Biography
Hand Made
Hand made by highly skilled artisans of the Americas, who use traditional methods, materials, and designs steeped in milenia of cultural history.
Fair Trade
Natural Artist & Latin American Imports offers hand made, fair trade, eco friendly products from throughout Latin America. Specializing in unique natural jewelry, Natural Artist also offers nature art, handbags, scarves, ceramics, wood carvings and more.
Founded, owned, and operated by artist Bethanne Stephan, Natural Artist began in Costa Rica in 1998 with Bethanne's original artwork and handmade jewelry. The business has since grown to offer fair trade goods from artisans and small businesses in eight different Latin American countries.
Natural Artist is now based in the United States and sells both retail and wholesale worldwide.
About the Artist
Bethanne Stephan, born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1974, is a self-taught artist who has been painting and making jewelry since childhood. She began her career as an artist while living in Costa Rica. A lover of nature and a firm believer in conservation, she has been inspired by the incredible magic of the rainforest. Using flora and fauna as the subject of most of her paintings, she works with natural papers and other unique materials. “The paper itself is a work of art that adds life and uniqueness to each piece.”
Most recently Bethanne has added nature photography and digital art to her available works.
You can find her work on the web, at various art shows, and the following fine art galleries.
Gallery La Crosse
Downtown La Crosse, Wisconsin
Past Gallery Displays:
La Crosse Airport
La Crosse, Wisconsin
University of La Crosse
La Crosse, Wisconsin
The Breakwater
Pepin, Wisconsin
Regalame- Si Como No
Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
Regalame 2-No Como Si
Quepos, Costa Rica
The Hummingbird Gallery
Monteverde, Costa Rica
Bromeliad Art Gallery
Monteverde, Costa Rica
AWARDS
6-10-01
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Winnebago Land Fine Art Fair
Outstanding Achievement in Mixed Media
Natural Artist works with independent artisans and small or family owned businesses. Each entity or artist sets their own price for their goods and are completely self employed.
Natural Artist does not employ any labor. Goods are paid for outright. Payment to the artisans is not contigent on our sales.
Of course, the more sales we have the more we can reinvest in bringing beautiful, unique products to you from these incredibly talented artisans and make an even bigger fair trade impact.
Eco Friendly
More than just beautiful...
The products from Natural Artist have been based on an eco friendly concept way before it was cool to be green.
From natural papers, like banana paper, to rainforest seed jewelry and other renewable resources, many materials used in our products are helping to sustain the natural environment. Look for eco information throughout the NaturalArtist.com website regarding each product and what makes them eco friendly. My favorite eco product is the Tagua Jewelry.
We also reuse packing and shipping materials whenever possible.
