State’s best recognized at Maine Wood

The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine held its biennial exhibition, Maine Wood, from Jan. 21 through April 6. The competition featured work by 19 artisans from a pool of 59 entries.

“This is our eighth biennial,” Meg Weston, the center’s interim executive director, said in a statement. “It’s a pleasure to see the diversity of excellent work in wood by Maine craftspeople from across the state.”

Eight prizes totaling $2,400, received through donations from corporate award sponsors, were presented at a virtual awards ceremony in March.

Christina M. Vincent of North Haven received two awards – Best Original Design and People’s Choice – for her contemporary bench, Acadia.

George Partal of Bangor also won two awards– Best Turned Object and Best Use of Wood – for a multi-media vessel, Sands of Time.

Saer T. Huston of Huston & Co. in Kennebunkport won Best in Show for his North Fork coffee table.

Other winners were Dan Capwell of Belfast (Outstanding Craftsmanship); Kevin Rodel of Portland (Best in Furniture), and John Rogers of Woolwich (Best New Maker).

Jurors included Annie Evelyn, studio furniture maker and co-founder of Crafting the Future in Bakersville, N.C.; Reuben Foat, department chair at Cerritos College Woodworking in Norwalk, Calif., and Gary Rogowski, director of the Northwest Woodworking Studio in Portland, Ore.

Co-sponsors included the Maine Crafts Association, Maine Woodturners, and Maine Woodworkers Association.

For more, visit woodschool.org.

Atavistic Memories: The Studio Furniture of Sam Forrest ran from Jan. 15 through April 17 at the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design in Richmond, Va. The exhibition explored the American studio furniture movement through the hands of the late furniture maker Sam Forrest (1936–2021) and his lifelong dedication to working with wood. 

“Bringing together furniture, painting, and archives, the exhibition considers the intellectual statements of an artisan outside the constraints of the past and the advanced technology of the twentieth century,” according to the museum.

The exhibit featured over 40 works sourced from family, friends, collectors, and Forrest’s last home, the Haiku (Hyco) House, in Mathews, Va.

For more, visit branchmuseum.org.