Oral history interview with Betty Cooke
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 5 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 2 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Cooke, Betty, 1924-
label: Interviewer
content: Yager, Jan, 1951-
label: Creator
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
label: Names
content: Cranbrook Academy of Art -- Students
label: Names
content: Maryland Institute, College of Art -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Maryland Institute, College of Art -- Students
label: Names
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
label: Names
content: Beene, Geoffrey
label: Names
content: Bertoia, Harry
label: Names
content: De Patta, Margaret, 1903-1964
label: Names
content: Morton, Philip
label: Names
content: Nakashima, George, 1905-1990
label: Names
content: Steinmetz, Bill
topic: label: Occupation
content: Jewelers -- Maryland -- Baltimore
label: Occupation
content: Metal-workers -- Maryland -- Baltimore
label: Topic
content: Decorative arts
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women designers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Cooke, Betty, 1924-
label: Interviewer
content: Yager, Jan, 1951-
label: Creator
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Betty Cooke (1924- ) is a jeweler and metalsmith of Baltimore, Maryland. Jan Yager is a jeweler from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
function: label: Function
content: Artists' studios
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 132 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2004 July 1-2
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.cooke04
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Betty Cooke conducted 2004 July 1-2, by Jan Yager, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Baltimore, Maryland.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Cooke speaks of her family and growing up in Baltimore, Maryland; taking art classes in high school; attending the Maryland Institute, College of Art; apprenticing in a jeweler's studio; teaching design at the Maryland Institute; buying a house and setting up a studio and shop in it; showing her work in the MoMA "Good Design" Exhibition; marrying fellow artist Bill Steinmetz; working as a design consultant; designing interiors for bowling alleys and restaurants; early jewelry designs; studying one summer at Cranbrook Academy of Art; selling works in various galleries; her interest in folk art; using wood and stones in her pieces; creating a wall mural for a school; working with the Rouse Company; opening The Store Ltd. at Cross Keys and designing the modern interior; her trademark designs; making jewelry on commission; and showing her work in exhibitions. Cooke also speaks of her current studio space and routine; sketching designs; documenting her work; traveling to Mexico, China, Morocco, and London; her current involvement with the Maryland Institute, College of Art; renovating a barn for a new studio; the function and wearability of her jewelry; having a retrospective show in 1995; designing for Geoffrey Beene; her interest in painting and sculpture; defining design versus craft; the market for jewelry; how her work has changed over time; sources of inspiration; collecting objects; deciding to go into retail; choosing metals and tools; masculine and feminine jewelry; and being a female artist. Cooke also recalls Margaret De Patta, Harry Bertoia, Philip Morton, George Nakashima, and others.