>> HI EVERYBODY.

I'M DAVE SCHUFFETT.

WELCOME TO KENTUCKY LIFE, COMING TO YOU FROM KENTUCKY LAKE.

WE NOT ONLY HAVE THIS BACKDROP, WE HAVE MUSIC, PHOTOGRAPHY, ART, EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF THE CIRCUS.

FIRST, A SPECIAL FRIEND OF MINE.

THOUGH CHARLENE BARRON FACES LIFE WITH A SIGNIFICANT LEARNING DISABILITY, SHE HAS BECOME AN ACCOMPLISHED PHOTOGRAPHER.

JUST TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT SHE CAN SEE THROUGH THE LENS OF A CAMERA.

CHARLENE IS OFF TO ONE OF HER FAVORITE SPOTS, CUMBERLAND FALLS STATE PARK.

FOR ME IT WAS A JOY TO WATCH HER PAY SUCH A TRIBUTE TO NATURE'S GRANDEUR THROUGH THE LENS OF A CAMERA.

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN YOUR PICTURES?

>> I SEE GOD'S BEAUTY, GOD'S GIFT.

HE THAT GIVEN ME WHAT I LOVE TO DO VERY DEARLY, AND IT SHOWS.

>> IT CERTAINLY DOES.

WHAT SHE PRODUCES IS NOTHING SHORT OF EXTRAORDINARY, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE HURDLES OF LIFE SHE HAS HAD TO SURMOUNT.

>> TODAY LOOKING BACK I JUST SEE CHARLENE'S LIFE AS A PUZZLE.

ANYTIME YOU SEE A JIGSAW PUZZLE IN A STORE, THE COVER IS BEAUTIFUL.

YOU GET IT HOME, YOU TAKE IT APART AND DUMP OUT THE PUZZLE, ALL THE PIECES ARE UPSIDE DOWN.

I SEE CHARLENE'S LIFE LIKE THAT.

PIECE BY PIECE, PIECES HAVE COME TOGETHER, A PIECE ON THE BORDER, A PIECE HERE.

WITH EACH PIECE YOU SEE THE BEAUTY, YOU SEE THE LIFE.

IT IS ALL A CHALLENGE AND A SLOW PROCESS, BUT SHE'S DEFINITELY BEEN BLESSED WITH PATIENCE.

IT SHOWS IN HER WORK.

SHE HAS TO BE PATIENT WITH WHAT SHE IS CAPTURING.

>> CHARLENE'S MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER HAVE PATIENCE TOO, DEVOTING MUCH OF THEIR LIVES TO HELPING CHARLENE FINDING THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE.

A FEW YEARS BACK THEY GAVE HER A CAMERA, AND A WHOLE NEW WORLD OPENED UP.

CHARLENE A NOW AN AWARD-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER, ALSO PRODUCING CALENDARS, NOTECARDS, PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS AND BOOK-MARKS.

>> SOMEONE LIKE MYSELF WHO HAS A LEARNING DISABILITY, I LIKE TO SHOW OR TELL PEOPLE THAT DREAMS OR GOALS CAN COME TRUE IF YOU WORK UP TO THEM.

THEY CAN BE ACHIEVED, JUST LIKE ME.

I RECEIVE LETTERS AND CARDS FROM THROUGHOUT THE U.S.

THIS YEAR.

IT HAS BEEN AN HONOR TO RECEIVE THEM.

I HAVE KEPT EVERY ONE OF THEM.

MY MOM CALLS IT "FAN MAIL" AND I NEVER GET TIRED OF READING THEM OR LOOKING AT THEM.

I STILL GET THEM.

>> GOD HAS PUT SOMETHING IN HER SIGHT THAT IS BEYOND ANYTHING WE CAPTURE.

I CONSTANTLY LEARN THAT LESSON FROM HER THAT SHE HAS THE GIFT OF SEEING SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T SEE.

>> CHARLENE AN HER FAMILY LIVE ON A BEAUTIFUL 50-ACRE FARM.

A SHORT WALK OUT THE DOOR CAN PRODUCE AN AMAZING ARRAY OF PHOTOGRAPHS, IF YOU'VE GOT THE EYE.

>> I THANK GOD FOR GIVING ME A GIFT THAT I ENJOY VERY MUCH.

IT IS VERY DEAR TO MY HEART.

I NEVER GET TIRED OF DOING IT.

>> THE POWER OF DETERMINATION.

WELL WITH, OUR NEXT SEGMENT FEATURES A DIFFERENT ARTIST.

WHEN DAN GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL IN 1976, HE WAS NAMED MOST ARTISTIC.

YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE WHY.

NOW LIVING IN FAYETTE COUNTY, HE HAS DISCOVERED THE CHALLENGE OF MASTERING STAINED GLASS.

>> I THINK THE NEAT THING, MOST PEOPLE THINK ABOUT WINDOWS OR LAMPS.

I AM TRYING TO TAKE THAT FURTHER WITH METAL AND GLASS TOGETHER, CREATING DIFFERENT LEVELS OF LIGHT SOURCES, THINGS LIKE THAT.

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HISTORY OF THINGS.

THE QUALITY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO INDIVIDUALS IS SIMILAR.

DAN IS JUST AS PATIENT AND DETAILED, IT TAKES A LOT OF PATIENCE.

IT IS THE MEANS TO THE END.

YOU JUST KNOW WHERE TO GO OR YOU DON'T DO IT, BASICALLY.

WHEN IT IS COMPLETE, YOU STAND BACK AND LOOK AT IT.

I WAS IMMEDIATELY DRAWN TO ART-GLASS.

IT HAS A LOT MORE DEPTH AND CHARACTER.

IT IS ALMOST IN SOME WAYS LIKE A FAIRY LAND.

I CAN SEE ALL THESE THINGS.

IT EXCITES ME TO SEE THEM.

I CAN'T TELL YOU WHY; IT IS JUST THERE.

IT CAME TO ME FROM PICKING UP THE GLASS.

SOME PEOPLE WOULD SEE A GLASS AND SAY IT WAS AWFUL, BUT I WOULD TURN IT INTO A LAMP.

>> DAN WAS A STUDENT OF MINE YEARS AGO.

I RAN INTO HIM, HE WANTED TO SHOW ME SOMETHING.

HE SHOWED ME THIS GLASS, AND I'M GOING WOW T IS BEAUTIFUL.

IT WAS IN HIS LIVING ROOM.

I SAID DAN, WOULD YOU CONSIDER A TRADE, I REALLY LIKE THAT RED LAMP, AND HE SAID "SURE" WHICH WAS SO ENTHUSIASTIC.

I KNEW IF I OIND IT, IT WOULD BE A UNIQUE PIECE IN MY HOME.

THE TRIP TO EGYPT I TOOK A FEW YEARS AGO REALLY SET ME ON MY DIRECTION.

WHEREVER YOU GO WAS THE SUN, HOW MUCH IT MEANT TO SOCIETY.

THIS SERIES OF SOLAR DISK EXPLORES TEXTURES AND COLORS OF THE STAINED GLASS.

>> WHETHER IT IS ORGANIC OR ABSTRACT OR REPLICATING NATURE OR COMES UP WITH HIS OWN IDEA LIKE WITH THE SUN-DISK, I THINK HE WILL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE AND GET STRONGER AND HIS WORK WILL BECOME MORE MAJOR.

>> WHEN I STARTED, IT WAS THE MIDDLE OF THE YARD WORKING MY WAY OUT.

IN DOING THAT, I CREATED AN INTERACTIVE PLAYGROUND WHERE YOU ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

IT PUTS YOU INTO THAT SPACE RATHER THAN YOU VIEWING THE SPACE FROM A DISTANCE.

A LOT OF TIMES WHEN I AM CREATING SOMETHING, I STEP BACK AND LOOK AT IT.

I DON'T THINK ABOUT THE PRINCIPLES I AM APPLYING THAT I LEARNED IN ART SCHOOL.

IT IS JUST A GUT FEELING.

I STAND BACK AND LOOK AT IT.

IT IS EITHER PLEASING OR IT IS NOT COLOR-WISE OR TEXTURE-WISE.

SAME THING WITH THE YARD.

YOU PUT PLANTS OUTLET THEM GROW, MATURE, SEE HOW THEY LOOK AND HOW THEY FIT IN WITH THE OTHER TEXTURES AND THINGS AROUND THEM.

SOMETIMES THEY DON'T WORK AND THEY NEED TO COME OUT.

IT IS ALL JUST A PROCESS.

YOU ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND EVALUATING AND DECIDING WHETHER IT IS RIGHT.

>> HIS ART IS WHAT IT IS.

ART DOES NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE NON-FUNCTIONAL.

A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO GO BACK TO HAVING OBJECTS MADE BY HAND, WHICH DOESN'T MEAN IT IS NOT ART, IT IS JUST GIVEN MORE LOVE AND ATTENTION.

THAT IS WHERE DAN AND I FIT IN.

I DO FINE ART WEAVING AND HE DOES FINE ART GLASS.

