Mary May works wonders with a chisel.

A woodcarver for decades, her claim to fame is standing in the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. She helped carve the incredibly ornate capitals in the two giant "Pillars of Hercules" that hold the theater's main roof beam and stand on either side of the stage.

Now Mary lives at the Lake of the Ozarks and runs an online and in-person woodcarving school, called Mary May's School of Traditional Woodcarving. She even has a one-day woodcarving event for novices, coming up soon.

In this fascinating and free-ranging interview, we talk about the dying practice of apprenticeship (and the oversaturation of formal education), the irreplaceable richness of creating things with your own hands, and what to do about a culture that values efficiency over beauty.

We also praise the merits of Play-Dough.

Learn more at marymaycarving.com

Check out photos of the Globe Theater at shakespearesglobe.com

#lakeoftheozarks #woodcarving #building #shakespeare #globetheater

Episode thumbnail: Jens Naehler, Creative Commons License (via Flickr)