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WEST GARDINER — The Maine Crafts Association, a statewide non-profit organization promoting the work of Maine’s craft artists, has named metal artist Tom Ferrero of Vienna, as the 2019 recipient of the MCA Master Craft Artist Award.
The award recognizes Ferrero’s outstanding body of work, and his passion for arts in education and a long-time commitment to sharing his craft with young people, the association said in a news release.
The 2019 MCA Master Craft Award selection began with a public nomination process. The 2019 recipient was selected by Beth McLaughlin, chief curator of dxhibitions and collections, Fuller Craft Museum, and curator of the Award’s Ten Year Anniversary Exhibition at the Fuller.
“A highly trained metalsmith, Tom Ferrero creates intricate objects that are mind-boggling in their complexity and radiate a profound mind-hand-heart connection,” McLaughlin said. “His dreamy forms are engineering marvels, every inch demonstrating a deep intimacy with the material and a rare balance of whimsy and precision. And that he cites adventure movies of the 80s as his inspiration – ‘Star Wars,’ ‘The Goonies’ and ‘Indiana Jones,’ for example – only adds to the appeal. I am honored to have selected him as the recipient of the 2019 Master Craft Artist Award.”
As a jeweler and metals artist, Ferrero’s practice centers on sculptural jewelry and metal objects built from silver, gold, copper and precious gemstones. His work can be described as complex, detail-driven, theatrical and ornate. Ferrero’s most ambitious work, The Mace, was designed and constructed over four years and is composed of silver, gold, copper, diamonds, amber, topaz and other precious gems.
Ferrero has achieved international recognition and top prizes in jewelry and metal arts. He is a two-time recipient of the international Saul Bell Design Award and a two-time NICHE Award recipient. Ferrero has exhibited at SOFA Chicago and the JKC Show in Las Vegas, and his work is in the private collection of the Kamm Teapot Foundation.
In 2016 he moved to Maine year-round, where he works as an independent artist and part-time art instructor for Maranacook Community High School in Readfield. He is also an occasional lecturer for the University of Maine at Augusta. Ferrero lectures at a variety of colleges in the US and Canada and has given workshops in both countries to adolescents and adults. In the summers he instructs silversmithing classes at a local children’s camp where he will be celebrating his 16th season this June.
“Metalworking supports my love of two-dimensional design and ornament while providing a vehicle to bring those ideas into a three-dimensional realm. Much of the time is spent working out structural harmonies before any thought of embellishment enters the equation. I hope to create objects that transcend me as a maker, to become a physical symbol for the creative spirit and a stimulus for imagination,” he said.
There will be a public award ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16, at the Maine Crafts Guild Fine Craft Show, 18 Spring St., Belfast. Ferrero will receive an MCA Lifetime Membership certificate and a 2019 Master Craft Artist pin created by MCA Professional Member James Macdonald.
Ferrero’s work of sculptural jewelry Collar of the Chancellor will be included Sunday, June 9, in the Master Craft Artist Award Ten Year Anniversary Exhibition at the Fuller Craft Museum, in Brockton, Mass., where his award pin will also be on display.
