Beth Margolis, 40, is an artist who comes from a family of creative people - her father, Jeff, is an actor and a vocalist; and her mother, Amy, was a longtime violinist in Whatcom Symphony Orchestra. Her grandmothers, sister, cousins and aunts have all had careers built upon professional and prolific artistry.

Margolis grew up in Van Zandt and has lived in Fairhaven for the past dozen years. Her work has been displayed at the Seattle Art Center, The Bagelry, the Mount Bakery, HandPrints, Deming Library's Cornucopia Fair and the Allied Arts Gallery. She finds much of her inspiration in Fairhaven for her paintings, and draws upon material absorbed on trips to Mexico, Costa Rica and Hawaii for her masks and seascapes.

She markets most of her art through her broad selection of greeting cards, which are sold at the Fairhaven Haggen grocery, where she works, and at Everybody's Store in Van Zandt.

She also has competed in the Special Olympics, and received three gold medals for swimming.

Her work will be featured through Dec. 30 in the Deming Library Gallery Holiday Exhibit, along with work by Bellingham artist Vikki Jackson. An artists' reception will be 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26. For more on her work, go to http://www.everybodys.com/Beths_Art/Beths_art.

Question: When did you start creating art?

Answer: Way after high school, probably in 1995, a few years after graduating from Bellingham High in 1992. Once I started living in town, I started taking art classes with Jan Lohr and Rebecca Meloy.

Q: What kinds of art do you create?

A: I've always done a variety of artistic things. Years ago I made masks, and I always like to draw landscapes. I work mostly with soft oil pastels and watercolors. My folks took pictures of my paintings and we made notecards.

Q: When you travel, do you then work from photographs to create your art or do you work from memories of what you saw?

A: Memory! I usually take a sketch pad and pencils with me and then when I'm home I do more detailed work. I did a lot of sketching of masks in Zihuatanejo and seascapes in Huatulco, in Mexico.

Q: How do your teachers inspire you or help you in what you create?

A: They bring me supplies and projects. My most recent teacher is Gabriel Miles, and we have worked on small clay pots and she has helped me with some Hawaiian paintings.

Q: What's your day job?

A: I have been working at the Fairhaven Haggen (which used to be the Fairhaven Red Apple) for 12 years. I enjoy working with all the other people especially Dan Olson and Tracy Crozby, who are the managers; and before that I enjoyed working with Barry Kramer, who was the owner of the Red Apple. There are a lot of close friends around the store. It allows me to make nice new friends.

Q: Where do you create your art?

A: These days I go to Marine Park and Boulevard Park and see the fall trees. I go on a lot of beach walks with my parents. It's nice to get out of my apartment. My studio is in my apartment. It's a studio apartment!

Q: What is fun for you besides art?

A: I ride my bicycle early in the day. I like to take walks and I like to do creative cooking.