A UNESCO Creative City for Crafts & Folk Art, Paducah is home to many studios, craft stores, galleries and more to fuel creatives. Kijsa Housman, a professional artist for over 30 years and owner of creative studio MAKE Paducah, has curated her best recommendations for experiencing Paducah’s arts and crafts scene.
Kijsa gets her hands dirty at MAKE Paducah.
Take a class at MAKE Paducah
MAKE Paducah came about when Kijsa purchased a downtown building to expand her gallery and studio space and wanted to add an area where the public could create, regardless of age or skill level. Today, MAKE offers a variety of classes and workshops and allows makers to interact with a working artist. For visitors, Kijsa recommends one of her barn quilt-making classes. Barn quilts are traditional to rural agricultural regions and tie into Paducah’s quilting heritage, making a fun and memorable souvenir from a trip to Paducah. For those on the go or short on space, MAKE offers watercolor kits of Paducah landmarks that are fun to create in studio or grab and go.
MAKE offers a variety of classes and workshops and allows makers to interact with a working artist.
Visit Paducah’s local crafting stores
Kijsa frequents Paducah’s crafting stores for yarns, canvases and fun baskets to tote her art supplies. For a wide selection of beads to add to any project, she recommends Beads and Rugs, right next door to MAKE, and Hancock’s and Tuscan Rose as a resource for fabrics for fiber artists. Aside from traditional crafting stores, Kijsa often sources local antique stores for vintage finds and hardware stores for more technical products used for photo transfers or other crafts.
Be inspired by rotating exhibitions
Paducah’s Yeiser Art Center and the National Quilt Museum offer several exhibitions throughout the year that provide artistic inspiration. Kijsa often brings drawing students to the Yeiser Art Center to sketch current exhibitions and recommends this to any artist looking to draw inspiration. She also
recommends the National Quilt Museum, the largest museum in the world dedicated solely to quilts and fiber arts, for exhibitions that vary in style, technique and subject, offering new perspectives.
Paducah's Yeiser Art Center offers several exhibitions throughout the year.
View local art and crafts
For those looking to take in some of Paducah’s local art, the Art Guild of Paducah showcases diverse works by local and regional artists. Located in the heart of Downtown Paducah, the gallery features beautiful artwork and hand-made crafts created by Guild members in a great location for visitors who are exploring downtown and the historic Market House Square.
The Art Guild of Paducah showcases diverse works by local and regional artists.
