| Betsy Castleman Damez
Artist, Painter, American and French, lives and works in Paris
DIVERSE ACTIVITIES IN THE ARTS 2009 and 2010 - Portrait sessions for women who have been victims of violence. In collaboration with the French organization ‘Ni Putes Ni Soumises’ which brings psychological and legal help to these women. 2006 and 2008 – Ten day painting trips to Niger with a French NGO, in 2008 this included two painting workshops given to African children. 2002 – 2005 – Preparation of a series of paintings on the Hula (sacred Hawaiian ancient danses) for an exposition in the Honolulu Academy of Arts in conjunction with a manifestation of Hawaiien culture and Hula danse. Live on-stage painting performance with hula dancers at the Doris Duke Theater, Honolulu. Reproduction of a painting in the book, ‘Spirit of Hula’. January to June 2000 - Organization of an exposition of artworks by prisoners at the Bois d’Arcy prison, Yvelines France. This exposition was sponsored by the prison chapelain and the artist’s role was to encourage the prisoners to draw and paint, help them with technical difficulties and then to present their work in an exhibit. The exhibit then became itinerant in the country. January 2000 - Preparation of a decorative panel for a charity, an orphanage in Bethlehem called ‘ La Crêche de Bethlehem’. This panel served for public presentations and is now displayed in the orphanage in Bethelem. May -June 1998 - Sent by the U.S. Embassy in Paris for a cultural exchange program in the Emirat of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. This program included a personal exhibit at the National Museum in Bahrein in the Arab Emirats and several weeks of workshops with artists and the general public in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. This program was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain. Spring 1996 - Preparation of a decorative panel for the sitting room in a home for elderly people in Versailles, France. July 1995 - Radio interview on the « Cosmogonies », Radio Suisse Romande TEACHING EXPERIENCE 1994 to present day – Professor in the Wells College Program in the Arts in Paris. ‘Painting Techniques using the Raw Materials of Painting’ This class has always been taught partially in the Louvre museum where the students can copy an Old Masters painting. It is based on the method of Nicholas Wacker at Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and gives particular importance to the use of pigment. 1996 to 2003 - Professor in the Wells College Program in the Arts in Paris, ‘Drawing the Figure and Composition’. Drawing class with live model. August 2001, 2002, 2003 – Teacher at Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey, summer workshop on Old Masters Technique. Various paintings in collections in France, the United States including Hawaii, and Bahrain |