Vineyard Folk: Creative People and Places of Martha's Vineyard
About this ebook
Vineyard Folk leads us on an intimate journey into the lives and inspirational places of some of the many talented artists who have always made up the larger community of Martha’s Vineyard. 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 ever-changing light, endless beaches, historic towns, and rolling fields. Vineyard Folk features painters, potters, poets, musicians, and actors, among many others, and the unique ways they work, live, and play.
Above all, Vineyard Folk is a love letter to a remarkable island community. With personal interviews and candid photography, it is a collage of creativity, resilience, and hope. We celebrate these artists captured at this golden moment of time that may 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 is currently developing a feature film based on a memoir, and a food-travel series for television. 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. Tamara Weiss is a lifelong Vineyard resident, the owner of Midnight Farm (with her partner Carly Simon), and a local interior designer. She is the author of Potluck at Midnight Farm Cookbook, and has produced a number of films and TV shows, including the documentary Born to the Gig, the upcoming biopic on Carly Simon, Boys in The Trees, and a food/travel series with actor and photographer Tony Shalhoub.
