Betsy is delighted to be teaching Art at Oliverian.  She comes from a long line of fiber artists, printers, craftsmen, and do-it-yourselfers.  She brings this creative and practical spirit to her exploration of art and craft, in and out of the classroom.  She is fascinated by the rich history of the area and enjoys engaging in traditional and ancestral skills, from making dyes from native plants, to spinning wool from local sheep.  In her personal artistic practice, Betsy brings together her love of thought and language (BA Philosophy), fine arts background (minor in Fine Arts and Art History), and her love of the outdoors.  She teaches workshops on eco-printing, natural dyeing, mending, and traditional handwork at ROOTS School and Sloyd Skills Gathering, and she participates in living history through the Tunbridge World’s Fair.  Betsy has taught art and philosophy at the high school level. She is a librarian at the Bradford Public Library in Bradford, VT.

Betsy believes that engagement with the outdoors builds resilience, inspires creativity, and is good for mental health.  She seeks to inspire in students a playful attitude of exploration with the arts. In her free time, Betsy can be found tromping through the woods with her children, curled up with a cat and a good book, weeding the garden, or engaged in one of her many ongoing artistic projects.  She and her husband enjoy visiting art museums, singing and listening to sacred music, and wandering foreign fields and cities.  

What do you love most about Oliverian?

I love that Oliverian brings students into community in such a beautiful and special place.  The natural beauty of the area is inspiring, and Oliverian provides a nurturing refuge from the frenetic pace and overstimulation of the larger world.

What motivates you to work with kids?

Building an artistic practice has benefited my life in so many surprising ways.  Engaging with all of one’s senses, interacting with new materials, and experiencing the freedom to try new things is a mind-opening and soul-nourishing enterprise.  Sharing this with kids and seeing them open up delights me.  As teens often lose their childish capacity for play and exploration, art can be a great way to get that magic back while also providing a rich mode of personal expression.