Betsy graduated from Metropolitan State College in Denver Colorado with a major in Anthropology and a minor in Fine Arts. Although an amateur photographer in her youth, a college course in black and white photography at MSC awakened her interest in the medium and its endless possibilities. She continued with photography and opened a freelance photography business in 1993. In Colorado, she presented her work in juried arts and crafts festivals, one-person shows, and publications.

Born a New Englander, Betsy lived in Denver Colorado for 33 years before moving to Maine in 2004. She explores new textures, materials, images, and methods in her art, with photography at the center of her creative wheel. Maine provides a myriad of inspirational subjects. Betsy also seeks expression through poetry, and is fortunate to be a member of an active poetry group in Belfast. She looks forward to continued growth in her writing. Betsy has recited her work at venues including “Open-Mic Poetry” at Aarhus Gallery and “Voices for Haiti” held at the Belfast Free Library. Two of Betsy’s poems are on a new CD, “Talking Furniture: Selections from Maine Writers.”

Betsy lived in Tianyang China and taught conversational English to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders 2003-2004. During that time, she recorded her life-changing experiences through photographs, essays, and poems. More recently, Betsy and her husband, Jeff Smith, lived and taught English in Nagoya Japan 2007-2009. In Nagoya, her photography and essays were published in Avenues, a magazine for English speakers, and her poetry appeared on the website for the Japanese newspaper Asahi Weekly. Betsy also had the opportunity to study Japanese calligraphy and plans to incorporate calligraphy in future artwork.

Betsy was an active member of Off the Beaten Path Gallery in Belfast, from June 2009 – December 2010. She presented several themed photo exhibits including, “Nature by Design” at Off the Beaten Path Gallery, and “The Other Side of the World – Images of China and Japan,” at the Belfast Free Library. She exhibited photography and mixed media pieces at the Festival of Arts - Hutchinson Center, in 2009 and 2010, and has shown her artwork in Bangor, Portland, and other Maine venues. She recently received a Special Merit Award for her mixed media piece in the 2011 Maine Open Juried Art Show in Waterville, Maine.

Currently, Betsy is devoting much of her time to creating mixed media pieces – a process that includes photo collage, acrylic paint, tissue paper, India ink, and soft gel media, mounted on gesso-coated panel board. She uses wooden dowels, brushes, palette knives, and her fingers to create the final artwork. Betsy plans to continue experimenting with mixed media and hopes to incorporate poetry into future art pieces.