Beth Brown
Encyclopedia
Beth Brown is an artist and author living in Richmond
, Virginia
.
. Brown attributes her fixation on ghost
s and the presence of dark, but childish themes in much of her artwork to these early losses.
She is a graduate of Varina High School
in Henrico County, Virginia
, and earned a certificate in Automotive Technology from Richmond Technical Center.
with a focus on printmaking
. Her latest linoleum print series include "Mi Padre" (2008), a Mexican folk-inspired reflection of her growing up without a father, and "Clockwork - Memories of the Passing of Time" (2009). Brown's most recent series of paintings (2009–2010) highlights 21st Century controversy about patriotism
and is called "A Declaration of Independence".
In 1995, she was selected by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
to collaborate with a group of artists from the state (including Allen "Big Al" Carter of Washington, DC) to design and execute an 8 feet by 32 feet paneled mural
celebrating Virginia's history. The completed work was installed outdoors at 1200 Semmes Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, but the building on which the mural was displayed was razed in 2001. The painting has since been relocated to the city's Northside Community Center.
Brown's artwork has been exhibited in international galleries, including:
, Haunted Battlefields: Virginia's Civil War Ghosts from Schiffer Publishing Ltd. established Brown as an authority on the long-term study of paranormal activity.
Haunted Plantations of Virginia was published by Schiffer Publishing
Ltd. in 2009 and was the winner of the People's Choice Prize in the non-fiction
category of the 13th Annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards.
(EVP). Her work evolved to include video recordings and still photography
by 1996. Of the sites where she conducted extensive field trial
s, some consisting of 50 or more visits per year, Brown refers most often to those near her childhood home in Varina
: Fort Harrison
, Tree Hill, Malvern Hill
, Savage's Station
, and Rockets Landing. She coordinated the first paranormal investigation of Monumental Church
(Richmond, Virginia) and has, to date, conducted the only official study of Sherwood Forest
(Charles City, Virginia
), home of President John Tyler
.
In 2007, she founded the Virginia Society of Paranormal Education and Research (VASPER) to help connect paranormal researchers across the state.
In July 2010, FATE Magazine
announced that Brown was signed as a contributing writer for the 60+ year old publication. FATE Magazine also shared that their subsidiary, FATE Radio would be debuting her latest paranormal radio series called Psience Friction in September 2010.
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Personal life
Between the ages of three and five, she witnessed the deaths of her paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, and her father to cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. Brown attributes her fixation on ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s and the presence of dark, but childish themes in much of her artwork to these early losses.
She is a graduate of Varina High School
Varina High School
Varina High School is located in eastern Henrico County, Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. The current principal of the school is Tracie Omohoundro.-Programs:...
in Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, and earned a certificate in Automotive Technology from Richmond Technical Center.
Visual art
Beth Brown is self-trained and works as a multimedia artistMultimedia artist
Multimedia artists are contemporary artists who use a wide range of media to communicate their art. Multimedia art includes, by definition, more than one medium, therefore multimedia artists use visual art in combination with sound art, moving images and other media...
with a focus on printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
. Her latest linoleum print series include "Mi Padre" (2008), a Mexican folk-inspired reflection of her growing up without a father, and "Clockwork - Memories of the Passing of Time" (2009). Brown's most recent series of paintings (2009–2010) highlights 21st Century controversy about patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
and is called "A Declaration of Independence".
In 1995, she was selected by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The Virginia Museum of Fine arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States, which opened in 1936.The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia, while private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the support of specific programs and all...
to collaborate with a group of artists from the state (including Allen "Big Al" Carter of Washington, DC) to design and execute an 8 feet by 32 feet paneled mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
celebrating Virginia's history. The completed work was installed outdoors at 1200 Semmes Avenue, Richmond, Virginia, but the building on which the mural was displayed was razed in 2001. The painting has since been relocated to the city's Northside Community Center.
Brown's artwork has been exhibited in international galleries, including:
- Art Works Gallery: Richmond, Virginia
- Arts East Gallery: La Grande, OregonLa Grande, Oregon-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,327 people, 5,124 households, and 2,982 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,833.5 people per square mile . There were 5,483 housing units at an average density of 1,260.3 per square mile...
- Print Zero Studios: Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
- University of ReginaUniversity of ReginaThe University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a junior college in 1925, and was disaffiliated...
, Fifth Parallel Gallery: SaskatchewanSaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - SUNY Buffalo Center For the Arts (Main Stage): Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
- Eastern Oregon UniversityEastern Oregon UniversityEastern Oregon University is one of seven state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the State of Oregon and belongs to the Oregon University System...
