Betty Helen Longhi

Betty Helen Longhi passed away peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by family, on June 25, 2025 in Lexington, NC, after a long struggle with dementia. The eldest child of Paul R. and Betty B. Johnson, Betty Helen was born on December 12, 1937, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is survived by her husband, Tommy Winnett, her children, Jon Longhi (Jenny), Michael Longhi (Martha), Jennifer Longhi, grandchildren Phoebe and Matthew, and her sisters, Laura Zeller and Kay Meserve.

Betty was a renowned metalsmith and craftswoman. Through her company, Fluid Expressions in Metal, she participated in American Crafts Council Fairs and was represented in galleries throughout the country. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, she also attended Cranbrook Academy of Art. Betty was a Distinguished Member of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, and received a Delaware State Arts Council Fellowship funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. Betty Helen was a beloved instructor, teaching workshops in the United States and Canada, including at the Haystack School of Craft, Parsons School of Design, University of Delaware, Penland School, and Maryland Institute of Art, among other distinguished venues. Her writing and metalwork appeared in Metalsmith magazine, and she co-authored Creative Metal Forming, the first major textbook on synclastic and anticlastic metal forming. Her artistry honored nature’s essence, and her nuanced understanding of light and form imbued her work with a striking visual poetry. Betty Helen Longhi also took joy in sailing and dancing, and will be missed by all who knew her. A memorial gathering is being planned.

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