Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth (Betsy) Holmstrom.
Hi Betsy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Creativity has always been a part of my personality. I was fortunate to attend the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX. I earned a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1982. However, I did not pursue a career in the arts.
Eventually, I became a special education teacher. I earned my MSpE at UTSA in 1993. I taught for 26 years, in several different Texas school districts and retired from FWISD in May 2019. I was always using my drawing skills to create visual images to help my students develop language. I made beaded jewelry as a hobby as well as gardening. I’ve always considered it painting with plants.
Of course the COVID pandemic affected everything for a couple of years. One positive result for me was having time to rest and regain energy to get back into being creative. Since mid-2020, I started to paint and haven’t stopped. I’ve sold several pieces and gifted a few to good friends.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My life has not been a smooth road. I grew up with 6 siblings. There was conflict, of course, and I felt like I didn’t fit in. I was determined to move far away and left for college at 18 vowing never to return to Houston. My life in Philadelphia during the late 70’s to the mid 80’s was fun, for sure. However, there was a point when I lived with my 84 yr old very grumpy grandfather. I decided to return to TX in 1986. I missed the big sky and colors of the landscape. I left good friends behind.
While I was in San Antonio, I returned to school to become an educator. I became a single parent in October of 1993. It was a challenging period to say the least. My three year old son and I had to relocate to N TX in 1996 to seek more family support. I tried to leave teaching and move to the Hill Country, but wound up returning to N. TX and resumed my career in Maypearl.
I was learning along the entire journey, improving my teaching skills and, unfortunately becoming burned out. Our only brother (the oldest of the 7) and his wife were killed in a plane accident in May of 2011. It was a terrible tragedy for all of us, especially my teenaged son. Being the only source of income in my household was stressful. Financial stability has been a huge battle my entire adult life. However, I did plan early for retirement. Not as much for my addiction to getting tattoos.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In high school I imagined I’d become a graphic designer. However, in college, I changed my mind and became a sculpture major. My parents were a bit shocked. I took a variety of courses including art history, drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, metal smithing, woodworking, glass blowing, and figure studies. I wanted to try everything and experiment with a multitude of materials. I was privileged to have had a fantastic liberal arts education paid for by my parents. A couple of my siblings might still resent that.
It’s funny to me that my lowest grade (D) was in a Color Theory class. It was in the early morning and I was consistently late. I did well on the assignments, but the instructor didn’t like my tardiness. Now, those lessons in how color can be manipulated is the basis of most of my paintings. Spirals are my subject matter because they are recognizable and yet abstract enough that I’m able to experiment. I’m not interested in realism, but I might find a way to put spirals in a still life someday.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
My success is debatable this early in my current role as an artist. I would not call myself that for many decades prior to now. I was always a “student” of art.
I believe the most important aspect of being an artist is the encouragement and support of family, friends, and other artists. I would not have tried to be a vendor if I had to do it alone. I’m a neurodivergent person and known procrastinator. I can hyper focus at times and be jumping from one task to another without any focus at other times. I’m a patient person for the most part, but understand that others can lose their patience with me fairly easily.
Pricing:
- $10 for 4×4” .
- $15 for 6×6”
- $35 for 8×8”
- $70 for 12×12”
- $200-$250 for 20×20”
Contact Info:
