The Pennington hosts art gallery exhibition for area artists

A vibrant display of artistry unfolded as talented artists from the Corbin area came together to exhibit their works on May 12.

This captivating event featured a variety of artistic expressions, including painting, digital media, clay sculpting, jewelry crafting, magazine rolls, tooling, and wood carving.

The gathering showcased a range of creativity and diversity amongst artists and their works; each excited to shine light on their creations.

Corrie Dyer, an artist at the exhibition, specializes in Custom House Portraits and Rolled Magazine Art.

Dyer showcased pieces that celebrated the idea of home.

“I like to celebrate the places that we live in. You can find art from any location, but there is something special about art from home,” Dyer said.

Dyer presented an abstract piece of the map of Corbin. She also presented the state of Kentucky filled with magazine strips.

“I love to be busy doing something with my hands. It is fun to pull people into textures and have them do a double-take,” Dyer said.

Dyer takes requests for house portraits and can be found on Instagram at @acorn_valley_art for more information.

Ben and Emily Callahan, a husband and wife duo with a leather craft company, are local artists that presented at the exhibition.

“We come up with a design, trace it, carve it, and then stamp it,” Emily said.

This process is called tooling.

Ben and Emily collectively talked about the long hours that occur during this process of tooling, but ultimately have lots of fun.

“We started by making journals for family members like nine years ago and I (Emily) started doing Henna designs and loved the style so I started by doing tooling and burning Henna art into leather to just see what would happen. I explored it a little more and wanted to decorate the items we were already selling,” Emily said.

The Callahan’s have a business in Corbin, and can be found on Instagram at @be.leathercraft for more information.

Brian Davidson, a wood carver, presented his creations at the exhibition for the first time.

Davidson went into detail about the long process and how he originally got started.

“My son came home with a wood spoon on his lunch break. I thought it was really neat. The next day, I got started,” Davidson said.

Davidson has made money off of his pieces, spending lots of time and effort in creating beautiful woodwork.

Davidson spent three months on his big piece of sea creatures and was selling it for $3,000.

“I didn’t know I had this in me. To me, this is peaceful. I have the radio on and stay in my own little world. The wood is a distraction for me and takes away from my stress,” Davidson said.

Davidson can be found on Facebook at @bluegrasscarving and Instagram at @hillbilly_davidson for more information.