FEATURED IN FAMILY EPISODE
FAMILY: Is talent inherited? What is it like to live in a household where objects are made by hand? This episode explores the creative environments and personal dynamics of four families of craft artists. Featuring ceramic artist Cliff Lee, jewelry artist Holly Lee, glass artists Paul Marioni and Dante Marioni, jewelry artist Marina Marioni, wood turners Ed & Philip & Matt Moulthrop, and boot maker Lisa Sorrell.
CLIFF LEE
CLIFF LEE HOLDING HIS VASE, PHOTO: JENNIFER GERARDI
Cliff Lee (b. 1951) is a ceramic artist who works in Pennsylvania whose work mimics natural forms, creating imagery of flowers, gourds, leaves. As a young man Lee studied medicine and became a successful neurosurgeon but became a potter in the 70s. He received his MFA in Ceramics from the James Madison University.
HOLLY LEE
HOLLY LEE IN HER STUDIO, PHOTO: MARK MARKLEY
Holly Lee is a metalsmith who creates one-of-a-kind pieces using gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones. She creates pieces that are hollow constructed, pierced and hand-drilled. These drilled forms create texture and a sense of light passing through space. Lee studied painting under Barclay Sheaks at Virginia Wesleyan College and studied wearable art at James Madison University.
PAUL MARIONI
PAUL MARIONI, GLASS ARTIST, PHOTO: MARK MARKLEY
Paul Marioni (b. 1941) is a glass artist whose work is about human nature and is often inspired by his dreams. Known as an innovator in the glass world, Marioni pushes his techniques to their limits, regularly redefining what is possible to achieve with the medium. “I work with glass for its distinct ability to capture and manipulate light. While my techniques are often inventive, they are only in service of the image,” says Paul.
DANTE MARIONI
DANTE MARIONI WITH HIS GLASS VESSEL FORMS, PHOTO: MARK MARKLEY
Dante Marioni (b. 1964) is a glass artist. He is most well known for his freely blown, colorful, tall, and thin vessel forms. His work is influenced in its form by the Venetian tradition. He attended Pilchuck Glass School, Colorado Mountain College, and Penland School of Craft.
MARINA MARIONI
MARINA MARIONI EMBROIDERING TO SET IN HER JEWELRY, PHOTO: MARK MARKLEY
Marina Marioni is a self taught jewelry artist who comes from an artistic family. Marina creates jewelry that often plays with form and meaning, much like her father’s (Paul Marioni) sculptures often play with visual puns. Marina has experience working in many mediums, including metal fabrication, wood working and pattern making for foundries, painting, sculpting, jewelry making, ceramic under glazing, glass as well as tattooing, which has long been an inspiration to Marina.
ED MOULTHROP
ED MOULTHROP (1916-2003) WITH HIS WOOD TURNINGS
Ed Moulthrop (1916-2003) was a self taught woodturner, known as the “father of modern woodturning”. His interest in wood began as a child and he bought his first lathe when he was a teenager. Although he studied to become an architect, wood remained a hobby during his time as an architect. In the 1970s, he resigned from an architecture to pursue woodturning professionally. He was most famous for his large scale turned bowls, made from domestic woods, usually spherical or elliptical with polished clear finishes. All of his equipment was designed and built by himself to accommodate for the size of his pieces.
PHILIP MOULTHROP
Phil MOULTHROP WOODTURNING IN HIS STUDIO, PHOTO: MARK MARKLEY
Philip Moulthrop (b. 1947) is a woodturner who works in Marietta, GA. He started woodturning in 1979, learning the woodturning basics from his father, Ed Moulthrop. Philip is most famous for his mosaic bowls and pioneering his composite technique. He received his B.A. from West Georgia College and his Juris Doctor from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law. He studied and practiced law before beginning his artistic career. His work can be found in the collections of the Museum of Arts and Design, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Mint Museum, Renwick Gallery, White House Collection of American Craft, among others.
MATT MOULTHROP
MATT MOULTHROP WOODTURNING IN HIS STUDIO, PHOTO: MARK MARKLEY
Matt Moulthrop (b. 1977) is a woodturner and son of Philip Moulthrop and grandson of Ed Moulthrop. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Matt turned his first bowl at the age of 7. Completing his BA at the University of Georgia and MBA at Georgia Tech, Matt tried his hand at work in the 9-to-5 world, but ultimately eased into turning wood as a career, making him the third generation of Moulthrops to carry on the craft.
LISA SORRELL
LISA SORRELL WORKS ON HER BOOT DESIGNS IN HER OKLAHOMA STUDIO
Lisa Sorrell began learning to sew at age twelve. At fifteen she was both designing her own clothing and sewing professionally. In 1990, she moved from Missouri to Guthrie, Oklahoma and began looking for work. By chance, she answered an ad for “stitching boot tops”. The bootmaking craft fascinated and challenged her in a way clothing had never done, and she quickly decided she wanted to learn to be a custom bootmaker. Lisa opened her own business, Sorrell Custom Boots, in 1995.
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