“CRAFT IN AMERICA: TEACHERS” PREMIERES SEPTEMBER 17 AT 8:00 PM ON PBS HAWAI‘I

HONOLULU, HI – A Punahou School educator is being highlighted on the season eight premiere of the Peabody Award-winning PBS series, “Craft in America.”

Craft in America: TEACHERS premieres locally on PBS Hawai‘i on Saturday, September 17 at 8:00 pm.

Mark Mitsuda assists a student in the glassblowing studio at Punahou School. Photo: Courtesy of Mark Markley

The hour-long episode is a celebration of teachers – extraordinary individuals who are committed to their own artistic visions and are equally committed to sharing their skills and passion for craft with new generations of students and artists of all ages. Punahou glassblowing teacher Mark Mitsuda is among the artists and teachers from across the nation who are featured.

Mitsuda has been teaching the art of glassblowing at Punahou School since 1998, when his mentor, Hugh Jenkins, retired. Jenkins founded the glassblowing program at Punahou in 1972, using recycled milk and mayonnaise bottles as raw materials.

Mark Mitsuda has been teaching glassblowing at Punahou School since 1998. Photo: Courtesy of Mark Markley

Underscoring the inter-generational mission of teaching, Mitsuda says that what he learned from Jenkins, he now passes on to his own students. “I feel fortunate to be teaching something that I feel passionate about and being able to inspire other people in the place that inspired me to first go into glassblowing,” he said.

After attending college in New York, Washington State and the University of Hawai‘i, Mitsuda co-founded Glass Design Group with two of his college classmates. His work is in numerous private collections, as well as the Hawai‘i State Foundation for Culture and the Arts.

This episode of “Craft in America” is a part of PBS’ Spotlight Education, a week of primetime programming that features reports from today’s classrooms.

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Contact: Liberty Peralta
Email: lperalta@pbshawaii.org
Phone: 808.462.5030

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