More than 70 juried maritime artists and craftsman will be at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s Antique & Classic Boat Festival this June 19-21 as The Arts at Navy Point returns to St. Michaels, Md. In addition to traditional maritime artists, a selection of marine tradespeople will also be exhibiting at the event.
Now in its 28th year, the Antique & Classic Boat Festival is put on by the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society and brings an era of by-gone days to Father’s Day weekend as wooden classics, vintage race boats, and other antique and Chesapeake Bay-related boats take to the Miles River and CBMM’s 18-acre waterfront campus.
The Arts at Navy Point features nautical- and maritime-related oil and watercolor paintings, sculptures created from various media, scrimshaw, photographs, wildlife carvings, jewelry, boat models, furniture, books, and more.
This year’s show will feature many notable exhibitors, including the Chesapeake region’s Mary Lou Troutman. A painter, designer and illustrator from the Point Lookout area, Troutman has won dozens of awards including Best Artist in Southern Maryland for 2012 by Chesapeake Life Magazine.
A blacksmith for more than thirty years, Nick Vincent of Carroll County, Md. will demonstrate how he applies blacksmithing to nautical objects. Vincent has created custom pieces for Dover Downs and the University of Maryland Medical Center, and is the former president of the Central Maryland Blacksmith’s Guild.
Master Carver Bill Hickson of Cordova, Md. is easily recognized from decades of demonstrating the art of carving at the annual Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Md. His carvings range from extremely detailed to witty musings.
Jane Tukarski—a member of the American Society of Marine Artist’s and winner of multiple awards at the International Scrimshaw Competition in Rhode Island—will be returning to Arts at Navy Point with her scrimshaw creations.
Local author Don Parks has written several books about the history and people of the Chesapeake Bay. One of the subjects of his book, Chesapeake Men, is Captain Eddie Somers, who shows his expertise on Smith Island through the beautiful models he makes of the boats he grew up with. Both Parks and Somers will be exhibiting and selling their works during the June 19-21 festival.
The show also features exhibitors from throughout the U.S. and Canada, including Dave Newcomer, of New Hampshire, who carves salt and freshwater fish; Steve Kaulback of Vermont, the creator of Adirondack Guide Boats; Florida-based photographer Cam Chapman, whose subjects are east coast lighthouses; and Dean Rivett, from Ontario, Canada, who is a marlinespike artist specializing in handmade rope fenders.
Boaters will have the opportunity to meet many of the Chesapeake’s boatbuilders and restorers, along with boat hardware suppliers, custom canvas-makers, rope suppliers, and more.
“Boat owners love this show because they can often source supplies found nowhere else,” commented CBC-ACBS’s John Into. “Boats and art might seem like an odd mix, until you see the beautiful mahogany and chrome boats. As you learn about what was involved in restoring them to their original condition—sometimes from unrecognizable hulks—these boats, and their restorers, can also be viewed as art and artisans, respectively.”
The Arts at Navy Point will be open throughout the three-day Antique & Classic Boat Festival, with exhibitors located under the big tent on CBMM’s Navy Point, as well as in the Small Boat Shed exhibition building and throughout the 18-acre Mile River waterfront campus. Parking for the event will be at St. Michaels High School, with free shuttle service running to CBMM throughout each day.
For a full list of Arts at Navy Point vendors, visit www.bit.ly/ArtsatNavyPoint. For more information about the Antique & Classic Boat Festival, visit www.ChesapeakeBayACBS.org or www.cbmm.org