Tapestry

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October 23, 2008...

• Birmingham Holocaust survivors tell their story
• Using glass and fire to evoke nature
• A story of home improvement gone awry!

When U.S. soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camps more than six decades ago, photos taken at the camps showed people who were little more than skin and bones. Their personal stories were beyond heartbreaking. Birmingham photographer Becky Seitel heard some of the stories of survivors now living in Birmingham and got an idea for an exhibit called Darkness Into Life, featuring photos and paintings. It debuted at the Levite Jewish Community Center last year, when reporter Rosemary Pennington spoke with Seitel, survivor Max Steinmetz and painter Mitzi Levin.

Becky Seitel interview...

Reporter Rosemary Pennington, talking with photographer Becky Seitel, painter Mitzi Levin, and holocaust survivor Max Steinmetz. The exhibit has been expanded to include holocaust survivors from Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville and Opelika. It's on display through Sunday at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Becky Seitel says since the original showing last year, two holocaust survivors living in Alabama have died.

Tucked into Chattahoochee Hill Country, southwest of Atlanta, there's a planned community that draws on the principals of eco-friendly building design, organic farming and land preservation. The community, called Serenbe, also values public art as essential to quality of life, and they've tapped a Birmingham-area glass artist for a massive project. Along with metal designer Robert Raoush, artist Donna Branch is building a 12-foot oak tree, made of iron and filled with glass leaves. Reporter Haden Holmes Brown takes us to Branch's studio...

Donna Branch interview...

If you've ever tackled a major home renovation project, you know that sometimes - when you dig too deeply into the bowels of your house - you discover something unexpected. For storyteller Hans Anderson, a simple squeaky door turned into a frightful discovery. His story is called The Book.

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott. With reporting this week by Haden Holmes Brown. Next week on the program, music and a conversation with accordion king Flaco Jimenez. I'm Michael Krall in for Greg Bass, and we'll see you next week.