AUGUSTA — A Fairfield aspiring woodworker has been paired with a Waterville master crafter, one of seven apprentiship pairing announced by the Maine Crafts Association recently. The 2020 Craft Apprentiship program is in partnership with the Maine Arts Commission.
Clifford Pettitt of Fairfield, will apprentice with master woodworker Chuck Lakin of Waterville this year.
The two share an interest in giving back to the community and helping people access resources to meet their needs, accordign to a news release. Among other pursuits, Lakin achieves this by educating people about alternative end-of-life arrangements and building and selling his “green” coffins. His interest in green coffins is both environmental and to provide an affordable alternative to mainstream coffins.
The apprenticeship will be centered on teaching Pettite to construct and customize green coffins while building on his ability to estimate project costs and provide quotes to clients, learn about woodworking tools and shop maintenance.
The Craft Apprentice Program began in 2016 to provide an in-studio educational opportunity for apprentices who demonstrate a commitment to further their abilities as craft artists; they accomplish this through a significant relationship with a master artist. Both master and apprentice are awarded funding. To close the program, all artists participate in an alumni gathering and a public exhibition of works created during the apprenticeship period.
The 2020 exhibition will take place Oct. 2 at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, in Newcastle.
Other pairings are Jayne Redman, Portland jeweler, with apprentice Barbara Hopkins, of Falmouth; Will Wheeler, Portland carpenter, with Kenneth Kortemeier, of Bristol; Tim Christensen, Roque Bluffs ceramics artist, with Jena Merrill, Portland; Ellsworth jeweler Nisa Smiley with apprentice Jennifer Marshall, of Thomaston; Portland jeweler J.E. Paterak with apprentice Shelby Goldsmith, of Portland; Kittery granite sculptor Thomas Berger, with apprentice Anne Alexander, of Windham.
