Oral history interview with Betty Woodman
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 55 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Woodman, Betty, 1930-2018
label: Interviewer
content: Perreault, John, 1937-2015
label: Creator
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
label: Names
content: Bellagio Study and Conference Center
label: Names
content: Boulder (Colo.).. Parks & Recreation Department
label: Names
content: Centre internationale de recherche sur le verre et les arts plastiques (Marseille, France)
label: Names
content: Europees Keramisch Werkcentrum
label: Names
content: Fabric Workshop
label: Names
content: Girl Scouts of the United States of America
label: Names
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
label: Names
content: School for American Crafts
label: Names
content: University of Colorado -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Brown, Elenita
label: Names
content: Carlson, Cynthia, 1942-
label: Names
content: Hamada, Shōji, 1894-1978
label: Names
content: Higby, Wayne
label: Names
content: Kozloff, Joyce
label: Names
content: Kushner, Robert, 1949-
label: Names
content: Leach, Bernard, 1887-1979
label: Names
content: Serra, Richard, 1938-
label: Names
content: Shark, Bud
label: Names
content: Voulkos, Peter, 1924-2002
label: Names
content: Woodman, George, 1932-
place: label: Place
content: Boulder (Colo.)
label: Place
content: India -- description and travel
label: Place
content: Mexico -- description and travel
label: Place
content: Netherlands -- description and travel
topic: label: Occupation
content: Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Airplanes -- Models
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Ceramics -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Decorative arts
label: Topic
content: Glass art
label: Topic
content: Screen process printing
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945
label: Topic
content: Women ceramicists
label: Topic
content: Handicraft
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: Woodman, Betty, 1930-2018
label: Interviewer
content: Perreault, John, 1937-2015
label: Creator
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Betty Woodman (1930-2018) was a ceramist from New York, New York. John Perreault (1937- ) is an independent critic and curator from New York, New York.
function: label: Function
content: Artists' studios
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 5 Items (Sound recording: 5 sound files (2 hr., 55 min.), digital wav)
label: Extent
content: 69 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2003 April 22 and 29
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.woodma03
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Betty Woodman conducted 2003 April 22 and 29, by John Perreault, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in New York, New York.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Woodman speaks of frequent moves with her family during her childhood; her father's woodworking skills; gaining an interest in arts and crafts at four when she made a tablecloth with crayon drawings; attending summer camps, including Girl Scout Camp, where she participated in arts and crafts activities; being the first girl to take shop in her middle school; making model airplanes for air raid wardens during World War II; her interest in making functional objects; her introduction to clay and hand-building in high school; attending the School for American Craftsmen in New York City; collaborating with fellow students; her early desire to be a "craftsperson and not an artist"; her work with silk-screen fabric for The Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia and glass at CIRVA in Marseille, France; teaching at the University of Colorado and the City of Boulder Recreation Department; working at the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch, Holland, and the Bellagio Study Center in Italy; her studios in New York, Colorado, and Italy; her travels to India, The Netherlands, and Mexico; living in New Mexico, New York, Colorado, and Italy; her business Roadrunner Pottery in New Mexico with partner Elenita Brown; collaborative projects with Joyce Kozloff, Cynthia Carlson, Bud Shark, Judith Solodkin, and her husband George Woodman; developing a following in New York; how being a woman has affected her work and how she enjoys working with other women artists; the change of market for American crafts; Italian, Greek, and Etruscan influences; teaching experiences; the importance of getting reviews in art magazines; and the strong support from her husband George, a painter. Betty Woodman recalls Lynn Feelyn, Olan Wassen, Bernard Leach, Peter Voulkos, Shoji Hamada, Bob Kushner, Richard Serra, Wayne Higby, and others.