“Maine Wood 2024” opens at Messler Gallery 

ROCKPORT — Maine Wood 2024 opens at the Messler Gallery at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship on Friday, January 26, 2024, with an opening reception and awards ceremony on the following Friday, February 2, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., to which the public is invited to attend.

Maine Wood is a juried, biennial exhibition designed to showcase the breadth, creativity, and excellence of Maine’s woodworking community. For 2024, the ninth biennial, the Center received 63 submissions from 43 Maine artists and artisans.

“It’s fitting that we wrap our 30th Anniversary year with the opening of Maine Wood 2024,” said Matt Hoggle, the Center’s Executive Director, in a news release. “This show of talented Mainers highlights what CFC strives to accomplish: amplifying and exemplifying the value of craftsmanship as it enriches the life of the maker as well as the communities in which they work and reside.”

Furniture makers in the show include Virginia Blanchard, Thomaston; David Boyle, Bath; Richard Chalmers, Camden; Sam Cotton, Hope; Andy Glenn, Waldoboro; Rob Hiza, Rockland; Saer T. Huston, Kennebunkport; Terry Kelly, Presque Isle; John Rogers, Woolwich; Osamu Sassa, Camden; Ethan Stebbins, Woolwich; Olivia Van Oot, Portland; Kristina Varshavskaya, Waldoboro; Paul Wanrooij, Harpswell; and Geoffrey Warner, Stonington.

Sculptors, turners, carvers, and marquetarians are John Bryan, North Yarmouth; Danielle Rose Byrd, Bar Harbor; Clara Cohan, Cape Elizabeth; Dennis Curtis, Augusta; Jeff Enck, Cumberland Center; Crockett Lalor, Lincolnville; Jim Macdonald, Burnham; Max Miller, Thomaston; and Julie A. Vogel, Harpswell.

Maine organizations co-sponsoring Maine Wood 2024 are Eastern Maine Woodturners, the Maine Crafts Association, and Maine Woodturners.

Eight prizes totaling $2400, received through generous donations from the school’s corporate award sponsors, will be presented at the opening reception on February 2. Awards include $300 gift certificates from The Craft Initiative for ‘Best Original Design’; from Rockler Woodworking and Hardware of South Portland, Maine for ‘Outstanding Craftsmanship’; from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks for ‘Jurors’ Best in Show’; from Tools for Working Wood for ‘Best New Maker’; from Packard Woodworks for ‘Best Turned Object’; from Rare Woods for ‘Best Use of Wood’; and from Woodcraft of Newington for ‘Best in Furniture.’ There is also a $300 cash prize from Holt & Bugbee for the ‘People’s Choice’ award.

Jurors for this year’s biennial were Dixie Biggs, Woodturner/Instructor, Gainsville, FL; John Cameron, Furniture Maker, Gloucester, MA; and Adam John Manley, Assoc. Professor of Furniture Design and Woodworking, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA.

The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship is a nonprofit school that offers year-round courses in furniture making and related arts such as carving and woodturning.  For more information, call 207-594-5611, e-mail victoria.allport@woodschool.org, or visit our website at www.woodschool.org. Messler Gallery hours are 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. The Messler Gallery is located on the campus of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, at the corner of Route 90 and Mill Street in Rockport, Maine.