If you have ever been at camp or had a daughter or a friend at camp, you probably have seen an original painting created under the guidance of Camp Betsey Cox’s longtime Arts and Crafts director, Elaine Knight Griffith. Imagine a screened painting studio with summer breezes wafting over eight girls experiencing Elaine’s unique learn-to-paint instruction. In just two activity periods, masterpieces emerge, much to the delight of our young artists.
And that’s not all she has offered over her many years at camp. Need a costume for the July 4th costumed dinner? Elaine can help make you into a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream cone, a forest fern, or even into a walking version of Vermont’s Long Trail. Your imagination is, of course, unlimited, and her creative talents are also just that. Elaine and her staff offer new activities weekly along with simply creating time and space for campers to initiate their own projects. From the most sophisticated drawing and painting projects to simpler craft projects, girls pick and choose or plan their own creative work.
Elaine began her camp experiences as a Sugarbush camper. Returning year after year, she made fast friends and gained many skills that have formed her character. She earned a spot in the camp’s leadership program and then left camp for a while to marry and raise a family. When her two sons were old enough to enjoy their own time in a camp setting, Elaine returned to take a position at Camp Sangamon. After a few summers there, when her daughter reached camp age, they moved across the horse pasture to take up work at Betsey Cox. The rest is a delightful history!
In the off-camp seasons, Elaine teaches painting to interested people across generations. This led her to create an online instructor training program to allow other artists to learn the special method she developed that quickly gets people painting. She also is a certified professional herbal healer and enjoys teaching the camp community how to use herbs and find them around us. She loves to laugh, dance and sing and keeps company with a wide range of people. When she can, she travels off and about into the world, always bringing curiosity and interest with her. Her travel journals are works of art and literature!
As we prepared to launch our new Camp Betsey Cox website, we knew Elaine should have a hand in its development. We wanted her positive energy, always reflected in her artwork and her commentary, to infuse the site. As you visit us on line, you’ll see her work throughout. Her pen and ink sketches will give you a sense of who we are, and her drawing of the camp map will tell you exactly where you are as you wind your virtual way to our corner of Vermont.
If you ever want a really good “some-more” and an inspirational evening under the starry Vermont sky, Elaine will welcome you to her front yard fire circle and…you will never be the same again!
