Olivia Van Oot ’24

Olivia Van Oot is a woodworker based in Portland, Maine. She graduated from Maine College of Art & Design in the Woodworking and Furniture Design program, completing her Bachelors in Fine Arts in May, 2024.
Her work is a re-contextualization of the historical connotations of American Pieced Quilt patterns, centering around qualities of gendered material and craft practices. The objects she makes evoke a feeling of comfort, safety and home. Van Oot’s work is driven by this research as well as a love of process, using wood veneers and parquetry techniques she adorns furniture, cabinets, and objects of her creation. Van Oot was awarded the Windgate-Lamar fellowship in 2024. She co-owns Collated Craft alongside Spencer Cleary where they design and make furniture on a commission basis.