Gallery: LaGrande, Oregon - Nightingale Gallery: LaGrande, Oregon
- Sev Shoon Arts Center/Ballard Works: Seattle, Washington
- Rainbow Bldg. Gallery at University of MiamiUniversity of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
: Coral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami.... - Print Walls Gallery at University of Wisconsin: Madison, WisconsinMadison, WisconsinMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
- Pratt Fine Arts Gallery (at Tashiro Kaplan): Seattle, Washington
- SUNY Buffalo CFA Main Stage Cases: Buffalo, New York
- Roennebæksholm Arts and Cultur Center: NaestvedNaestvedNæstved a commercial town in a municipality of the same name, lies on the island of Zealand in Denmark. The town is one hour's travel from Copenhagen. Næstved has a population of 41,667 . Næstved's UN/LOCODE is DKNVD....
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... - Pacific Northwest College of ArtPacific Northwest College of ArtThe Pacific Northwest College of Art is a private fine art and design college in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Established in 1910, the art school grants bachelor of fine arts degrees and master of fine arts degrees and has an enrollment of about 550 students...
s: Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
Written works
Beth Brown established Iron Cauldron Books in 2007 and published a collection of family recipes in 2008 under the title From a Witch's Kitchen: Celebrating Seasonal Magic In Every Meal. Soon to follow was Conducting a Paranormal Investigation - a Training Guide. Expanding on her lifelong interest in ghosts and the supernaturalSupernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
, Haunted Battlefields: Virginia's Civil War Ghosts from Schiffer Publishing Ltd. established Brown as an authority on the long-term study of paranormal activity.
Haunted Plantations of Virginia was published by Schiffer Publishing
Schiffer Publishing
Schiffer Publishing Ltd. is a publisher based out of the "Schiffer Book Farm" in Atglen, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles east of Lancaster. It specializes in books about antiques, architecture and design, arts and crafts, collectibles, lifestyle, military and aviation history.-External links:***...
Ltd. in 2009 and was the winner of the People's Choice Prize in the non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
category of the 13th Annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards.
Paranormal research
Brown began informal study of the spirit world in 1989 by collecting audio recordings in search of Electronic Voice PhenomenaElectronic voice phenomenon
Electronic voice phenomena are electronically generated noises that resemble speech, but are not the result of intentional voice recordings or renderings. Common sources of EVP include static, stray radio transmissions, and background noise...
(EVP). Her work evolved to include video recordings and still photography
Still photography
Still photography may refer to:* unit still photographer, a person who creates still photographic images for the publicity of films and television programs* other photography producing still images...
by 1996. Of the sites where she conducted extensive field trial
Field trial
A field trial is a competitive event at which hunting dogs compete against one another. There are field trials for retrievers, pointing dogs and flushing dogs. Field trials are usually organized by kennel clubs or other gun dog organizations...
s, some consisting of 50 or more visits per year, Brown refers most often to those near her childhood home in Varina
Varina, Virginia
Varina is a former unincorporated town and current magisterial district in the easternmost portion of Henrico County, Virginia, United States....
: Fort Harrison
Fort Harrison
Fort Harrison was an important component of the Confederate defenses of Richmond during the American Civil War. Named after Lieutenant William Harrison, a Confederate engineer, it was the largest in the series of fortifications that extended from New Market Road to the James River that also...
, Tree Hill, Malvern Hill
Malvern Hill
Malvern Hill stands on the north bank of the James River in Henrico County, Virginia, USA, about eighteen miles southeast of Richmond. On 1 July 1862, it was the scene of the Battle of Malvern Hill, one of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War....
, Savage's Station
Savage's Station, Virginia
Savage's Station was the wartime name of a supply depot, ammunition dump, field hospital, and command headquarters of the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War...
, and Rockets Landing. She coordinated the first paranormal investigation of Monumental Church
Monumental Church
Monumental Church is a former Episcopal Church that stands at 1224 E. Broad Street between N. 12th and College Streets in Richmond, Virginia. Designed by architect Robert Mills, it is one of America's earliest and most distinctive Greek Revival churches and is listed on the National Register of...
(Richmond, Virginia) and has, to date, conducted the only official study of Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest, Virginia
Sherwood Forest is an unincorporated community in Charles City County, Virginia, United States.-References:*...
(Charles City, Virginia
Charles City, Virginia
Charles City is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Charles City County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 133....
), home of President John Tyler
John Tyler
John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...
.
In 2007, she founded the Virginia Society of Paranormal Education and Research (VASPER) to help connect paranormal researchers across the state.
In July 2010, FATE Magazine
Fate Magazine
Fate is a U.S. magazine about paranormal phenomena. Fate was co-founded in 1948 by Raymond A. Palmer and Curtis Fuller, suspended print publication in July 2009, and launched a new website in January 2010 featuring news, articles, and blogs written by experts and paranormal researchers.Promoted as...
announced that Brown was signed as a contributing writer for the 60+ year old publication. FATE Magazine also shared that their subsidiary, FATE Radio would be debuting her latest paranormal radio series called Psience Friction in September 2010.