WHETHER THE PIECE LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING FAMILIAR IS NOT WHAT IS IMPORTANT; IT IS THE AESTHETIC BOUT E.

>> GROWING UP IN WESTERN KENTUCKY WE TALK A WILL THE ABOUT HOW ATTITUDES ARE IMPORTANT.

STILL TO THIS DAY, HE HAS THE SAME PASSION.

>> IT IS ALMOST LIKE A REBIRTH OF LIFE.

>> NEXT, THE CIRCUS IS COMING TO TOWN.

WHEN THIS PERSON MOVED TO KENTUCKY YEARS AGO, HE HAD DREAMS OF PLAYING PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL.

YOU KNOW HOW SOMETIMES LIFE TURNS OUT.

HEENEDED UP DOING SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

IN HIS CASE, HE IS AN ELEPHANT TRAINER FOR RINGLING BROTHERS AND RARNUM AND BAILEY CIRCUS.

WE CAUGHT UP WITH HIM.

>> THE CIRCUS HAS COME TO TOWN AND WESTERN KENTUCKY'S UNIVERSITY IS BEING TRANSFORMED FOR THE HOMETOWN EDITION OF THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, A ONE-RING EXTRAVAGANZA BLENDING THE BEST OF THE THREE-RING CIRCUS.

>> EXTREMELY INTERACTIVE.

THE AUDIENCE IS CONSTANTLY INVOLVED.

IF YOU SEE THE SHOW, YOU CAN SEE HOW CLOSE THE AUDIENCE SITS TO THE RING.

HERE WE LITERALLY HAVE PEOPLE THREE FEET FROM THE PERFORMERS DURING THE SHOW.

THE SHOW IS RIGHT THERE IN YOUR LAP.

A LOT OF THE ACTS, THEY'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS AND YEARS.

A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE GREW UP IN THE CIRCUS.

IN SOME CASES THEY ARE FOURTH OR FIFTH GENERATION CIRCUS PERFORMERS.

WE ALL JUST HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME DOING IT.

THE SMILES YOU SEE ON THEIR FACES WHEN THEY PERFORM, IT IS GENUINE, WHO THEY ARE.

THEY LOVE WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

>> PAT ONLY CAME TO KNOW HIS LOVE FOR ELEPHANTS BECAUSE OF A PART-TIME JOB >> LAST SEMESTER OF HIGH SCHOOL I TRANSFERRED TO A DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOL IN FLORIDA WHERE I PLAYED BASEBALL.

I GOT A SCHOLARSHIP TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA.

AFTER COLLEGE I GOT A JOB AT A PLACE CALLED BUSH GARDENS IN TAMPA.

FROM THERE I APPLIED FOR A JOB TO WORK IN THE ZOO WITH ELEPHANTS.

I FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM.

I AM IN CHARGE OF PRESENTING TWO YOUNG MALE ASIAN ELEPHANTS, DOC AND GUNTHER WHO IS TWO AND-A-HALF AND DOC WILL BE SEVEN ON MAY 8TH.

MY JOB ENTAILS SPENDING LOTS OF TIME WITH THE ELEPHANTS.

THEY ARE PRETTY MUCH LIKE MY KIDS.

ELEPHANTS TAKE A LOT OF WORK.

TRAINING THEM INVOLVES A LOT OF PATIENCE, A LOT OF APPLES, A LOT OF CARROTS.

WORKING WITH ELEPHANTS IS A FUN JOB.

THE ANIMALS THEMSELVES ARE VERY INTELLIGENT.

PERSONALLY I THINK THE INTELLIGENCE LEVEL OF AN ELEPHANT IS LIKE A TEN OR 12-YEAR-OLD CHILD.

THEY ARE FIGURING THINGS OUT EVERY DAY.

BOTH OF THEM ARE TAKEN CARE OF BY PAT AND HIS WIFE.

THEY TAKE EXCELLENT CARE OF THOSE ELEPHANTS.

THEY ARE REALLY LIKE THEIR CHILDREN.

PAT AND DAVE AND KAZZIA WERE THERE WHEN GUNTHER WAS BORN.

IN SOME CASES, THE ANIMALS EAT BETTER THAN WE DO.

>> PAT AND HIS TWO ELEPHANTS WILL FINISH THEIR SHOW HERE, AND TRAVEL WITH THE REST OF THE CIRCUS FOR 49 WEEKS TO BRING THIS LITTLE VERSION OF THE BIGTOP TO SOME VERY EXCITED PEOPLE.

