Cover Artist Betty Foy Botts
 
Carl Sanders, Governor of Georgia during the Kennedy years, and his wife, Betty Foy, an accomplished painter, created a powerful legacy. It was more than service to the people of their home state, that was considerable… it was their daughter, Betty Foy Botts. Daughter Betty inherited the strengths of both parents: a bone-deep humanity from her father and a genetic mandate to paint from her mother. Put those two together, and you have a phenomenal artist whose work is steeped in matters of heart and spirit. Betty was in the fifth grade when her family moved into the governor’s mansion. While there was excitement and notoriety, there was also the stress of being in the public spotlight. Imagine being a ten-year-old shadowed by highway patrolmen every minute of your day. Still, Betty managed to find the things in life that gave her joy. By the time she was in her twenties she had focused her attention on college, a degree in the Visual Arts, and eventually a family. To understand Betty’s artistic calling one must know more about her maternal lineage. Betty’s great grandmother painted china. Art was a matter-of-fact to her while growing up. Even so, it wasn’t until about twenty years ago that Betty’s Muse grabbed her by the heart and hand and said, “It’s time to put your spirit on canvas. Now, PAINT!” Well, it didn’t happen exactly that way. Her mom, who, at the time, understood her daughter’s talent more than Betty herself, gave her a series of silk screening lessons as a gift. “And that led from one thing to another.” says Betty. “Until I realized who the artist within me was, I had to begin to find my own style and to be confident in what I was doing.” And she has been faithful to that calling ever since. She creates every day. Her favorite images are animals in nature. They appear out of fog or chaos on the canvas. As they come into being, they offer a metaphor to the viewer. Spirit is all around us, embracing us, even in the chaos. We are connected to it. As we gather ourselves and focus our spiritual energy, we find meaning and peace. “My purpose when people come to my shows is to not only touch them visually but to deepen their soul and heart and mind…to give them a spiritual experience. It might be about a higher power or a feeling that there is something greater than themselves. And I want them to find comfort in that.” That is part of the family legacy, being of service. Betty says, “My mom being an artist and my dad a politician, I have gleaned a lot of who they are in my own life in the sense that I have evolved in to making things better like my father did when he was a statesman. My mother and father wanted to make the world a better place… not just to leave the planet in better shape, but to leave it more beautiful.” And that legacy continues. “They named the art school at Georgia Southern University after my mother, Betty Foy Sanders School of Art. We will be the first exhibition, a mother and daughter exhibit,” Betty announces proudly. For more than four decades (and they’re just getting cranked up) the Sanders family has lived its dream, graciously sharing a bountiful compassion and talent not just with fellow-Georgians, but the entire Southeast. If you want to see more of Betty’s work, it is available locally through Summit One Gallery in Highlands, (828) 526-2673. Her exhibition, “All His Creatures” opens at Summit One Gallery on Saturday, October 13th.
Artist Blurb
October 2007