MAINE CRAFT ARTIST AWARD: 2021 PRESENTATION CEREMONY + RECEPTION

Supporters of Tim McCreight and Marian Baker are invited to attend the award presentation and reception Tuesday, November 23, 2021, at 5:30 during a ceremony at Maine College of Art + Design, Portland, Maine. The ceremony will include the award presentation and the special tradition of the presentation of the Award Pins, custom-made for the Awardees by MCA Professional Members Lisa and Scott Cylinder. 

Space is limited; proof of vaccination and registration are required.

2021 Maine Craft Artist Award Pin by Lisa & Scott Cylinder
"Maine Woods Award Pins" - Sterling silver, bronze, copper, pencils, pinewood, epoxy resin, stainless steel. Fabricated, cast, and carved. 2021. "From the Maine woods hewn, Sharpened skills and sowing seeds, Fueling the future"

The Maine Crafts Association (MCA), a statewide nonprofit organization that builds upon Maine’s rich craft traditions by nurturing a vibrant, supportive, inclusive craft community and strong individual craft artist practices, has named potter and educator Marian Baker of Yarmouth, Maine as a 2021 recipient of the MCA Maine Craft Artist Award. The award recognizes Baker’s dual accomplishments in both her personal practice as a professional maker and studio-gallery owner; as well as in her years of dedicated service to the education and career development of a younger generation of ceramics students.

In 2009, the Maine Crafts Association began to annually honor individual Maine craft artists in recognition of their exceptional bodies of work and contributions to the field. The award bestows prestige and acknowledgment, conferring upon the artist’s work a distinguishing mark of excellence.

The award Juror is guided by these benchmarks: excellence in craftsmanship, inspired design, a singular voice or style, and a career of service to the field. The 2021 awards were selected from many deserving peer nominations by MCA Founder, Carolyn Hecker. Carolyn served as Executive Director for more than a decade, establishing the MCA as a statewide organization and network of craft artists. Since founding the MCA in 1983, Carolyn has remained involved and supportive of the organization and craft artists throughout Maine.

MARIAN BAKER

Baker is an example of successfully balancing both a long-standing teaching career and a strong professional studio practice. While teaching at Maine College of Art & Design from 1985 until 2019, Baker founded Islesford Pottery on Little Cranberry Island in 1989. Furthering the Maine maker’s tradition, the studio and gallery represents several Maine potters during the summer months. Baker often uses the space to uplift her students’ work by creating a resident potter position at Islesford Pottery, allowing alumni to make and sell their work while learning the aspects of running a business and promoting personal growth in their work.

As a potter for over forty years, Baker has highly developed, strong stylings that are easily recognized by her peers and experts in the craft community. Predominantly using wax resist glazing techniques alongside colors found in nature, Baker’s work speaks for itself. Each piece tells a story within the mysteries in their layering, playing between matte and shiny surfaces. Baker’s ceramics have been featured in over fifteen publications, and have been featured in exhibits that span across the United States.

Marian chooses to create useful pottery because she believes that handmade things can enrich the lives of their users. She sees her works as a bridge between art and daily life.

In regard to selecting Marian as a 2021 artist award recipient, Hecker explained, “Marian Baker is the truest of Maine craft artists, her practice is central to her life and career and she is central to Maine craft. Her ceramic work is stunning and she has an energy for producing and educating that is very special, making her an essential piece of the history of Maine craft. I am honored to have the opportunity to honor her in this way, through an organization I founded which has both supported Marian’s practice and career, while having benefited from her steady dedication and participation.”

On behalf of the Maine Crafts Association, Carolyn Hecker also selected artist, author and educator Tim McCreight of Harpswell, Maine as a 2021 Maine Craft Artist Award Recipient.

The high level of craftsmanship Marian Baker and Tim McCreight have practiced in Maine, for decades, has built on the legacy of fine craftsmanship for which Maine is known for internationally. Equal to their professional and renowned studio practices are their contributions to the Maine craft community and next generation of craft artists.

– Carolyn Hecker, Founder, Maine Crafts Association and 2021 Maine Craft Artist Award juror