We are Maple Creek. We are a unique Arts Community. Our uniqueness stems from the ability to combine the worlds of many art forms in one location. We are not just a pottery studio, not just a glass studio, not just a woodworking shop, blacksmith shop, or painting studio. We are all of these things and more. We are truly like no other art community within hundreds of miles of this area.

The great diversity represented here was born through the vision of one man, Steve Herndon. Steve grew up in rural Ohio with an inborn love of nature, wildlife, tradition and family heritage. These driving forces shaped him into a master craftsman, with a passion for restoring historic log buildings. He builds log and timber frame homes for families around the area as well as restoring log buildings for individuals and historic groups. It is not just the physical restoration that fascinates him but the spirit of the buildings, the tremendous physical labor and unmatched determination of the original builders of such structures. These people were our forefathers; the folks that made life as we know it today possible.

In 1998, Steve was fortunate enough to purchase a 65 acre plot of land overlooking the Ohio River and the Maple Creek Valley. At that time he built his home, two cabinet workshops, an office cabin and a storage barn. Then in 2005 he was presented with an opportunity to acquire two 1820’s log grain barns. These two events brought into focus the perfect way for him to share his passions and talents with the community. He dismantled the barns and brought them to Maple Creek, excavated into the hillside and created an exquisite model of what he is capable of. But that was not the extent of his dream.

The beautiful 5000 square foot building was transformed into an art gallery. It became the Artisan Center at Maple Creek, a local and permanent location for regional top notch artists to display and sell their crafts. Then Steve took it one more step.

He built classrooms into the bottom floor of the building then invited craftsmen to come and teach, learning the crafts himself as each was added to the curriculum, he became skilled in pottery, blacksmithing, knifesmithing, leathercraft and more. Maple Creek became the only facility in the region to focus on teaching traditional arts, therefore enriching the lives of all the community in a most unique fashion.

Over the last six years thousands of visitors have passed through our doors. A sense of wonder captures each and every one of them as they enter the building and are transported to an earlier time when life was simpler and more difficult in its own right. Maple Creek expels a true spirit of its own through the blending of the natural landscape, art and architecture. Bluegrass music meets them as they wander through room after room furnished with one of a kind heirloom furniture crafted by Steve utilizing traditional woodworking methods.

Each room is then filled with pottery, glass, ironwork, wood carvings and turnings, fiber arts, and paintings handcrafted with care by our family of artisans. Over the last six years we have enriched countless students’ lives with art classes. The Artisan Center has become a place to reflect and enjoy nature, experience the satisfaction of learning or perfecting an art, or simply learning to appreciate the work of others.

Maple Creek has a rich history of several annual events. In January we reserve the last weekend of the month to bring recognition to one of our most popular arts, pottery. Potters around the area bring their most prized creations to share with the public. It is two days dedicated to the appreciation of the long hours of practice and perfection that makes a potter worthy.

Then in May we welcome in spring with our Spring Festival. This is an invitation to artists to show and sell their work while demonstrating their arts to the public. The atmosphere is festive with live Bluegrass talent from the area and local foods for all to enjoy. July has traditionally been the month to appreciate antique quilts and then another festival in October to usher in the fall.

The final event of the year is our Christmas Open House. This is probably the most popular event, because of the simple beauty that is Maple Creek. It revives memories of past Christmases and gives shoppers the opportunity to give one of a kind, unique gifts while supporting local artists, a refreshing change from shopping at the mall.

With all this in mind, the vision of Maple Creek is not near complete. Our future holds more pathways of challenge and growth. Nature trails through the property will be a guide to several areas that will lend inspiration to the artist or casual visitor. Guest cabins will serve as housing to individuals, families, or groups interested in taking an extended workshop, or to artists who come to teach or simply search out a serene setting to perfect their art. On the tip of the ridge overlooking the Maple Creek Valley, there are plans in place to build a painting studio. It will be on stilts at tree top level, a circular structure of glass that will blend into the hillside, offering an up close and personal environment for painters to be inspired by nature. A separate studio devoted to pottery is to be constructed behind the already existing wood fire kiln. It is designed to look like an old schoolhouse and the bricks will be handmade from a local vein of clay.

We have been inspired to bring another traditional art to Maple Creek, that of music. In 2011, we will be launching a series of concerts in our newly built amphitheater. It is tucked into the hillside lending natural acoustics and beauty. It is the perfect environment to enjoy music on a breezy summer evening. We hope to give local musical talents a unique venue and create a valued asset to the community.

Also in 2011, with the acquisition of adjacent land, Maple Creek will be introducing a new glass studio. The glass studio would encompass everything from stained and fused glass to flame work and blown glass. Glass has long been a favorite with our visitors and guests so it will be very exciting to be able to actually produce glass works of art at our facility and to be able to teach this, one of the oldest art forms known to man. This newly acquired property will also give us the space we need for organic gardening, an orchard and a vineyard and would provide an excellent opportunity to guide the community into a healthier lifestyle.

In a time of so many negative influences to our lives, we invite partners who believe in our mission to join us. Become a part of the expansion and further development of Maple Creek and help us provide a greater number of people the experience of inner growth and fulfillment through art education.

Maple Creek Artisan Center
527 Maple Creek Rd
Moscow, Ohio 45153
513-876-0081
www.maplecreekart.com