Maine Wood 2014 showcases states skills
Maine Wood 2014 opened in January at the Messler Gallery at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship and will run through April 2. This biennial exhibition in Rockport, Maine, showcases the…
Maine Wood 2014 opened in January at the Messler Gallery at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship and will run through April 2. This biennial exhibition in Rockport, Maine, showcases the breadth, creativity and excellence of the state’s furniture makers, turners, carvers and sculptors.
“This is our fourth biennial and the submissions just keep getting better and better,” says Peter Korn, the school’s executive director. He reported 88 submissions from 40 artists and artisans.
Furniture makers in the show include Nick Barboza of Bangor; Virginia Blanchard of Thomaston; Eben Blaney of Edgecomb; Judy Bonzi of Rockport; Ray Carbone of Steuben; Wayne Hall of Orland; Gregg Lipton of Cumberland Center; Brian Reid of Rockland; Kevin Rodel of Brunswick; Michaela Crie Stone of Rockport, and David Talley of Tenants Harbor.
Woodworkers, sculptors and turners are Clara Cohan of Cape Elizabeth; Richard Kaeyer of Owls Head; Abert Kolodji of Yarmouth; Jim Macdonald of Burnham; Jonathan Moro of Rockport; Stephen Porter of Searsmont; Malcolm Ray of Damariscotta; Cynthia V. Smith of Gorham, and Hank Tyler of Hallowell.
Many of Maine’s leading craft associations co-sponsor the exhibition. These include the Kennebec Valley Woodworkers Association, Maine Crafts Association, Maine Wood Products Association, Maine Woodturners, Maine Woodworkers Association, and Southern Maine Woodturners. Maine Home and Design is the media sponsor.
Nearly $2,000 in prizes were awarded at the opening reception. These include gift certificates from Maine Coast Lumber for Best New Maker; DMT Diamond Whetstones for Best Original Design; Rare Woods for Best Use of Wood; Lie-Nielsen Toolworks for Best in Show; Fat Andy’s Hardwoods for Outstanding Craftsmanship, Woodcraft of Newington for Best in Furniture. There is also a cash prize from Holt & Bugbee for the People’s Choice award.
Jurors were Asa Christiana, editor of Fine Woodworking magazine; Jonathan Fairbanks, director of the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Mass., and Laura Mays, director of the Fine Woodworking Program at College of the Redwoods in Fort Bragg, Calif.
Contact: Messler Gallery, 25 Mill St., Rockport, ME 04856. Tel: 207-594-5611. www.woodschool.org
This article originally appeared in the February 2014 issue.
