A hammer. A table saw. A drill press. The assorted screws that accumulate in the bottom of a tool bag. These are the subjects of Mackenzie Kovaka’s delicate, diminutive watercolor paintings, on view in “Is That a Table Saw?” at Studio Place Arts in Barre. Kovaka, who just wrapped up her yearlong residency at the art center, has always known how to use tools. In her artist statement, she recalls learning to make things at a little workbench in her dad’s woodshop, pounding away with hammers from before she can even remember. When she started teaching her students at Barre City Elementary and Middle School to do the same, she was flummoxed by a lack of kid-friendly reference books to help them distinguish a speed square from a circular saw. So she decided to write one, illustrating equipment from pencils to routers in a friendly style that makes tools a little less intimidating, softening the drill bits and saw blades with colorful washes. Each is presented, naturally, in a custom frame Kovaka made herself. During her residency she also embarked on another project: parenthood. Her daughter, she writes, has inspired a second illustrated manual, this one titled “Woodshop for Babies.”
‘Is That a Table Saw?’ On view through October 24 at Studio Place Arts in Barre; reception Saturday, September 19, 4:30-6 p.m.
This article appears in Performing Arts Preview • 2026.
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