>> IT IS A GOOD GROUP OF PEOPLE TO WORK WITH.

A LOT OF THE PERFORMERS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE, KIND OF A CONGLOMERATION OF THE BEST OF THE BEST.

>> I HAVE MET COUNTLESS KENTUCKYIANS LIKE THAT MAKING THEIR MARK IN THE WORLD.

NEW HAROLD SANDERS AND HIS CHAIN SAW ART.

THE WOODS AROUND HERE ARE LIKE AN EN CHANTED FOREST, ALL SORTS OF STORY BOOK CREATURES PEERING FROM AROUND THE TREES.

DON'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU STEP ON A VENOMOUS SNAKE, OR WATCHING THE ARTIST WORKING IN THE WOODS BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE HIS IMAGINATION ROAMS WILD.

A FALLEN FREE IS THE VICTIM OF AGE OR ELEPHANTS, AND NOW IT COMES TO LIFE AGAIN.

>> I PICKED UP A CHAIN SAW WHEN I WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD.

I JUST STARTED CUTTING AND KEPT CUTTING AND DRAWING.

FINALLY I WAS SCULPTING.

I DIDN'T HAVE ANY TRAINING.

I WAS JUST CUTTING ON MY OWN.

I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING.

I JUST KEPT CUTTING AND PEOPLE WOULD SAY HOW GREAT IT LOOKS, HOW GOOD IT WAS.

AFTER A WHILE I DEVELOPED MY OWN STYLE, TRULY MY OWN.

I TRY TO TELL A STORY WITH EVERY PIECE.

EVERY PIECE TELLS A STORY.

THIS IS A LADY DRAGON-SLAYER AND A LADY DRAGON.

THEY ARE EACH DONE TO EXPRESS AN EMOTION OR FEELING.

IF ART DOESN'T EXPRESS AN EMOTION OR A FEELING, IT'S NOT ART.

EAR PROTECTION AND EYE PROTECTION IS A MUST.

YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WOODS, AND A LOT ABOUT CHAINSAWS TOO.

BASICALLY YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE MOST KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE CHAIN.

IT IS LIKE AN ARTIST WHO IS A PAINTER.

IF HE DOESN'T HAVE A GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF HIS BRUSHES AND HIS OILS, THERE IS NO WAY HE CAN BE A GREAT PAINTER.

>> HE HAS CARVED HUNDREDS OF PIECES BOTH LARGE AND SMALL, BUT HIS FAVORITES ARE THE TINY.

ACCORDING TO RIPLEYS BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HE CARVES THE SMALLEST CHAINSAW ART.

>> THE REASON I START DOING THE SMALL STUFF, I FIRST DIDN'T HAVE A TRUCK; I HAD A CAR WHICH HAD LIMITED SPACE.

THE SMALLER I COULD MAKE THEM, THE EASIER IT WAS TO FIT THEM IN THE CAR.

LATER ON I GOT DOING THE REALLY INTRICATE SMALL STUFF, DOING STUFF FOR RIPLEYS SMALLER AND SMALLER, A NATURAL PROGRESSION UNTIL I WAS IF YOU SPLITTING A HUMAN HAIR, COULD HAVE BEENING ON MY TOENAILS, >> THE HEAD OF STRAIGHT PINS?

>> I PUT THREE INITIALS IN THE HEAD OF A STRAIGHT PIN.

YOU REALLY HAVE TO FOCUS AND CONCENTRATE.

WHEN YOU ARE DOING SMALL, THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERROR.

IF YOU HAVE ONE SHAKE, YOU CAN MESS UP AN ENTIRE SCULPTURE.

I HAVE SOMETIMES FELT MY HEART STOP WHEN I AM CARVING.

THERE HAVE BEEN MY FAMILY'S PEOPLE AROUND HERE FOR AT LEAST 200 YEARS, SO THERE IS A CONNECTION.

I GET A LOT OF INSPIRATION BEING OUT HERE, WATCHING THE SQUIRRELS AND DEER AND THE ANIMALS PLAY.

I EVEN HAD A SQUIRREL COME UP AND RUN ON MY LEG WHEN I WAS USING A CHAINSAW.

HE CLIMBED UP MY BACK, AND THEN I CARVED A PIECE OF WOOD TO LOOK LIKE HIM THE NEXT DAY.

>> HE RECENTLY MADE RIPLEYS BELIEVE IT OR NOT BY CARVING INITIALS IN HIS TOENAIL WITH A CHAINSAW.

DON'T WE LEAVE YOU WITH SOME MUSIC FROM A RISING STAR BLUEGRASS BAND.

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