Thistle Award winner Marjorie Hunt is a folklorist and curator with the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. She received her Ph.D. in folklore and folklife from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995. Her extensive research and work in the building arts includes her recent book The Stone Carvers, published by Smithsonian Institution Press, and her Academy- and Emmy-Award-winning documentary film "The Stone Carvers," both of which document and present the life and work of Italian-American master carvers at Washington National Cathedral.

Dr. Hunt served as the curator and project director of the "Masters of the Building Arts" program at the 2001 Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall. A major living exhibition, it celebrated the "extraordinary skill and artistry of craftworkers in the building trades and highlighted and explored their important contributions to our nation's architectural heritage."

In the introduction to her photo essay "Masters of the Building Arts" she says about master craftworkers, "Much depends on their workmanship and skill: on their deep understanding of raw materials, their careful selection and use of tools, their mastery of technique. The final product is the result not only of their knowledge and abilities, but also their creativity and care - their will to excellence."

Dr. Hunt's dedication to chronicling the lives of master craftspeople and their crafts introduces these specialties to a wide audience who may never otherwise give these unique specialties a second thought. Hers is an important contribution to the preservation of our cultural heritage and our built environment builders.

The photo essay "Masters of the Building Arts" and an educational activity guide for young people can be viewed at www.folklife.si.edu/buildingarts

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