Flora Focus #1: Bethany Holderness
Welcome to a new series on Thornwyld called Flora Focus! I'm very proud to announce this series and really excited to show these folks off. These new series will be designed to increase the visibility of our awesome community members. Flora Focus in particular will feature in on artists, designers, sculptors, filmmakers, and photographers. This series is for creatives in our community at large!
The first Flora Focus is about the creative mind behind Stomachache Artistry,
Bethany Holderness.
Based in my home county of Brazoria County, Texas, Bethany has been making some waves with her work lately. I was first made aware of her through a few mutual friends and acquaintances. She is my guitar tech's partner, and she's done some photo/commission work for my band member's family. I stumbled upon her pages on social media, and I was immediately very impressed with the personality and uniqueness of her work. A talented photographer and artist, Bethany is preparing for her graduation, with a Bachelors in Fine Arts (Studio Concentration). I got in contact with her, and she spent some time graciously answering a few of my questions.
[On her origins]:
I’m 23, and I live at home with my family in my childhood house (when I’m not at college). Growing up, I really enjoyed writing. I wrote a lot of short stories, especially in my early teens. I devoured books—sometimes reading 1,000+ page books within a weekend (Brandon Sanderson fans will understand). The stories I wrote were generally pretty cheesy and obviously written by a kid, but I feel pretty confident in saying that the themes/storylines I would create had a lot of depth. They were also often violent, with the main character I had running throughout what I wrote being a serial killer. I saw her as I saw myself, just reimagined as a 23 year old with the short black hair and coolness that I wished I could have at 14. There were themes of romance, distress, and dark subjects (death, suicide). As a kid I didn’t really understand what I was writing, but I knew something was wrong with me, and this was an outlet for all of the grief I was experiencing.
As a teenager, I entered a crescendo of mental illness. I was facing dangerous levels of treatment-resistant depression, panic disorder and clinical anxiety. I was later diagnosed with BPD, which I can now see as the cause of my intense emotions as a child, and my distress as a teen. I grew up with anorexia, which became more severe with time. I struggled with self-injury, constant distress, and dangerous levels of self-loathing that was linked to an abusive friendship, which caused a lot of damage. Coming out of that was really hard. Anorexia was a nightmare for me. I just wanted to hide, always, and the only time that I remotely felt excited or pleased was seeing my weight drop lower each time I stepped onto the scale. On my 17th birthday I weighed 90lbs, and I still continued to lose weight. I made a miraculous full recovery, but I still live with the aftermath of the damage done to my body.
As difficult as it may be to digest that much information, I do feel that it’s relevant to my art. I haven’t ever been shy. I’ve been anxious and afraid or had times I don’t feel like speaking, but I don’t believe I’ve ever been a shy person. I’m a very spiritual person, too. I grew up in the Church of Christ with New Testament teachings and Christian morals from a lot of loving people. I know that not everyone is comfortable sharing their hardships, but I am. I believe that is a gift, and that I am charged to make use of it. I try to speak up for those who need an advocate and normalize life and treatment with the hope that it makes someone feel safer or braver in their own experiences. I have a very strong sense of justice, I always have. It actually got me into trouble fairly often growing up. I’m generally not afraid of initiating confrontation, I’m a firm believer in the value of communication. That’s a huge part of what my art is: Communication.
[On her creative channels]:
First, my branding of Stomachache Artistry stems from my creative process. I deal with a lot of anxiety, which makes my stomach hurt. But it also has led to the majority of my work and the purpose behind creating. My spider logo is a form of embracing my psychosis, which causes me to see lots of spiders during intense anxiety. It’s my own way of turning my pain into purpose.
