Indiana Artisan welcomed 18 artists to its cohort of the state’s best. They join 214 fine artists and small-batch food or beverage producers in 59 counties whose work carries the prestigious Indiana Artisan designation.
The artisans, their work and their hometowns are:
Derek Bastian, cutlery birds, Huntertown
Carrie Baxter, encaustic paintings, Noblesville
Yuliia Borodynska, breads and dinner rolls, Warsaw
Lee Douma, wood utensils, Waynetown
Wayne Gaydos, clay garden art, Farmland
Renal Gomez, ballpoint pen drawings, Indianapolis
Leslie Green, functional textiles, Nashville
Janey Gregory, pastel paintings, Indianapolis
Livinia Hale, oil paintings, Greencastle
Randall Scott Harden, oil paintings, Noblesville
Corrine Hull, pastel paintings, Indianapolis
Ashley Kosowski, whiskey, South Bend
Alan Larkin, etching and lithographs, South Bend
Joe Oberhausen, turned wood, Franklin
Michelle Wainwright, cupcakes in a jar, Merrillville
Douglas Walls, limestone sculpture, Bloomington
Mindy Weddle, functional ceramics, Nashville
Janet Wolf Bradtke, art quilts, Indianapolis
Earning the state’s Indiana Artisan designation is difficult. Panels of art and food panels rigorously review the applications, selecting the most outstanding work for the best of Hoosier craftsmanship title based on a unique link with Hoosier history or heritage, originality, quality, price/marketability, and technique. This year, about 35 percent of the applicants were successful.
Former Lt. Governor Becky Skillman created the 17-year-old Indiana Artisan program to promote fine and handcrafted art as well as value-added food products made by Hoosiers. Each of the artisans selected for the honor exemplifies the state’s strong entrepreneurial spirit. Once their work earns the title, it is Indiana Artisan’s mission to help them build their businesses and business skills.
