Betsy Halford

Betsy is a self-taught, mixed media, assemblage artist.  Her art incorporates found and repurposed materials, in which she sometimes adds oils, acrylics and/or wax, making each piece unique.

Inspiration for her artwork comes from life.  Many of her pieces are inspired by personal experiences, dreams and/or meditations, memories both real and imagined, as well as reactions to societal or global issues. 

She has been collecting the materials for her work all of her life.  She started collecting her “treasures” as a small child growing up in South Carolina where she was influenced by her parents who were also passionate collectors of such “treasures.”  She has continued to gather her inspirational materials everywhere she goes - from back roads to the city streets.   She is always on the look out for items that others have “disposed of,” with the intent of transforming them into something wonderful and meaningful.


Presented by the Jasper Project, The Degenerate Art Project II is the answer to an overwhelming request by artists and patrons of Jasper's inaugural Degenerate Art Project (July 2025) for an additional exhibition which will involve an open call for visual artists. This 3 week-long multidisciplinary arts event (Feb. 11–28 at Stormwater Studios) invites Midlands artists to respond to today's socio-political climate, and unite our local arts community—physically and in spirit—in support and solidarity during challenging times. Inspired by—and reclaiming—the legacy of the Nazi-labeled "Degenerate Art" of 1937, this project champions creative resistance and free expression through a visual art exhibition, featuring over 40 Midlands artists.