June 28 – August 28, 2004
A juried exhibition of work by Center for Furniture Craftsmanship alumni was featured in the school’s Messler Gallery from June 28 through August 28, 2004.
It was the first such exhibit in the school’s 12-year history, made possible by the opening of the Messler Gallery last December. More than 1500 former students were eligible to participate.
“Visitors are always curious to see the furniture our students produce. This exhibit shows both student projects and work our graduates have done independently after attending the Center,” says Peter Korn, the Center’s Executive Director.
The jurors for the exhibition were Bebe Johnson, co-owner of Pritam & Eames gallery in Easthampton, New York, one of the country’s foremost studio furniture galleries, and John Lavine, editor of Woodwork magazine, published in Novato, California. “The submissions covered a broad aesthetic spectrum and revealed a high degree of technical accomplishment, which is a credit to the Center’s educational approach,” notes Lavine.
19 objects by 17 makers are on display in the 1,000 square-foot gallery. They range from ornate wall-mounted carvings to sleek contemporary chairs, sculptural tables to functional cabinets. Most of the pieces are made from domestic hardwoods, from simple ash to exotic lace-grained redwood.
Many of the pieces are by professional woodworkers who either trained at the Center or attended workshops to pick up skills such as marquetry and carving. Exemplars are craftsmen Joseph Brewer (Camden, ME), Chris Burtis (Bath, ME), Nat Cohen (Conway, MA), Dan Ober (Lincoln, VT); Valdemar Skov (Waldoboro, ME), Jock Snaith (Townsend, MA) and Brian Weir (South Dartmouth, MA).
Other featured alumni come from professional backgrounds as varied as their geographic locations. These include Software Developer Tim Lawson of Port Townsend, WA; Physician Edward Harrow of Eddington, ME; Landscape Architect Sam Reynolds of Wake Forest, NC; Architect Paul Stefanski of Madison, WI; and Human Development Consultant John Tuton of Philadelphia, PA.
Work from graduates of the school’s popular Twelve-week Intensive course demonstrates the breadth of design and woodworking skills acquired in the program: Eric Hurt’s Cherry Hall Table; Forrest Procter’s Shaker-Style Bookcase; Libby Schrum’s birch console; Cabot Squire’s Cherry Cabinet, and Akiko Yokoyama’s Hibachi Table.
