Think differently, and extraordinary will follow. Artist Lynn Mari Blair finds inspiration in everyday objects, throw-away items, and stuff that seems to have no potential. In Lynn's creative journey, it's all just raw material for the next extraordinary idea. Growing up in a small town on a lake in Wisconsin, Lynn's family didn't need to go far to drop a letter at the post office, pick up groceries for dinner, attend school, duck into a movie, and find friends to ice skate or water ski with. The fish were actually available for the Friday night Fish Fry right out the back door in the lake. "My childhood was naïve and innocent; everyone on our short neighborhood street had children the same age and plenty of adults to watch over the crazy adventures and outings on lazy summer days."
Things would change once Lynn completed high school and college with a focus on criminal justice and healthcare. She departed from the small community of her youth and took off for the larger world of business in the big city. "Oh, what a learning curve I had to negotiate when I first entered the outside world to create a career." A few valuable things Lynn learned growing up were the value of intentional action, observing details in the environment, negotiating relationships, and respecting differences. Beautiful results can come from found items when a vivid imagination is applied. Lynn's philosophy is, "Everything is art: a piece of furniture, a blooming flower, a beautifully constructed dress, even a great haircut.” It's all art to her.
Lynn reflects on her childhood and credits her grandmother with the roots of this philosophy. "My interest in using my hands to create lovely objects started when I was young and visiting my grandmother. She would provide me with a coffee can of buttons and a shoestring with instructions on how to string the buttons on the shoestring to create a necklace." The process developed a realization with Lynn that she could gather various items and create something different to be admired as a gift. However, her creative ability and keen eye for detail took the form of a career as a registered nurse, which she defines, “as art as caring.” Lynn worked in various high-level executive jobs in the healthcare industry, from working with investors to help a healthcare company go public on Wall Street to starting a licensed nursing program in California and eventually retiring in 2024. Lynn settled in Scottsdale, Arizona, to begin her next creative chapter.
Today, Lynn provides personal patient advocacy services based on her almost 40 years of career experience. Her focus is to assist others navigating the healthcare continuum to achieve the best possible outcomes for themselves and their families. She also provides Aging at Home Safety Assessments, where she evaluates a client's home and property for adjustments to keep the client in their home as long as possible. In addition to her extended career in healthcare, Lynn has maintained her interest in her creative side.
Lynn's goal is to establish an Art as Therapy Education Center. "Art is a diversion from pain for many people; it is a mechanism to be and feel creative; it also helps people with coping mechanisms, improves self-esteem, and reduces stress." Lynn is actively pursuing opportunities to teach art classes for all ages to grow her program into the broader community across the United States and internationally. Currently, Lynn works from her commercial studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. However, she also considers "everywhere on Earth" to be her studio space. Anywhere she can bring fabric, lace, buttons, thread, hand stitching, rusty metal, paper, broken jewelry, etc., together into a beautifully created form.
Artist Lynn Mari Blair is a member of the Sonoran Arts League, Ground Floor Artists, and PaperWorks. She exhibits with the Sonoran Arts League and Cave Creek Collective in Cave Creek, Arizona, the Holland Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the Ground Floor Artists in Surprise, Arizona. Lynn Mari Blair is part of a new breed of artists who understand the importance of making the old new again and the value of the arts in our everyday lives and cultures.
Email: lynnblair@aol.com
Website: www.etsy.com/shop/lynnmariblair
