(Los Angeles, CA) The next installment of the Emmy nominated and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Craft in America premieres nationwide on PBS primetime on Monday October 17, 2011 at 10pm. This Family episode explores the creative home environments and personal dynamics of four families of craft artists and asks: Is talent inherited? What’s it like to live in a household where objects are made by hand?
In this episode, President Jimmy Carter shares stories of learning techniques from Ed Moulthrop, a fellow Georgian who was known as “the father of modern woodturning.” Ed was an architect who found a passion for creating beautiful large-scale turned wood objects. He single handedly raised national awareness of woodturning as an art while inventing tools used by woodcrafters for generations to come. His works can be found in the personal collections of Ted Turner, Jack Nicklaus, Nelson Mandela (a gift from Hillary Clinton), Paul Simon and Steven Spielberg. Philip Moulthrop followed a career path similar to his father’s. After a tour in Vietnam, he trained as a lawyer, but found greater satisfaction in making uniquely patterned wood bowls. Matt Moulthrop apprenticed with his father and grandfather and continues the family tradition, using modern techniques to bring out the innate beauty of the wood, believing that “each tree has a story to tell.”
Paul Marioni creates sculptural and kinetic glass forms that explore concepts of human nature and challenge the physical limitations of the medium. Paul was an early member of the Studio Glass Movement in San Francisco, and as a single father, moved to Seattle, center of American glass, where his gifted son, Dante Marioni studied and continues to make internationally recognized work. Dante’s Venetian-inspired style is almost diametrically opposed to his father’s. His sister Marina Marioni is also a craft artist, creating jewelry that often plays with form and meaning, much like her father’s sculptures often play with visual puns.
Tradition and invention are the center of the Lee household in rural Pennsylvania, where ceramicist Cliff Lee and metal artist Holly Lee live and work together in their 18th century Dutch farmhouse. Once a successful neurosurgeon, Cliff now creates intricate porcelain vessels, combining traditional Chinese techniques with his own innovative methods. Through scientific research and experimentation, he rediscovered glaze recipes that date back hundreds of years. Holly has an abiding respect for nature, as evidenced in her jewelry. She often drills or pierces the metal to create a sense of light passing through space. The Lees have two sons who grew up playing in their parents’ studios, learning the hard work it takes to succeed as a self-employed artist.
Oklahoma’s Lisa Sorrell is one of a very few women who design and sew custom cowboy boots today. Following her passion and defying parental expectations, she established her place in a male-dominated field. Inspired by the rich history of the American West, she creates vibrantly colored and exquisitely crafted boots that are true works of leather art. Lisa’s two teenage daughters have decided to follow in their mother’s footsteps and are each becoming artists in their own right.
The Craft in America series is the result of years of advocacy, research and filmmaking by Executive Producer Carol Sauvion. “Craft is once again proving its relevance as people return to the handmade,” says Sauvion. “In this episode, it’s exciting to explore the age-old debate of nature versus nurture.”
For more about Craft in America:
craftinamerica.org
pbs.org
facebook
Youtube
Flickr
Contact for art & interviews: Carol Sauvion, Executive Producer
(310) 659-9022, carolsauvion@craftinamerica.org
*Check local listings
