Describe your image
Describe your image
Betty Bonawitz
Creative Photography and Clay
I started my life on a small farm near New Underwood, South Dakota. I was like an only child since my sisters were older than me. I entertained myself with mud pies, sticks, rocks and especially prairie flowers and grasses. We moved to Rapid City near the Black Hills in my teen years where I still live today. I attended art classes in high school and hoped for art school, but married instead. A few clay classes and water color classes with John Crane (a well-known Black Hills area artist) helped along the way. With four children to keep me busy, my creative side turned to flower arranging and a job. After being a florist for six years, my sister Arlene, a friend Colleen and I went into business together. We built a silk flower business for wedding flowers as well as local native dried floral arrangements into a mail order business that shipped all over the world. Eventually we included working with brides for their entire wedding plans. After my sister retired I kept the business and expanded into fresh flowers. During this time, I taught adult education classes in floral arrangements. After thirty years in business, I sold the shop and turned my creative side to photography and clay. I had received many awards for my photography so this was a special place for me to start as an artist and build a connection with people that were interested in owning my work. I added clay creations and poetry to go with my photography. Watching all of this take on my own designs has been a wonderful way to go from creative child to creative adult.