For those who enjoy art as a hobby but may not have time to fit it into their busy schedules, the Murray Art Guild offers various workshops and programs in all sorts of different mediums.
The Murray Art Guild is temporarily located at 403 Maple St. in Murray, Kentucky, as a new building is in development. Debi Danielson, executive director of the Murray Art Guild, has been working with the community for 18 years.
“What we do is provide opportunities for people in the community,” Danielson said. “And by people in the community, I mean everyone. People who have had no experience or experienced professionals are all welcome.”
The Murray Art Guild offers an art market where over 50 local artists display and sell their work. It offers programs for all ages in various creative mediums. The building itself houses three different workspaces: one for weaving, one for clay and a multi-use studio where the staff teaches workshops.
“I really love the range that we have in our workshops,” Danielson said. “Some of the workshops are very traditional drawing and painting. It’s also things that are totally not traditional art-making.”
Danielson said some past art workshops have been still-life drawing and watercolor painting. The Murray Art Guild also offers themed programs like Taylor Swift night and non-traditional workshops featuring fiber arts and other mediums.
“We focus on supporting artists as well as developing artists and providing opportunities for people to become artists,” Danielson said.
Alyssa Williams, a senior studying nonprofit leadership, is currently working with the Murray Art Guild to learn about the administrative and legal duties that come with running a nonprofit.
“Art’s been a pretty big part of my life for a long time,” Williams said. “Not in recent years because I’ve been busy with sports and stuff, but it’s nice to get back to it.”
Williams said the Murray Art Guild was recommended to her by her adviser for an internship.
“She wanted me to go to a place that was well-run so I could learn something versus an environment where I would take on a little bit more of an employee role,” Williams said. “Something I could get something from, you know?”
Terry Joe Sledd is from Murray and has been a part of the Murray Art Guild since 2012. He said he’s been weaving on and off for five or six years.
“I’m still an amateur, pretty much, but I enjoy it,” Sledd said. “I’m on disability, and it gives me something to do where I can sit instead of being up on my bad leg.”
While he enjoys weaving, Sledd said he’s mainly a sculptural book artist. He makes functional journals out of wood that can also be stood up and displayed as sculptures.
“There’s more ways than one to do a lot of things,” Sledd said. “I’ve been taught that my whole life, but art really gave it a practical way of going. In art, we always say a ‘happy mistake.’ There can be things in life that don’t work out, but it can be a good thing.”
More information on upcoming workshops, programs and community events can be found at the Murray Art Guild’s website.
