Interview with Kazuko Law and apprentice Chieri Espasito

General Note/Comment

• One audio cassette. Interview with master folk artist Kasuko Law and her daughter (and apprentice) Chieri. They discuss family history and life in Japan and China (Law's father supplied the Japanse Army during the second world war); immigration to the United States in 1952; the uses of, designs for, and processes in temari making; origami; doll making; and learning and teaching temari and origami. Temari is the traditional Japanese art of decorating spheres by winding and lacing colored threads in intricate patterns around a core ball. For a transcript of the interview, see S 1640, Box 2, folder 13. The Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program began in 1983 with a NEA grant of $22,000. The program provided an opportunity for master folk artists to share technical skills and cultural knowledge with apprentices in order to keep the tradition alive. Apprentices must have had some experience in the tradition and agreed to train for at least six months. The first project director was Blanton Owen, later replaced by folklorist Peter Roller. The program was continued each year through 2003.