Camille Claudel in her atelier
Where the Book Ends Meet, a unique book-signing and charity event, will honor the French sculptor and graphic artist Camille Claudel and all women who are passionate about the arts on Friday, April 17 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at the gorgeous Hotel Monaco, 501 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA.
The free event will feature ten women artists, a fashion show, an art auction, sculpture by Tom Franco, and a short film by Jennifer Webb. The proceeds from the auction and other activities will be donated to WomenArts.
The combination book-signing and charity event is the brainchild of Heather Webb and Betsy Franco, who have both published novels about Camille Claudel. Heather Webb’s novel, Rodin’s Lover, is an historical novel about Claudel’s life as Auguste Rodin’s muse and lover, and her struggle to be an artist in her own right. Betsy Franco’s novel, Naked, is a work of magical realism in which a young acting student meets a time-travelling “Cat” Claudel.
Camille Claudel enjoyed success in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and many of her works live on. But she was also a woman who struggled intensely against the male-dominated art world, and whose disapproving family had her committed to an asylum for the last 30 years of her life. Even though the hospital staff repeatedly recommended her release, her mother and brother would not sign the papers to free her.
Claudel’s struggles inspired Heather Webb and Betsy Franco to tell her story and to find a way to help other women artists. They recruited actor and event producer Jennifer Webb, founder of Noggin, to help them.
They decided that donating to WomenArts would be an excellent way to help women artists. They were impressed with our twenty years of dedicated service and the blossoming of Support Women Artists Now Day world-wide over the past 8 years. Their goal is to raise $15,000 from this event for WomenArts.
The event will include a talk by Betsy Franco with her son, Tom Franco, who illustrated Naked, and an announcement about the recent film option of Naked. (Note: Tom Franco is also the founder of Firehouse Art Collective , which provides spaces for artists in the San Francisco Bay Area and which housed another benefit for WomenArts on April 11. Betsy Franco’s other sons are the actors, James Franco and Dave Franco.) There will also be a discussion between Heather Webb and Jennifer Webb about the short film, Rodin’s Lover. and a fashion show of the elegant designs of Camilla Olson’s Collections.
Other women artists who are participating include Eleanor Coppola (artist, writer, and filmmaker), Gia Coppola (photographer, screenwriter, director of Palo Alto) , Karen Joy Fowler (author of the bestseller, The Jane Austen Book Club) , Maya Christina Gonzalez (author, fine artist, illustrator, and progressive educator), Kirsten Barhs Janssen (sculptor and teacher), Lisa Shiveley (Executive Director of the Menlowe Ballet), and Giovanni Singleton (poet and Founding Editor of African Diaspora Journal).
Special News Flash: Heather Webb was interviewed about this event on the Huffington Post. Read the article>>
Event: Where the Book Ends Meet: A Charity Event Honoring Women in the Arts
Hosted by Betsy Franco, Heather Webb & Jennifer Webb
Date: Friday, April 17, 2015 from 6:30 – 8 p.m.
Place: Hotel Monaco, 501 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA (at Union Square)
Tickets: Free event, open to the general public, no tickets necessary.
Proceeds will benefit WomenArts: If you cannot attend but would like to donate,
you can give through their GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/womeninartscharity or you can give directly to WomenArts.