For more information:
• The Great American Dollhouse Museum, 344 Swope Drive, Danville, KY 40422, phone: 859-236-1883

Producer: Valerie Trimble
Videographer: Prentice Walker
Audio: Noel Depp
Editor: Jim Piston

The Great American Dollhouse Museum

Small Wonders

If you hear "dollhouse" and imagine pink walls, lacy curtains, and simpering little dolls, think again. This is not a girly kind of dollhouse museum.

Here at the Great American Dollhouse Museum in Danville, you'll find history lessons in miniature: buildings of all kinds, from colonial times to the present, and dolls of all races, with all kinds of expressions on their faces. Curator Lori Kagan-Moore says the museum is designed to tell the stories of daily lives of ordinary people.

One section of the museum is devoted to American history. Another section depicts small town life from the early 20th century. Just for fun, the museum also includes a Fantasy Forest of fairies and gnomes.

The 6,000-square-foot building, the old National Guard armory, is a bit of history itself, built during the Depression by the Works Progress Administration.

Lori, who was owner and operator of Lori's Antique and Vintage Jewelry in Lexington, welcomes donations and volunteers to help sew or build models. The museum also includes a gift shop, classroom, and, of course, a playroom.

For more information:
• Uniontown Food Mart, 330 Mill St., Uniontown, Ky. 42461, phone 270-822-5005

Producer/Videographer/Editor: Brandon Wickey

Today's Special—Uniontown Food Mart

Western Kentucky is famous for its barbecue, and this week Dave Shuffett travels to Union County to sample the mouth-watering meats at the Uniontown Food Mart.

Pork chops, spareribs, mutton and beef—all are prepared in the wood-fired smokers outside the food mart, located at the main intersection in town. The cook, Bubba Girten, knows his stuff, and Food Mart co-owner Brent Nally says their smoked hams are especially popular during the holidays. The Uniontown Food Mart's reputation has spread beyond Kentucky, and they ship their barbecue across the country.

For more information:
• Carnegie Community Arts Center, 107 N. Main St., Somerset, Ky. 42501, phone: 606-677-0333

Producer/Videographer/Editor: Brandon Wickey

Carnegie Community Arts Center

A Community of Interests

If a building is named in honor of philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, you know you'll find a focal point for community culture. A case in point is the Carnegie Community Arts Center in Somerset.

The Carnegie, housed in a historic three-story structure built in 1913, has been renovated to accommodate exhibits, performances, weddings and receptions, shops, studios, offices and a French-style market and cafe.

Artists like painter CeCe Butcher and jewelry maker Theresa Jean Kibby have studio space where they work and sell their wares. They are but a few of the wide variety of artists here—studio and field photographers, framers, painters, birdhouse makers, jewelry makers, woodworkers, soapmakers, and more.

Visitors can shop and dine at the Yellow Umbrella Coffee Shop and Market and the Bistro. The Carnegie hosts special tours and events for schools, businesses and civic organizations. Volunteers want the community to feel welcome and bring their ideas. All of it, says volunteer Jamison Brumm, helps nourish the creative spirit.

For more information:
• Information on Rex Robinson's work for Marvelous Medallion Manufacturing

Producer/Editor: Matt Grimm
Videographer: John Schroering, Matt Grimm
Audio: Noel Depp

Rex Robinson

Artist-in-Residence

At his studio farm near Philpot in Daviess County, artist Rex Robinson has found the perfect place to enjoy country life and celebrate the natural beauty and history of Kentucky.

Rex, who earned his bachelor's degree in art education from Kentucky Wesleyan College, has taught art in Owensboro schools and served as resident artist for the Kentucky Arts Council. He is often called upon to judge exhibits. Portfolios of his work include southern U.S. states, biblical truths, and wildlife and nature.

You can see his murals on buildings in Owensboro, Daviess County, Louisville, and Grayson County. Expanding his expertise, he also works with a local company, Marvelous Medallion Manufacturing in Owensboro, to create unique medallions cut from rock using computer technology.

Rex's paintings and murals depict the simple beauty of the Kentucky countryside: cardinals on a tree branch, daylilies on a farm, distant trees in the woods. He is transforming his home into a work of art itself—painting murals on the interior walls.