Nearly 60 years of art, community and discovery in Paradise Valley

By Allison Kotzbauer
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Paintings line the walls of Beth Ames Swartz’s Paradise Valley living room, illuminated by gallery-style track lighting.

Her home feels less like a curated space and more like a lifetime of memories and creativity accumulated over nearly 60 years; the kind of lived-in authenticity that cannot be engineered or replicated.

On a side table, a small mountain of CDs and art catalogs teeter beside one another, evidence of decades spent listening, studying and creating. Nearby, ceramic pots made by her grandson sit among the artwork. Her daughter and grandson are both creatives, continuing a legacy that spans generations.

One of her recently reacquired “Firework” pieces, from the defining series she created between 1977 and 1984, glimmers nearby as she reaches for a shoebox sitting on her coffee table.

Inside are dozens of handmade birthday cards from fellow artists and longtime friends, each one celebrating Swartz’s 90th birthday. She flips through them one by one, sharing stories about the people who made them and the decades of friendship behind each note.

The collection says as much about Swartz’s legacy as the artwork hanging around her.

For Swartz, art has always been about more than creating something to hang on a wall. Her life and work are guided by the teachings of Kabbalah, including the belief that giving to others and doing good deeds creates a greater sense of connection.

“If you give love you get it back,” she said.

That philosophy has shaped the way Swartz interacts with her community. For nearly 60 years, the nationally recognized artist has called Paradise Valley home, and beyond her exhibitions and accolades, she has quietly helped shape the Valley’s creative community.

“I tend to find a need in the community and fill it,” she said.

Swartz founded an artists breakfast club that has connected hundreds of artists, hosted neighborhood potlucks for 25 years and encouraged others to see art not simply as something to look at, but as a way to better understand one another.

Behind her home sits Swartz’s studio, a personal oasis filled with natural light, exposed wood beams and artwork spanning decades of her career. The space holds pieces from throughout her life, including many works from her current “Quantum Light” series.

“I think being in Paradise Valley I’ve been very, very lucky to keep this house and have my studio here,” she said. “I think I would have developed very differently if I had lived somewhere else.”

For Swartz, that ability to stay rooted in one place while continuing to create has been part of what has kept her energized throughout her life.

“I just was so busy making art, I didn’t even notice that I was old until I turned 90,” she said.

And Swartz has no plans to stop creating.

Art, she said, has given her a sense of purpose and kept her connected to curiosity and discovery.

“When you make art it’s like you’re traveling on the inner realm. You’re investigating, you’re reading, you’re discovering…it’s not about the outside really its about the inner and I feel like I’m still learning and investigating,” she said. “It keeps me alive.”

Her current collection, “Quantum Light,” reflects that same curiosity while exploring the later stages of life. As she has lost friends and grown older, the work has become a way to process mortality and find meaning in what comes next.

“It’s the age and stage of life. You begin losing your friends and you begin seeing that you have to prepare for the inevitable,” she said. “It’s very comforting for me to do this work.”

Throughout her career, Swartz’s work has reflected not only her own experiences, but the world around her. She said her art encourages people not to dwell on individual struggles, but to look at life from a wider perspective.

“Life is a school,” she said. “We have to be willing to learn the lessons that were taught or we keep repeating the lesson again and again.”

Currently, Swartz’s work is on display alongside that of her daughter, Julianna Swartz’s “Tender Alchemy,” at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition runs through Aug. 23.

Allison Kotzbauer can be reached at akotzbauer@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines

Allison Kotzbauer
Reporter | Paradise Valley

akotzbauer@iniusa.org

Community: I live in central Phoenix and my writing  focuses on Fountain Hills education, and the Paradise Valley and Scottsdale communities. 

Education: I graduated from Arizona State University in May 2026 with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. My studies focused on writing and visual story-telling.  

Random Fact: Growing up I had over 10 pets including 6 cats, 1 dog, 2 hermits crabs, and too many fish to count! 

Hobbies: I like to spend my free time hiking, crafting, cooking, reading, and spending time with friends and family.