New York exhibition celebrates silver anniversary

The Northeast Woodworkers Association will hold its 25th Woodworker’s Showcase from April 2-3 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The fine woodworking exhibition, held at the Saratoga Springs City Center, displays hundreds of furniture pieces, toys, carvings, turnings and more, made by members of the upstate New York guild.

This year’s anniversary show will feature musical instruments, demonstrations on how to make them and a six-hour bluegrass festival.

The showcase also offers awards, free lectures and vendors of woodworking tools and accessories.

“Mounting a production of this magnitude takes a monumental effort on the part of the dedicated, all volunteer members of NWA, who meet monthly year round to ensure that each succeeding Showcase will be better than the last,” guild publicity director John Olenik says. “Proceeds from the show, after expenses, go directly to the Fiske Fund, a separate educational arm of NWA established in memory of Mylan Fiske, a founding member. The fund provides financial grants to NWA members seeking to expand their woodworking skills through attendance at various woodworking schools.”

For more, visit www.nwawoodworkingshow.org.

Best of Maine

Six Maine woodworkers were honored with awards at the opening of “Maine Wood 2016” in January. The juried exhibition is the fifth in a biennial series presented by the Messler Gallery at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, to showcase the breadth, creativity and excellence of wood craftsmanship in the state. It features furniture, carving, marquetry, turning, sculpture and one canoe.

Michaela C. Stone of Rockport won Best of Show and the People’s Choice. Eben Blaney of Edgecomb also won two awards for Outstanding Craftsmanship and Best in Furniture.

Other winners were Kevin Rodel of Brunswick (Best Original Design); David Boyle of Bath (Best Use of Wood); Christopher Joyce of Stonington (Best Turned Object) and Dylan Estabrooks of Portland (Best New Maker).

Jurors were Peter Fleming, head of furniture at the Sheridan College Bachelor of Craft and Design Program in Toronto; Matthew Kenney, senior editor at Fine Woodworking magazine, and Emily Zilber, curator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

For more, visit www.woodschool.org.

This article originally appeared in the March 2016 issue.