) include arts and crafts created by the many people who either live there or who have ties to the area through ancestry and land ownership. Several artists and craftsmen in the Forkland area are self-taught men and women who enjoy working with their hands.  

Their art, known as "Art Brut" or "outsider art," is a genre that consists of works produced by people who have not received formal art education. According to Michael Thevoz, Curator of the Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne, these people work outside the fine art "system" (schools, galleries, museums, etc.) and produce works from the depths of their own personalities and owe nothing to tradition or fashion. "Art brut" artists, like the Forkland Community Artists, create works of outstanding originality in concept, subject, and technique usually for themselves and not for public display. This month the Community Arts Center has the privilege of sharing their works with the public.

According to Thevoz, " 'Art brut' artists make up their own techniques, often with new means and materials and they create their works for their own use, as a kind of private theatre. They choose subjects which are often enigmatic and they do not care about the good opinion of others, even keeping their work secret." Now, for a limited time, the secret is out.

In an "off the beaten path" place like Forkland, people cannot just run to town for every little thing they need, so they often improvise. Many quilters were thrifty through the Great Depression and took just a bag of rags and good muslin and turned it into a beautiful bed quilt. The Forkland exhibit includes quilts made by Betty Followell and others that were passed down by her mother great-grandmother. Forkland has also produced performing artists like Jeanne Penn Lane who wrote many popular folk songs. Her daughter Dawn Osborne will perform some of them at the Exhibiting Artists' Reception.

The Forkland community's artists each picked a couple of pieces that best represent themselves to display at the Arts Center through the month of July. From woven chair bottoms to hand-crafted wood tools, and everything in between, the Forkland Arts and Crafts exhibit has it all. We hope you'll join us for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these rare works of art in an intimate setting! 

You're Invited!

Please join us for our July Exhibiting Artists' Reception featuring the Forkland Community Artists with music by Dawn Osborne!

Thursday, July 14, 6-8 p.m. Free and open to the public. 

STARRY NIGHT STUDIO

A social painting experience at the Arts Center you just can't miss! 

Brand new classes are coming-check the website for new listings!

Gather your friends for an unforgettable evening of fun and fine art! 

This isn't your typical art lesson -- Starry Night Studio is a social painting experience offered on scheduled dates each month for all levels of artistic talent open to fun and creativity!

Wednesday, July 20, Noon-1 p.m. at the Community Arts Center

On the third Wednesday of each month, the Arts Center will present a featured artist who will perform, demonstrate or lecture on his/her work.  Time will be available for discussion with the artist as well.  The monthly Lunch with the Arts series features a variety of topics from literary arts to performing, theatrical, and visual arts. The series typically takes place in the Community Arts Center's Grand Hall. 

A LOOK AHEAD:

August: Jon Carloftis - Yes, the award-winning great American gardener and garden designer.

(Admission: $20-includes catered box lunch, or bring your lunch and pay only $15. Participants must make reservations in advance online! Click here to reserve your spot today!)

September: Dick Domek