Kentucky.gov

On Saturday, May 10, Sharon Chartier Haines of Park City will demonstrate dried botanicals from 10:30 am – 3:30 pm at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea.

Sharon Chartier Haines has degrees in Home Economics and Art from Western Michigan University. She taught high school art, home economics and industrial arts in Michigan in the 1970’s before moving to western Kentucky in 1981. There she substitute taught during the 1980’s and began her craft business, Natural Accents.

The herbs, everlastings, flowering annuals, perennials and grapevines Sharon works with are grown on her 225 acre farm. Her husband raises registered Angus cattle while she raises a full acre of flowers, herbs and vegetables in three separate gardens. She starts seedlings under lights in the basement in the winter, transfers them to a cold frame and then plants them. Weeding, watering, harvesting and preserving her plant materials takes up most of Sharon’s year. She tries new plants each year and also searches fields and roadsides for interesting plants to dry.

To preserve her plant material, Sharon air dries them in her attic, barns and basement. In addition, she uses silica gel, glycerin, bleach, dyes and a dehydrator. She also dries, dyes and makes all of her cornshuck flowers. Because all of Sharon’s materials are from nature, they should be used indoors only and away from direct sunlight, holding up well for many years.

Works by Sharon Chartier Haines are regularly available at the Kentucky Artisan Center, located just off Interstate 75 at exit 77 (Berea). The Center’s exhibits, shopping, and travel information areas are all open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the café from 8 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Admission is free. The Center currently features works by more than 650 artisans from 90 counties across the Commonwealth. For more information call 859-985-5448 or visit the Center’s web site at www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov 
 
The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is an agency in the Commerce Cabinet.