Local college, local artists energize the ‘Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky’ [photos]

BEREA, Ky. – Standing at the intersection of North Broadway, Adams Street and Artists Circle, there’s a certain energy that surrounds you. It’s one charged with creativity.

Little wonder, since this is the place where many artists live and work in the small Appalachian town designated as the Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky.

Inside one of the artist studios in the city’s Old Town Artisan Village, broom maker Justin Burton is at work.

“When I get the chance, I like to make and make and make,” he says. “It’s an adrenaline rush.”

Burton’s a big, 24-year-old guy with long, wavy black hair. He keeps it tied back, in part to keep it from getting tangled in the broom machine that bundles bristles made of broom corn. The machine, he explains proudly, is new to him, but it’s more than 100 years old.

“They just don’t make these anymore,” he says with an infectious smile. “An old Kentucky broom maker had to pass away before I could buy it from his widow.”

Like many artists in Berea, Burton has chosen an age-old art that, thanks to modern technology, isn’t practiced much anymore. He estimates only slightly more than 100 artists still make brooms by hand.

His alma mater, Berea College, has its foundation in the arts, encouraging students to step out of their comfort zones to pursue artistic passions. All students attend Berea College tuition-free, but most also work 10 to 15 hours a week to make money for room, board and other living expenses. Some choose to work in offices, others on the Berea College farm and some at the school’s Boone Tavern Hotel. But for those with a creative edge, there are a number of jobs in the Student Craft Program, a department with a diverse array of choices in which students can work.

“I was working for the college printing service and, in between papers I had to write for my classes, then handle all the papers in the printing department. I got to where I was sick of paper,” Burton says. “I needed something I could do with my hands.”

Burton had heard about the school’s broom program, so he walked through the door, asked for a job and began work right away. Now he makes brooms for a living. He works and runs his business, The Broom House, out of a studio in Gallery 123, a project of Arts Accelerator pilot program sponsored by Berea Tourism. It’s aimed at bringing new young artists into town or encouraging those already here to stay and keep the arts alive.

The program works with four to five aspiring artists and gives them business training, gallery/studio space and a living stipend for 16 months. The artists are able to build their business and refine their art skills in preparation to start their own independent businesses when the program is completed.

“Artists are responding to the push,” says Dylan Bogard, communications manager for Berea Tourism.

Local potter and Berea alumnus Sarah Culbreth was in the second class of students “paid” to throw pots marketed by the college. She’s lived in Berea since 1971 and has seen the town go from a thriving arts community to one that is now looking for new life – and succeeding – in its mission, thanks to collaboration between the townsfolk and Berea College.

“We’re working together toward oneness, creating a cohesive energy,” she says.

Culbreth and potter husband, Jeff Enge, own Tater Knob Pottery. It’s a 15-minute drive from downtown Berea, but Culbreth lets guests watch as she works at her potter’s wheel. You’re also likely to find homemade cookies, candy and coffee or hot chocolate to enjoy while visiting with the artists and roaming a gallery overflowing with handmade pottery. You can buy Tater Knob pottery at the gallery or in town at Log House Craft Gallery and at the gift shop at Boone Tavern Inn.

In town and adjacent to Boone Tavern you’ll find Student Crafts on the Square, a shop/working studio with pieces made by Berea students. It’s also a good place to arrange a tour of the campus and learn more about the history of Berea and the school, now 162 years old.

“When I give tours, I still get fascinated with all the talent,” says Berea student Reiko Maninang, a tour guide. “They come in here as freshmen, many of them not knowing how to do a lot. And by the time they are seniors, they’re making things the way they did generations ago.”

Many gallery owners/artists in Old Town are nearing retirement age.

“I’m just an old hippie jeweler,” says musician-turned-jeweler-turned-master craftsman Ken Gastineau, whose gallery/studio on North Broadway is filled with gemstones set in original sterling designs. He also makes cups of all sizes in pewter.

He and wife, Sally, moved east from New Mexico and settled in Berea 30 years ago. Their gallery, like many in the area, is a working studio that allows visitors to stop and watch as they create.

“It made sense to move here,” he says. “If you’re wanting to sell your stuff, it’s a good idea to live in a place with a strong craftsman’s culture.”

The culinary arts, too, are woven into the fabric of Berea’s daily life. Chefs and other foodies have followed their brethren in other art mediums, tantalizing tastebuds with a full palate of flavors, ranging from Appalachian/Southern fare to tastes of Thai, Italian and Japanese.

Though classically trained, David Poulton, executive chef at Boone Tavern, says he doesn’t stick to one particular culinary style but is committed to the restaurant’s farm-to-table mission, getting as much produce, meats and other foods as he can from the Berea College farm and store or Kentucky Proud, an organization promoting Kentucky farms and products.

On the tavern menu, you’ll find lamb meatloaf next to tempura salmon or seared scallops next to rabbit pot pie. Breakfast and lunch are also offered. With dinner entrees starting at $22, Boone Tavern is the priciest place in town, but there are other options.

With no restaurant experience – just a love of and talent for cooking – Mae Suramek opened Noodle Nirvana in August. In less than a year, it’s become one of the hottest restaurants in town for lunch and dinner. Suramek, a Berea graduate, left town after graduation but returned five years later.

“It was this place that instilled in me a desire to lead a purposeful live and to ‘be the change,'” she says.

Noodle Nirvana is a build-your-own-bowl kind of restaurant. You pick your choice of noodle – rice, egg or zoodles (zucchini noodles) – then add the toppings – chicken, tofu, beef, vegetables and sauces such as the house favorite peanut sauce or a rich coconut curry sauce.

A community-minded restaurateur, Suramek gives back to the town of Berea by offering meeting space for nonprofits as well as financial support. She’s also a believer in buying local and lists on a board what local products are being used each day.