The recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Alumna Award, Carol Sauvion ’69 has plenty to be excited about. She is in production for two new episodes of her Peabody Award winning show, Craft in America, which airs nationwide on PBS. One episode, focused on quilts, goes into detail on the works of diverse artists using the quilt as their medium for self-expression. Sauvion believes that her show, Craft in America, helps the nation by promoting and showcasing hand crafted work in America. “The show offers people an entrée into the world of craft,” she says. The part of the job that she enjoys the most is being able to use her work to reach out to all kinds of people. “The best part is that it’s accessible to everybody; there are millions of people who make things by hand.” Craft in America is a nonprofit corporation with the mission to promote and advance original handcrafted work through programs in all media. The biggest challenge in running a nonprofit organization, Sauvion says, is fundraising. “Much of the nonprofit’s job is finding the funds to continue our work. It’s a challenge for all nonprofits. Fortunately, there is support. People who donate care deeply about craft and what we do.” Sauvion recalls a motto that was often proclaimed when she was a student at Manhattanville: “Noblesse oblige.” “I didn’t fully understand it when I was young,” Sauvion remembers, “But I understand it now. It means that we are supposed to use our education for the greater good. It’s about caring for your community and improving lives if possible.” The current Manhattanville student, Sauvion believes, should search for exactly what they want in their career. “A career should invoke some sort of passion,” she says, “find out what you want to do, and find passion in your work.” Another piece of advice is to be open to new ideas. “We are all citizens of the world; we need to contribute.”
Written by Indigo Moore '20