Lotus Girl was born in 2002, though Betsy had been drawing variations of this miniature avatar for years prior. The name derives, of course, from lotus flower lore — and the lotus shoe, the ornately embroidered silk slippers worn by Chinese women with bound feet. The concept that beauty & resilience can grow from darkness, coupled with the connection to Betsy’s culture, felt fitting for these small drawings that explore trauma, identity & rebirth. At her inception, Lotus Girl measured only a few centimeters in height; today, she's grown close to two and a half inches tall.
Earlier drawings were made with Sakura Micron 005 pens on paper; more recent drawings are made with digital pencil in Procreate. These intimate, single and multi-panel drawings often braid together word & image to traverse complex emotional landscapes.
In 2021, Betsy exhibited more than 60 Lotus Girl drawings in her solo show, Reflexivity. She is currently working on a book of Lotus Girl drawings.