I grew up taking dance classes—from the time I was about 2 years old, up until my senior year of high school. That was a big deal to drop out of dance before I could finish my senior year. But between my health issues and the trauma I was in the midst of, it no longer brought me joy. I would sit out of almost every class, either because I was physically too weak (from anorexia), too panicked, or overcome with distress/depression. I felt like I was letting people down, while also feeling how my peers had moved on from me, even after all the years of sharing classes. That was really tough. A year later I ended up returning to dance. I was never very technically skilled, but I’ve been told I can command a stage, and I can convey emotions very well. I went on to participate in a few more performances, my “comeback” solo performance being a very raw and painful story, and my “finale” the following year expressed stronger growth, self-acceptance, and healing. Dance was definitely a strong pillar in forming my creativity and emotional expression.
That’s something that, now, is very difficult for me. I’m not physically well enough to dance like I used to. I have Narcolepsy Type 1, and severe fatigue and weakness with it. But I’ve leaned very deeply into art as an expression. During the pandemic, I made countless pieces of art. I would get up for the day, go sit at my dining table where I kept all of my junk spread out, and I would just paint or draw all day. I made over 200 tiny Polaroid sized paintings between late 2020 and early 2021, and I sold most (if not all of them) for $1 each at a coffee shop. However, that art was mostly superficial. It helped me cope with time, but I didn’t start making more meaningful pieces until 2022, when I was 19.
These days I usually lean towards drawing, or photography. Photography was a big part of my recovery and self-acceptance journey. I took pictures of everything, starting with my iPhone and later progressing to a hand-me-down Pentax DSLR that I still refer to as “Ol’ Clunker”. I was completely self-taught, I honestly didn’t even bother with trying to find YouTube tutorials or anything, I just kind of figured it out blindly. In Spring 2025 I took a Digital Photography class at university, and that was a good boost. Although, by that time I had mostly figured things out enough to have good control. My partner got me a really beautiful Nikon D7500 in December 2024, and that’s what I shoot almost everything on now. I’ve gotten to do some very incredible work. I’ve photographed engagement, wedding, senior/graduate, concert, dance performance, portrait, conceptual imagery, and more.
Photography, in my mind, is how I visualize value. If it’s something worth remembering, take a photo. We have so much that is easily accessible in memory keeping. I often feel awkward or sort of embarrassed to take pictures of everything—using my phone to take pictures of my friends doing mundane things, pictures of myself that I don’t even intend to post. But when time passes, that is what I can look back to and see those moments again. I would love to have more photos of my great grandmother. I wish I had a million pictures of my mom as a kid, or my late aunt who I never met. In my photography, I started out taking pictures of flowers, the ducks at the park, and sunsets. Eventually, I progressed to taking photos of myself also. Finally, after that sort of makeshift exposure therapy, I started seeing myself as valuable too. I also owe a lot of thanks to my therapist, who trained me in multiple therapy types to be able to manage my mental distress, even before I was willing to put in the work. She really made a life-changing difference for me.
With drawing, I really feel that I get to release the emotions that sort of suffocate me. I naturally have a sort of “ugly” art style. But that’s authentic to me. It’s difficult trying to sell my work, because (in the area I’m from), people don’t want to buy strange or macabre art like what I do. They want longhorn cows in a field or something with bluebonnets (generally speaking). Those things are great, but they’re not mine. It’s a very niche environment that would find my art as something that would be worth their money, and that’s okay. My photography, too, is a very unusual style. I naturally lean towards photos that are full of rich colors with an old filmy, sort of space-y type of atmosphere. But that also means I offer a very unique photography experience, rather than the standard issue sunny-white photos or a crunchy yellow saturation.
I’m very inspired by music. Growing up in the Church of Christ, we sing worship songs every Sunday. My church doesn’t use instruments, some Churches of Christ do, but mine has always been a more traditional congregation. So from the time I was a baby, I learned how to use my voice as a form of worship. That type of physical/spiritual connection is still with me. I hope to make progress on a back-burner music project sometime. Still, I often listen to music throughout the day. I live alone at college, so I drive my ESA cat a little crazy with all my singing. But I feel connected, I feel like I’m being held by something higher than just what I feel in my head. A lot of my art has been inspired by music. Silent Planet especially tends to push me into creativity. My poetry and prose often stem from movement experienced from songs.
