Gift basket for man

Arts and crafts might bring to mind the crudely crocheted coffee can covers and bumpy beaded belts many of us fashioned in our younger days. But the term doesn't always mean amateurish; in countless communities around the country it denotes the professional work of dedicated artisans. In some places, crafts reflect tradition, a skill passed down from generation to generation. Many of the current Seagrove potters in North Carolina keep alive a heritage handed down by their colonial-era ancestors who molded clay wares. Tribal members of New Mexico's pueblos preserve the methods of their ancient culture.

Works represent a person's vision, the inspiration that guides a sculptor's hands to shape glass or wood or stone into a one-of-a-kind creation. It takes an artist's imagination to transform a blank canvas into a captivating scene.

Arts and crafts might be made from an area's natural resources or created from the most ordinary materials. They can reflect the past or the present, be whimsical or practical, simple or simply elegant.

Centers of Creativity

This is just a sampling of places across America that pride themselves on their arts and crafts:

ALABAMA

Considered "one of America's top 100 small art towns," Northport is home to Kentuck Art Center, which attracts more than 30,000 people to its annual Festival of the Arts. The center includes a museum, sales gallery, exhibition gallery, and the studios of resident artists. Several galleries and eclectic shops in downtown expand the art scene in Northport, where fine art, folk art, and handiworks including rocking chairs, pottery, and weather vanes--are some of the delightful finds. Art Night, on the first Thursday of each month, celebrates the arts. (205) 758-1257; www.dbtech.net/kentuck/kentuckart.

CONNECTICUT

Often compared with Colonial Williamsburg, Litchfield is one of the country's finest preserved 18th century villages; its entire town center is a National Historic Landmark. Shops offer arts and crafts of the highest quality, from paintings, prints, and sculptures by area artists to hand-crafted furniture in the Shaker, Mission, and Arts & Crafts styles. The Renaissance Artisan Center, which holds classes and workshops and presents events and demonstrations in the area, offers specialty handmade crafts and accents from artists across the United States. (800) 663-1273; www.northwestct.com.

GEORGIA

A wealth of arts and crafts awaits in Rabun County in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the state's northeastern corner. Several towns, including Clayton and Clarksville, offer working studios and individual shops, plus galleries displaying the works of hundreds of artists. The array of fine arts and folk art, pottery and paintings, wooden toys, quilts, baskets, jewelry, and handcrafted furniture make the county a delightful place to discover the perfect gift or simply appreciate the work of so many creative hands. (706) 782-4812; www.gamountains.com.

KENTUCKY

Berea is considered the "Folk Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky." In lieu of tuition, all students of Berea College work in one of its 140 departments, many of them producing ceramics, wrought iron, and woodcrafts that are sold in the Log House Craft Gallery. Throughout the town, shops and studios of professional crafts people and artists feature jewelry, quilts, pottery, woven rugs, dulcimers, and just about every hand-crafted item imaginable. Visitors can watch talented hands at work in places like Churchill Weavers, one of the country's foremost handweaving studios. (800) 598-5263; www.berea.com.

MAINE

Deer Isle-Stonington offer works by some of the country's most accomplished artists in some 20 art and craft galleries. Many creative folks are drawn by the quiet lifestyle and beautiful scenery of these towns where pleasure boats are still out-numbered by lobster boats. Another attraction is the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, founded 50 years ago to research and teach fine craftsmanship. The Blue Heron Gallery displays many of Haystack's exquisite works. (207) 348-6124; www.deerislemaine.com.

MARYLAND

Log cabins and other rustic structures serve as studios for a variety of professional craftspeople who demonstrate and explain their work in Grantsville's Spruce Forest Artisan Village. The village is an offshoot of Penn Alps, begun more than 40 years ago as a consignment shop marketing the wares of hundreds of people in the region. The buildings, moved from other locations, have interesting stories to tell. The Winterberg House was once a stagecoach stop on the National Road. Artisans work in various media, including bird carving, basket making, hand-loom weaving, hand-thrown pottery, and more. Guided walking tours are available in the village. Special events include a quilt show. (301) 895-3332; www.spruceforest.org.

NEW MEXICO

Literally nations within a nation, the pueblos of New Mexico existed centuries before the arrival of the Spanish. One of the many ways the people keep their culture alive is through their crafts. A consortium called the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council produces an Annual Arts & Crafts Show, and visitors can see remarkable examples of their handiwork year-round in the individual Pueblos. Santa Clara Pueblo is famous for its intricately designed black and red pottery; Black on black pottery is the trademark of San Ildefonso: Taos Pueblo (a National Historic Landmark) is known for micaceous clay pottery. Using skills passed down through generations, artists of the various pueblos create buckskin moccasins, jewelry, paintings, clothing, drums, woven goods, and many other works of art. (800) 793-4955; www.artnewmexico.com/eightnorthern.

NORTH CAROLINA

A visit to Seagrove Area Potteries--home to nearly 100 studios and shops offers more than a chance to admire artisans at work; it's an opportunity to witness a tradition begun more than 200 years ago. Many craftspeople descend from colonial potters who molded the area's rich clays into bowls, pitchers, and other works of beauty. The Seagrove Pottery Festival, held the Sunday before Thanksgiving, is the state's premier traditional pottery event. (800) 626-2672; www.discoverSeagrove.com.

At Cherokee Indian Reservation, craftspeople forge a link with ancestors of 10,000 years ago through wooden ceremonial masks, woven baskets, and stones carved to relate legends. Artisans demonstrate traditional crafts in Oconaluftee Indian Village. (828) 497-2315;.www.oconalufteevillage.com

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania Dutch Country is much more than just pretzels and noodles and sausage and strudels. Lancaster County is a paradise of Amish-made products. Known for honest service, fair prices, and top quality, the Amish make furniture, quilts, brooms, bells, clocks, ornaments, weathervanes, toys, wrought-iron objects, bird houses, the list goes on. Their products can be found in such communities as Lancaster, Bird in Hand, Strasburg, and Intercourse. The Amish also operate book stores, fabric shops, and irresistible bakeries. (800) PA-DUTCH; www.padutchcountry.com.

TENNESSEE

In Gatlinburg, the hills are alive with the sound of crafting--be it dulcimers, candles, ceramics, dolls, quilts, or hundreds of items that interest and inspire onlookers. After watching a wood carver creating children's toys, one man went home to Alabama and crafted yo-yos for all his grandchildren. Most of us aren't quite that handy, but we'll find much to appreciate along the eight-mile loop of the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community. A trolley makes it easy to enjoy the loop. (800) 568-4748; www.artsandcraftscommunity.com.