Spoon Carving with Local Craftsman Kenneth Kortemeier
In late February, 2026, Mr. Mess’s sculpture class welcomed local craftsman Kenneth Kortemeier, Friend of the Art Department and parent of LA grad Conrad Kortemeier ’22.
Kortemeier owns and runs the Maine Coast Craft School in Bristol, which offers summer workshops specializing in carving, chair making, and other wood crafts using only hand tools.
The sculpture class had been carving spoons from greenwood using traditional techniques with axes, sloyd, and hook knives. Kenneth demonstrated the techniques he uses for hand carving spoons and talked about safety protocols, tool techniques, choosing wood with the final spoon shape in mind, and finishing pieces with walnut oil. He showed students a variety of his finished work, and which tools he uses for which phases of carving.
After his presentation, sculpture students used the last two weeks of the trimester to carve and finish their own spoon as their final assignment.
“Wood carving has never been an interest of mine until [Kenneth] came into our class,” said Eva Pendleton ’27. “Even though my sculpture class is over, I still plan on using these skills to create more of my own work.”
