Begin Again

My name is Betty Schriver and I am an artist. It took me several years of creating art to actually feel comfortable calling myself that, because this idea of my dream becoming a reality was just too out there to imagine. So you know the saying, if it walks like a duck…..so if you are creating, showing, and selling art, then I guess you are an artist! I knew I wanted to create art well before I began, but life has a way of convincing you that other things take priority. And maybe they did, but now it has its time!

When my husband and I retired, we decided to move to little community called Blind Bay, B.C. It was the beginning of my serious exploration into the art world! I joined a group of artists called the “Blind Bay Painters” that met weekly to practice, share, and learn about art. There were extraordinary artists that had painted for years and regularly sold their works, and there were artists like me just beginning their journey and all of what is in-between. Diversified in style, medium, culture, we all had one thing in common, – a love for art. Great friendships are built from several people working together for a common goal and I became friends with several of the artists in that group. Art has a way of bringing people together! I soon began selling my work at community art shows, a little market called the Shuswap Artisan Market, and a local gift and artisan shop called “Love is Blind Bay” . I met even more artisans and art lovers and soon learnt about the “business” of art. Our neighbours and friends were supportive and it was a great place of inspiration on a daily basis.

But life takes turns and things change, and we soon found ourselves back to our home province in Alberta, this time in a small community called Beaumont, just on the outskirts of Edmonton. We love that we are back on home ground and able to spend more time with family and long time past friends and are finally settling into our new home.

So today my art life takes a new turn and I begin again, with the organizing of my studio, joining the Artist Association of Beaumont, publishing of my new website and hopefully filling the online gallery full of new art from a place I lived most of my life, and have fond memories of in the past and hopefully many new moments that speak to me in the future. The places I have travelled to will also always leave footprints in my art – they are special jewels that twinkle in my memory and have a special place in my heart.

So welcome! I hope you get a sense of the emotions I felt at these wonderful places and moments, and you connect with a special time in your life!