A Mother-and-Son Artistic Team

When did you begin studying art?

I had taken art classes here or there before in my school years but never really focused my energy on it.  So, for whatever reason, I had a feeling it was something that I should do for myself and also for my son, Jackson. He and I have been taking lessons side-by-side at the Highland Park Art Academy for the past few years (Jackson on one side of the room kids taking instruction and I on the other side of the studio with Academy owner, Ana Eloisa Soto-Canino, who coaches the adults and is an amazing instructor and artist). We take classes together each week and it has turned into a nice routine for us . . . our special time together.

What is your inspiration?

I have a few different sources of artistic inspiration. My father is a watercolorist specializing in outdoor New England scenes. Each time we visit him in New Hampshire, we always enjoy looking at his work, which takes you right into the scene of a loon taking flight from a lake or a moose peering out of the woods or the owl that landed on his back porch and stared into the house with this haunting look. My mother-in-law was also a very gifted artist and she produced beautiful work in every media. Unfortunately, she died of breast cancer before I ever had a chance to meet her. Her artwork hangs in our home and the homes of all of our family. I feel like I have gotten to know her through her art and like she has somehow been encouraging me to take a leap into the unknown and try it for myself. My mother is also a source of inspiration - she was a school teacher for 30 years and always encouraged creative-thinking / play and an appreciation for the arts in our house growing up.

Where can we find you during Junebug?

This is our second year participating in the Junebug ArtFest. Jackson and I  are stationed in front of Boyt Drugstore/Wachovia Bank each Friday evening in June and we are also entering our work into local competitions and are currently in a juried art contest in Piscataway.

How long have you been in Metuchen and what brought you here?

My husband Larry and I have lived in Metuchen for 10 years. We love this community and want to do all that we can to support the arts and carve out a well-rounded life for our son. We are THRILLED to see the community spirit and downtown-foot-traffic that is generated by the Junebug. Thank goodness the weather held out for us last Friday night! And we are also volunteering to help the Forum Theatre with publicity and marketing efforts, because we feel it is so important to support the performing arts, especially with the onslaught of our consumer culture, mega malls, multi-plexes, video games, etc..

What do you do when you aren't creating art?

In terms of my day job, I am a communications consultant for Johnson & Johnson, working with the pharmaceutical division on internal employee communications, leadership and strategy development. Prior to my role with J&J, I worked for a division of Grey Advertising for seven years and prior to that, I worked in the communications department for a nonprofit research think tank in NYC called Catalyst.

How can we buy your work?

Jackson and I have amassed a small collection of artwork and so we decided to photograph it and create a web site to share our art with family & friends and to create a vehicle through which we can sell prints of our work. (You will see Lynda's dad's art on the website as well)