ROCKPORT – The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship is pleased to announce the awards for “Maine Wood 2022.” This is the eighth exhibition in a biennial series that showcases the breadth, creativity, and excellence of wood craftsmanship in Maine. It features the work of 19 artists and artisans, selected by a distinguished independent jury from a pool of 59 entries. The show includes furniture, carving, marquetry, turning, sculpture, and a bicycle, and is on view at the Center’s Messler Gallery, in Rockport, through April 6.

Christina M. Vincent, from North Haven, received two separate awards for her contemporary bench, Acadia. The first was “Best Original Design,” which came with a $300 cash prize sponsored by The Craftsmanship Initiative of San Francisco, CA. The second was “People’s Choice” as determined by an online popular vote, which brought a cash prize of $300 sponsored by the Holt & Bugbee lumber company, of Tewksbury, MA.

George Partal, from Bangor, also took two honors, with his multi-media vessel Sands of Time. The first, “Best Turned Object,” came with a $300 gift certificate sponsored by Packard Woodworks, a mail-order tool company in Tryon, NC. The second, “Best Use of Wood,” came with a $300 gift certificate from Rare Woods USA, in Mexico, ME.

Saer T. Huston, of Huston & Company, in Kennebunkport, took the prize for “Juror’s Best in Show” with his North Fork Coffee Table and received a $300 gift certificate from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, in Warren, ME.

Dan Capwell, from Belfast, won the award for “Outstanding Craftsmanship” with a beautiful and fully functional wood-framed bicycle, taking home a $300 gift certificate from Rockler Woodworking and Hardware of South Portland, ME.

Kevin Rodel, from Portland, was accorded “Best in Furniture” for a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Trestle Table, which earned him a $300 gift certificate from Woodcraft of Portsmouth, NH.

And, finally, John Rogers, from Woolwich, appointed “Best New Maker” for a pair of inlaid walnut end tables received a $300 gift certificate from Tools for Working Wood, in Brooklyn, NY.

The show is co-sponsored by three Maine craft organizations: the Maine Craft Association, Maine Woodturners, and the Maine Woodworkers Association. To view the award winning pieces, please click here.

Jurors for this year’s biennial were Annie Evelyn, Studio Furniture Maker and co-founder of Crafting the Future, Bakersville, NC; Reuben Foat, Department Chair, Cerritos College Woodworking, Norwalk, CA; and Gary Rogowski, Director of The Northwest Woodworking Studio, Portland, OR. For more information on the exhibition, jurors, sponsors, and awards please contact Messler Gallery Director Victoria Allport at 207-594-5611 or victoria@woodschool.org.