Art exhibits return with local friends

  • Betsy Henn Bailey’s whimsical paintings show how she sees the world and herself. One of her paintings in the “Betsy & Friends” exhibit shows herself with one of her friends, Lois Yeager, who often uses cats and critters in her works, Cherokee County Arts Council Director David Vowell explained. Photo by Samantha Sinclair
    Betsy Henn Bailey’s whimsical paintings show how she sees the world and herself. One of her paintings in the “Betsy & Friends” exhibit shows herself with one of her friends, Lois Yeager, who often uses cats and critters in her works, Cherokee County Arts Council Director David Vowell explained. Photo by Samantha Sinclair

        Murphy – As places begin to open back up, Cherokee County Arts Council Director David Vowell wanted to do things that helped people reconnect with the community.
        While he has a few other ideas in the works, the first is the June exhibit in the Cultural Calendar Room at the Murphy Art Center – “Betsy & Friends.”
        The exhibit features the whimsical works of local artist Betsy Henn Bailey. She invited a couple of friends – Lois Yeager and Richard Green – to showcase their artistic talents along with hers.
        Vowell said the exhibit introduces his goal by showcasing there are artists in the community who paint what’s important in their lives.
        “These are the artists who live among you,” he said.
        Bailey, who was born and raised in Murphy, has a degree from Ringling School of Art in Florida. She has taught art classes over the years and supported local art through the Artist Common gallery. At one point, she ran the Henn Theatre for her father.
        “She is the matriarch of arts in the community in my mind,” Vowell said.
        The exhibit includes 21 original pieces, several of Yeager’s prints as well as Yeager’s painted rocks. Only three pieces in the exhibit are not available for sale – one that is on loan, and two of Bailey’s personal self-portraits.
        The exhibit opened Thursday and will run through June 26. The Murphy Art Center is downtown at 33 Valley River Ave.