BACK CREEK ART STUDIO

Betsy Crawford

 

Betsy Crawford moved to North Carolina in 2001, from Savannah, Georgia, where she and her husband, Matthew, partnered the art business “Back Creek Art Studio”.  Betsy has been a painter most of her life, but in 1990 she took her fine art off of canvas and onto furniture.  What started as a lark quickly turned into a full time business in one of Savannah’s 1800 era cotton warehouses with students from Savannah College of Art and Design as employees.  Betsy shipped furniture and decorative accessories across the country but primarily to the Midwest.  She was affiliated with local galleries and stores in Savannah and Hilton Head Island, SC.  Betsy has historically been in high demand for her personalized commissions and life history paintings.

·        FOLKWORKS GALLERY – Evanston, Illinois

·        The Past Basket – Geneva, Illinois and Kohler, Wisconsin

·        The Checkered Moon Gallery – Savannah, Georgia

·        The Back Door – Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

·        Sam & Cate – Smithfield, North Carolina

Surrounded by the winds of change in the late 60’s, a creative Chris Boyette quickly developed a love affair with beads and jewelry.  It was a time of discovery. As a freshman in High School she kept her friends well supplied with “love beads”.  It was there that her passion for all creative arts started to grow. After graduating from Princess Anne High School in 1971, she moved with her family from Virginia Beach, VA to Hertford, NC and has been a resident of North Carolina ever since.  She obtained a degree in Fine Arts at the College of the Albemarle in the late 70’s but still, was trying to figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up.

Though she often dreamed about it, it wasn't until she took a jewelry class on a whim with a few friends that she finally decided to pursue jewelry-making as a career. Before that what she knew best about jewelry was bead stringing, it was at this point that she decided to try creating the look and feel of the jewelry she loved with wire.

Chris combines traditional forging techniques, fine silver clay elements and bead work to create her distinctive lines of jewelry. Influenced by her love for the ocean and mountains, her jewelry is functional and unpretentious, simple and elegant in its own right.  She finds inspiration for her clever designs in familiar and recognizable things from the natural beauty of the environment.

Chris Boyette resides with her husband, Don, a cat named Miss Grace, a dog named Jethro, and several cows and chickens on their farm in Johnston County, North Carolina.