Often artists choose a specific medium to mold the shape of their ideas. Rarely does an average artists step outside of their comfort zone and cross into an entirely different medium, but once you see the art of Beth K. Amato you realize she is not your average artists. Crossing between mediums, Beth takes each idea she thinks up as an invitation to select from a wide variety of tools in creating exactly what she wants to convey. Partially drawn from the world her, and partially drawing from personal experience, when it comes to Beth one thing is certain whatever she decides to create is going to be incredible. Often when focus is divided between more than one artistic discipline the result becomes a dilution of one or both mediums. Work is not as strong had the artists focused their attention on one medium rather than multiple, but in Beth’s case as she diverts her attention to different mediums her work only grows stronger. Just like her one of a kind pieces, Beth has also been inexplicably shaped by the world around her. It is the journey that brought her to Broward County, and the path she is on that will serve to mold her artistic prowess in the future. Broward has a burgeoning art landscape with new and exciting art around every corner. Part of the reason this is such an exciting time for art in South Florida is because of what a culturally diverse place it has become over the years.
A great deal of Beth’s art is due to her introduction to the world of art, and the environment she spent her early life creating in. “I didn’t have a great deal of formal training in arts as a young person. My family was not all that financially stable, but I was fortunate to have really great parents who encouraged me. No one in my family pushed me into the arts, but no one discouraged me either. Once I got to Ringling College of Art and design, I realized how fortunate I was in that respect.”
Of all the family that influenced her art, perhaps no one had an impact as profound as Beth’s Aunt. Many of Beth’s early introductions to art where that of her Aunt’s works, “Some of her paintings scared me when I was younger, but I appreciate them so much more now.” Her Aunt was also responsible for giving her some of her earliest art supplies. Beth especially loved all of the messy pastels she would get from her aunt, and while the supplies she got weren’t always the fanciest, she loved creating what she could out of what she was given. Beth only wished she could have had the chance to collaborate on a project with her aunt, “My aunt was an artist, who passed away in 2008, and I would have loved to work with her on something even though we are very different artistically.” Beth’s strong relationship with her family is also part of the reason she has remained in Florida, but Beth hasn’t always lived in South Florida, and it is partially her journey here that informs her decisions artistically. After graduating high school Beth attended Rhode Island College as a fine arts major, but she was still unsure about her future as an artist, “During Senior year in high school I applied for a college scholarship, and the exam for it was my first wake-up call that I really didn’t know all that much, and then I went to the art show and I was really put in my place.” If travelling broadens the mind, then moving between contrasting locations serves to expand it beyond what it would normally be capable of otherwise. Beth has a degree from Ringling College of Art and Design in Computer Animation, and one of her latest installations incorporates this aspect of her creations into a dance performance in unique and breathtaking performance.
Many artists draw inspiration from the world around them, but as a photographer capturing the everyday is especially important to Beth, “It’s more obvious in some of my photographic series such as the smoke totems (starting from basic black and white smoke fused with animated spark particles and hand painted color) or eclipse (using my photographs of crystal napkin rings and intruding vibrant colors). I love playing with visual juxtaposition and conceptual threads like roots, heritage, the order of things and our place and even what is beyond what we see.” Inspiration can be found in even the smallest things in the world, but it takes a special artist to notice the intricacies of the minute and portray them in new and creative ways. Beth also draws inspiration for her works from concrete sources such as science and technology.
When it comes to how people experience her art, Beth finds it important that people connect with her creations on a level that they might not be able to connect with a larger piece in a gallery, “My wearable art came from my visual or displayed art. I had some experience making small jewelry and accessories out of ready-made components and I was looking to present my photography in an interesting way.” Because everyone may not be able to take home her larger pieces of art, Beth began to take her knowledge of crafting jewelry, and merge it with her other skills. This wasn’t always an easy process for Beth, specifically at first because difficulties in production caused a large margin of error making the process very frustrating. A creative process that involves creating jewelry and larger visual art creates a very unique awareness for an artist as Beth describes, “The jewelry has also caused me to look at larger, displayed pieces differently. I’m constantly thinking about the presentation of what I make. Having the ability to make art that is small enough to be worn at all times and large enough to be projected onto a wall is something I am grateful to be able to do.”
When looking at different forms of art sewn together viewers can often be bewildered by what they are seeing, and the integration really needs to be seamless in order to produce a one of a kind piece of art. Beth has found a way to create a cohesion between mediums that is awe inspiring. It is the journey she has been on so far shaping her inventively, and the way she interprets influences from the world around that informs Beth’s art in a one-of-a-kind way the. Beth has been able to fund some of her projects with help from Broward County grants. Grants such as the one she received help take artists visions, and provide the funding to make them a reality. Currently Beth’s is creating out of the Studio 18 art hub in Pembroke Pines. Studio 18 is a place where artists have personal studios, and also gives them a place to display their work as a gallery.
