We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lynn Throckmorton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lynn, thanks for joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?
As an administrator working with scientists I learned how to listen and hold conversations with diverse personalities. To be an effective communicator, you must care, you must listen. That training became part of my core being. As President of our non-profit, members know I care….I listen…..I find solutions.
Lynn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Five years ago a group of my friends decided to learn how to paint. We became the “She Shed Painters” meeting once a week with a true artist as our teacher. We discovered we needed more space so we all joined the Hemet Valley Art Association. We no longer were “She Shed Painters,” as we were now members of a real gallery in the historic area of Hemet, CA. There we attended classes, demonstrations, and workshops. While I took a year of art in college, I had not picked up a paintbrush in many years, so becoming an artist was my focus. I discovered what I could do and what I could not do. Art is a skill, and as I’ve learned, it takes muscle memory to grow the skill.
In the five years as a member, I returned to my core ability as an Administrator at a weapons reasearch laboratory in the Bay Area. I joined the board of directors, became a mentor to members, and shared my experiences finetuning processes. I learned that I am an abstract artist, I do not color within the lines, and that I have a great imagination. I have taken my motto “don’t tell me no, show me how” and helped create a supportive atmosphere at a gally with over 160 diverse members. I’m just that little kid in first grade who was handed her first box of colors.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Diversity, equality, and inclusion are the core for success in all of the world, and specifically in the world of art. Art is personal. What I do pleases me. What I do challenges me. What I put on canvas comes out of my heart. One size does not fit all. Just look at the diverse art being created by our youth. Computers……cameras……paint brushes………clay……..all shapes, colors……and they all come from a person’s soul and heart. It expresses who they are.
To to go a gallery and be told that only “fine art” is it…..not in today’s world. Look around at the schools and colleges……diversity is represented in many shapes, forms, and sizes.
As President of a growing gallery, I welcome young artists, old artists, handicapped artists, novice artists. A six year old artist has as wonderful an imigination as a watercolor master. The art by our Hispanic members may differ from the art by a member from Japan, who is 95.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Most of my art that I’ve created since I picked up that paintbrush as a “She Shed Painter” is hanging all over the Unites States. I never sell my work, it is a gift. I ask folks to make a donation somewhere in their world in support of art…..performing and creative. Pass it forward. With a degree in Organizational Development from the University of San Francisco, I discovered I am a political painter. I am deeply moved by social and political challenges in the world. My message will live on long after I turn to house dust. “911” will hang in Show Low, Arizona. “Ukraine Sunflowers” will hang in Chico, California. “Peace” is a theme I put on canvas over and over, with hopes it will touch the hearts of voters forever after I’m gone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hemetvalleyart.com
- Instagram: Hemet Valley Art Association
- Facebook: Hemet Valley Art Association
