Messler Gallery showcases student work

The “Current Student Work” furniture exhibition was held April 26 through May 29 at the Messler Gallery of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine.

The exhibition showcased furniture and decorative objects created by students in the school’s flagship nine-month comprehensive course. The students come from a wide array of backgrounds and experience, including fine arts, science, architecture, boat building, advertising and sports education. For many, this exhibition was the first opportunity to see their work in a professional setting.

The nine-month program is designed for aspiring professional furniture makers and dedicated amateurs who seek in-depth training. Students complete 11 sequential projects that take them from woodworking fundamentals through the fine points of design and craftsmanship. The lead instructor for the course is U.K. furniture maker Aled Lewis. Twelve teachers include Linden Frederick (painter), Stephen Gleasner (turner), Jim MacDonald (marquetry), Paul Loebach (product designer) and Adrian Ferrazzutti, Tom Kealy and Pete Schlebecker (furniture makers).

Participating students included Baron Taft Bentley (Kentucky); Judy Bonzi and Chris Roy (Maine); Erik Curtis, Marc Cutonilli and Yoshy Pineles (New York); Mark Galipeau (California); Jason Hebert (New Hampshire); Jonathan Reif (New Jersey); David Selditz (Washington); Brett Simon (Florida), and Karina Steel (Colorado).

Design in Wood

The 32nd annual Design in Wood exhibition, co-sponsored by the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association and San Diego County Fair, is scheduled for June 8 through July 4 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, Calif.

The international exhibition of fine woodworking draws about 1 million visitors and entrants compete for more than $22,000 in prizes. This year’s theme is “Game On” focusing on classic board games, video game history and culture and the connection between the two. The entry deadline has passed for this year’s show.

Furniture Society exhibits

Two studio furniture exhibitions are scheduled in conjunction with The Furniture Society’s annual conference called FS2013: L.A. Symposium, which runs June 21-23 in Los Angeles.

Faculty Selects will feature student works from the country’s top furniture and design programs, juried by Emily Zaiden and Nick Offerman. The works will be displayed during the Dwell on Design event at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Craft + Design is organized by The Furniture Society and curated by Steffi Dotson, exploring issues critical to today’s designers and makers, such as serial production, sustainability, innovation and creative business practices. The exhibition at the Fifth Floor gallery in Los Angeles will offer a glimpse at the intersection of furniture design and contemporary life, while the works on display share the goal of being made by hand in a production environment.

Contacts

Messler Gallery, 25 Mill St., Rockport, ME 04856. Tel: 207-594-5611. www.woodschool.org

San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association, P.O. Box 82323, San Diego, CA 92138. www.sdfwa.org

The Furniture Society, 111 Grovewood Road, Asheville, NC 28804. Tel: 828-255-1949. www.furnituresociety.org

This article originally appeared in the June 2013 issue.