ROCKPORT — An exhibition of artist-made mallets and balls, “Out of Bounds: The Art of Croquet,” will be on view at the Messler Gallery of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, in Rockport, from September 18, 2020 – January 6, 2021.

Curators of the exhibition are Jennifer-Navva Milliken, artistic director at the Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, and furniture maker Silas Kopf, from Northampton, Massachusetts, both of whom are amateur devotees of the sport.

“This exhibition not only encourages artists to delve into the function, form, and historical mystique of croquet, but also invites them to apply their imagination and skill to the practice of play, framed by the material of wood and the monogamous relationship between mallet and ball,” said Milliken, in a Gallery news release.

In reimagining the ball and mallet, the show’s 21 exhibitors explore a wide range of topics, from personal artistic concerns to contemporary social issues, with clarity and wit, according to the Gallery.

Participants include Ted Blachly (Warner, New Hampshire), Mark del Guidice (Concord, Massachusetts), Annie Evelyn (Bakersville, North Carolina), Amy Forsyth (Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania), Scott Grove (Canandaigua, New York), Michael Hosaluk (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), Thomas Hucker (Jersey City, New Jersey), Katie Hudnall (Madison, Wisconsin), Beth Ireland (St. Petersburg, Florida), Yuri Kobayashi (Camden, Maine), Silas Kopf (Northampton, Massachusetts), James Macdonald (Burnham, Maine), Adam John Manley (San Diego, California), Craig Nutt (Kingston Springs, Tennessee), Graeme Priddle (Asheville, North Carolina), Ellie Richards (Bridgeton, New Jersey), Sylvie Rosenthal (Madison, Wisconsin), Mark Sfirri (New Hope, Pennsylvania), Alf Sharp (Woodbury, Tennessee), Elizabeth Spotswood Spencer (New Bern, North Carolina), Kimberly Winkle (Cookeville, Tennessee).

The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship is a nonprofit, year-round school that offers courses in furniture making and related arts such as carving and woodturning.  For more information call 207-594-5611, email victoria@woodschool.org or visit our website at www.woodschool.org. Messler Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 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.