Artist couple Jonathan & Kate Mess will host open studios during Maine Craft Weekend, October 3 + 4, 2015

Artist couple Jonathan and Kate Mess will host an open studio featuring Jonathan’s contemporary ceramic sculpture and wall objects, and Kate’s handcrafted contemporary jewelry at their renovated barn home on scenic route 213 in Jefferson during Maine Craft Weekend, October 3 + 4, 2015. Hours will be 10am - 8pm on Saturday, with a reception honoring Jonathan’s Maine Arts Commission Fellowship for Contemporary Craft from 5 - 8pm, and 10am - 6pm on Sunday. 

Jonathan Mess creates experimental works using reclaimed ceramic materials. Art critic Daniel Kany writes, “Mess’ slabs usually act like the unruly child versions of paintings. Their lines are wild, and their surfaces are varied and thickly textured with glazes, slips, fissures and irascibly independent materials that refused to be melted into line... In terms of ceramics, Mess’ casual boldness is remarkable.” 

An Ohio native, Mess received a BFA at the University of Montana, Missoula in 1998, and an MFA in Ceramics at the State University of New York at New Paltz in 2008. He has been teaching visual arts with a focus on ceramics for over a decade. Mess has received several grants and awards, including a Ruth & Harold Chenven Foundation Grant, a St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award, and selection as a finalist for the Society of Contemporary Craft’s Raphael Founder’s Prize in 2013. He was recently awarded the Maine Contemporary Craft Fellowship for 2015 by the Maine Arts Commission. His work is in private and public collections and has exhibited nationally. Mess resides, works, and teaches in midcoast Maine. 

Kate Mess crafts contemporary jewelry that is bold and edgy in both form and concept. Her collections reveal a creative dichotomy: pure formal and color explorations balanced with restrained color and conceptual forms, always made with thought and care. She designs and makes all jewelry by hand in her Midcoast Maine studio.

A native of Wisconsin, Kate Mess (formerly Kate Bauman) studied Metal and Graphic Design at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, receiving her BFA in 2006. She then attended the State University of New York – New Paltz for an MFA in Metal in 2008. Kate has exhibited in the United States and internationally, notably representing the US in Talente 2008 in Munich, Germany, exhibiting in Siamo Qui in Florence, Italy, American Enamels at The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Emaux At This Moment at Galerie Noel Guyomarc’h in Montreal, Quebec, and receiving a juror’s award in Surfacing, The Enamelist Society’s juried exhibition. She maintains an active studio practice in Midcoast Maine and works as a freelance designer.

INFO

Jonathan & Kate Mess Studios

2 Ames Lane Jefferson, Maine 04348

207.212.0133 (J) │ 207.272.9863 (K)

mess@artmess.net │ kate@katemessjewelry.com

www.jonathanmess.com │ www.katemessjewelry.com

HOURS

Saturday: 10am-8pm, Reception for Jonathan Mess’s Maine Arts Commission Fellowship 5-8pm

Sunday: 10am-6pm

Funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

About Maine Craft Weekend:

Maine Craft Weekend (MCW), a statewide tour of Maine craft studios, breweries, businesses and events, is an opportunity for the public to explore the life and work of craft artists and craft brewers in Maine. MCW is a public, educational, community oriented, family friendly weekend October 3 + 4, 2015. MCW is scheduled in conjunction with American Craft Week, a nationwide event promoting craft events each October. Modeled after Maine Maple Sunday and Buy Local Saturday, this self-guided tour features participants all over the state who are not regularly open to the public or who have planned special MCW events and demonstrations at their locations.

Maine Craft Weekend is produced by The Maine Crafts Association with Event Partner, the Maine Brewer’s Guild, and Organizational Partner, The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development’s Maine Made Program. These statewide organizations have successfully branded and promoted quality Maine Craft, Maine products, and craft beer, respectively; Maine Craft Weekend invites the public into these dynamic studios and businesses to see the magic behind the products they produce.

Examples of participating sites include individual potters’ home studios, craft galleries, glass blowing studios, outdoor installation sites, non-profit craft organizations, craft-based schools, craft beer breweries and craft beer brewery-restaurants. Events will vary by type of location and will include open studios, demonstrations, tastings, exhibitions, sales, tours, kids’ projects and other creative and interactive activities.

The public interested in visiting sites during Maine Craft Weekend can visit www.MaineCraftWeekend.org to learn about participants and events and use the interactive MCW map to plan their route!

Maine Craft Weekend is supported by the Maine Office of Tourism, Maine Arts Commission, Downeast Magazine and Waterville Creates!