[On her most recent piece]:
Medusa was really special to create, truly. I met the Cliftons at Kylie’s wedding, meeting them for the first time when I was hired to do photography. I had met Mason once before at AWR’s show in June, but even at that, we didn’t really get the chance to talk. So all that they really knew about me was from the photos I did at that show. But their family was so loving and so encouraging to me. Christi has said multiple times now that I’m part of the family. That really just blows me away, having that kind of joy and love shared because of something I created.
When Christi asked me for the Medusa commission, she said that I had full creative freedom with it. I know the modern symbolism that Medusa stands for, so I was especially driven to make this piece elegant, but with that same solemn feeling of survival. At first, I had a concept with lots of neon colors and flared snakes. In the end, I decided on a black/white/gold palette, and a sort of melancholy tone to her expression. I paired it with a pink floral fabric inside of a gold frame, really trying to get that sense of beauty and survival.
That theme of survival was the most crucial part of the piece to uncover. I played around with a design and eventually decided it just wasn’t the right energy. With my initial idea of bright colors and striking visuals, as much as I think it had good potential, it didn’t encapsulate the entirety of that strength and exhaustion and unspoken words that comes with survival. I don’t know everyone’s story, but the symbolism Medusa holds helped me know what she may carry for people.
I think it fits perfectly into my portfolio. I have somewhat of a habit for drawing similar face characteristics. I usually go for big, eccentric eyelashes, circles on the cheeks, prominent eyes. Christi’s Medusa definitely fits into my style. It’s a drawing that is very “me”, with the frame and florals and gold touches really exaggerating parts of my styles that I’ve always loved to see.
[On what's next for her]:
I’m really hoping that I’ll be preparing for graduation in a year from now. I’m supposed to graduate in Spring 2028, so it’s coming up quickly. I’m studying for a Bachelors in Fine Arts (Studio Concentration). After this semester (Fall 2026), I’ll have completed my Psychology Minor. In Spring 2026, I completed my Certification in Women’s & Gender Studies. My eventual goal is to proceed into Grad school (Masters in Psychology) and LPC training to work as an Art Therapist.
I’ve always been very ambitious, but I’ve grown to understand my own limitations, and how to take setbacks and changes with grace. If it’s meant to be, then it will be. I really would love to be making more commission artwork right now, or another photography job. So I’m looking for work! I love making art and making people see the value in themselves that photos can help to cultivate.
[Fun facts and final notes]:
If you want a fun fact, I have synesthesia! It’s a condition that makes it where I feel multiple sensory perceptions at once. For example, I can feel words, I can smell memories, I feel music very deeply, I feel physical discomfort from certain tastes, and I am very disturbed by the sound of velcro. It’s a pretty cool “party trick”, being able to point to where I feel words. But it also sounds completely made up, so some people might be a bit skeptical. The way I found out I have it was pretty awkward. I made a comment about something related to it at Thanksgiving dinner with my partner’s family. Next thing I know, everyone is looking at me weird and it led to me doing extensive research. But synesthesia is such a booster to being able to create. When I’m doing photo sessions, I usually will walk around the area to hear and feel the space so I can know how I want to work with it.
Beyond that, I want to say thank you! Having my voice heard, sharing my story, and having a space to share my work is such a joy for me. I’m really happy to have this opportunity. The world needs genuine and authentic community, especially among artists of all kinds. I think everything we do is a form of art. Embracing our humanity, our messes, our kindness, our ability to be bad at things, finding our comfortable places and expanding them. It’s so beautiful.
Thanks so much to Bethany for making wonderful art and contributing to our community. Next time you have a creative need, reach out to her for quality photography or artwork with real human depth. You can find her various links peppered throughout this article or all of them here.
Hello human! Thanks so much for reading the first Flora Focus, made by humans FOR humans. This will be an ongoing series. If you're interested in being featured, please reach out!
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