Vineyard Folk - by Tamara Weiss & Amanda Benchley (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The island, located just seven miles off the coast of Cape Cod, has a long history as geographic muse. Lillian Hellman and William Styron wrote overlooking the Vineyard Haven harbor, and Thomas Hart Benton--whose influence is still felt in island painters today--depicted the stone walls and winding roads of what is known as "up-island" more than a hundred years ago. Now, a new generation continues to build on these creative legacies, inspired by the island's diaphanous light, endless beaches, historic towns, and rolling fields and vistas.

Vineyard Folk features painters, potters, poets, musicians, writers, and actors and the unique ways they work, live, and play here. From Tiffany Vanderhoop's hand-beaded earrings based on original Wampanoag designs, to Julie Taymor's screenplay inspired by the animals in her backyard, to Micah Thanhauser's pottery made from the island's natural clay, and Allen Whiting's pastoral scenes of his farm, each page is filled with island treasures. The book also reveals the legacies of the island's origin as Noepe--as the Wampanoag Indians originally named the land--the whaling industry, and the historic Black community of Oak Bluffs.

Above all, Vineyard Folk is a love letter to a remarkable island community, an homage to those who came before, and a testament to the current challenges of living on a resort island where the weather can be fierce and the housing scarce. With personal interviews and stunning color photography, it is a collage of creativity, resilience, and hope. Come celebrate the artistic island folk of the Vineyard, captured at a golden moment of time that might not last forever.

About the Author

Tamara Weiss lives on Martha's Vineyard. She is a film producer and interior designer and the author of the Potluck at Midnight Farm cookbook, named after the home store she owned with Carly Simon, her partner. Besides her documentary film, Born into the Gig, she has a number of film and television projects under development. All of her projects derive from her creative life on Martha's Vineyard and the artistic community who live there.
Amanda Benchley is an experienced arts and design journalist whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Galerie, and Introspective Magazine. She is the author of Artists Living with Art; Our Shoes, Our Selves; and Open Studio.