This Years Rodeo Poster Artist

The beautiful posters that announce the 51st PRCA Rodeo of the Tehachapi Mountain Rodeo Association this August 15th and 16th are the result of the talent of a local artist, Mrs. Betty Finch. The inspiration for Betty's design for this year's poster resides in her own corral as the bucking horse on the poster is Betty's own Appaloosa. Betty was the talented artist behind our 50-year rodeo poster, which on its release became an immediate collectors item.

Betty Finch was born in Indiana, raised in Mojave, California and currently resides in Tehachapi, California.

Her parents, Robert Shaneyfelt and Margaret Virtue met in art school. Her father taught art for 30 years. As the forth child of nine Betty spent much of her childhood playing in the desert with toys she made using primitive tools, natural clay and plant materials. Betty claims to have inherited her artistic ability and believes her brain was hard-wired from a young age to create using natural materials.

Betty Finch is an avid gardener and specializes in experimenting with hand-trained, manipulated and molded gourds.  This interest is what led her to meet with master gourd trainer, Jim Story of Pendleton Indiana from whom she learned the art of growing gourds in knots, spirals and flat wood molds.

Growing up Betty imitated Lewis Pasteur experimenting with plants and selective breeding.

Betty worked as a Commercial Artist for two years before beginning a 25 year career with the Kern County Sheriff's Department. Her assignments included patrol, Homicide Detective, CSI Unit Supervisor, creating the Computer Forensics Lab, grant writing, 12 years as a SWAT Negotiator, and 15 years as the department composite artist. Betty studied suspect composites at Scottsdale Artist's School and attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, completing the Facial Imaging Course on skull reconstruction.

Betty now devotes her time to generating new flower varieties, raising Appaloosa horses, Border Collie dogs, garden experiments with molded and hand-trained and dyed gourds, and creating fine art with gourds."

"My mission is simple I work in partnership with nature to transform compelling visions into reality." - Betty Finch