Salt and Sugar Productions

A documentary by David and Barbarella Fokos about master stone artist Lew French. Though Lew French first appears as unyielding and imposing as the granite he works with, beneath this artist’s rigid exterior is a naturalist who has spent two decades building his dream home in the Brazilian rainforest, a father mourning the loss of his son, and a deeply spiritual man committed to the concept of karma. Despite waking up at 4am to meditate every day, Lew struggles to quiet his mind. In stone, Lew finds that which he longs for: stillness. As one of Lew’s friends puts it, “Don’t be tricked by the idea that he’s a stone mason. He’s sort of a philosopher, artist, spiritual guide who’s working with stone.”

Allen Whiting is a farmer who has been living off the land as his family has for 12 generations, though he is known more for his plein-air paintings, depictions of island landscapes that can be found in the collections of those lucky few who have been visiting his home gallery since the 70s. From his taciturn delivery to his creative expression of the beauty that surrounds him, Whiting is the human embodiment of Martha's Vineyard, the island in which his roots run deep, and from which he derives his inspiration.