Meet Rita Lynne | National Fibers Art Instructor, Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rita Lynne and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rita, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Starting my own businesses has always been in my DNA. Even as a child, I remember putting on plays in our garage and charging the neighborhood pennies to see a play I wrote. Two primary thoughts/visions drive me to develop a business: 1. Filling a need, 2. providing a quality service. The need can be anything from providing home care services (which I have done for over 20 years) to teaching and creating unique fiber art nationally. (For more than 20 years).
Meeting a client need inspires me to offer services with a personal and customized touch. Providing a quality service helps me make the commitment to go above and beyond 100%.
When I connect with the need a customer has expressed, I am tenacious about supporting that customer.
Also, I don’t have any fear about what I can accomplish. It will not work if my business is based on fear. I know what the outcomes can be for each client when I focus on providing what the client needs.
My goal in business is to create a consistent, reliable business offering that inspires me and the potential clients. The strongest thing I keep working on to improve is being humble and listening carefully to what the client needs.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art can best be explained as painting with fabric. I started out as a watercolor artist and sold at fairs, galleries, etc. I am always looking for “another way” to express myself through art. That’s when I felt right at home adding fabric art to my business. What sets my work apart from other fiber artists is my dimensional fiber art pieces. I am known for my art vessels, along with my 3-dimensional floral art works and “floating” art pieces where the front of the art piece actually floats away from the art background. Presently, no other fiber artist is developing these techniques or designs.
Professionally I am established as a professional fiber artist and national instructor because of the different art forms I create and teach to others.
You asked me how I got to where I am today professionally, and it is not an easy question to answer because the journey was a curved, sometimes undeveloped path to follow. My belief in my abilities to create and share along with my ignorance of not knowing there was a path I was supposed to follow to get to where I am actually has resulted in my successes today. I trusted when opportunities seemed to come before me, even when I did not know how to do the next art form.
I remember a perfect example of how my intuitive curiosity kept me on this path. When my children were young, I saw a newspaper ad from the local television station looking to interview talent for commercials. I wanted the experience of doing an interview. That was my inspiration. I have no thoughts about getting the job, I just wanted to experience doing the interview. Well, they offered me the job. Probably because ‘what you see is what you get’ and I was believable.
There are many valuable lessons I learn along my path. Most importantly I trust myself and the opportunities that come my way. I also believe in myself and know how to keep good boundaries around self-development and business growth.
I hope people who come to know me, and my brand will continue to be excited about what they learn from me when I teach. I want to always express my appreciation for the opportunities to help them transform and develop their own talents. I want their stories to be expressed through my commission pieces and through my teachings.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Here is an example of a one-week itinerary I would put together for a visitor coming to Denver/metro. A 2-day trip downtown to the Art Museum, taking in any special exhibits. Having lunch and dinners at Larimer Square where the choices are fantastic. Included in the downtown exploration would be the theater area and any shows currently available. I would seek out the specialty stores that promote local businesses. And make sure our outdoor sculptures are included in a tour of downtown art.
Next would be an all-local two-day shopping exploring trip. We would experience local foods, local art, local residents. I gravitate toward Littleton downtown and the small-town environment, so I would make sure my guests experience why our little, small town metro areas mean so much to us. Then, next day it’s off to Red Rocks for a hike, a great meal in Morrison and a concert at Red Rocks to finish the evening filled with over the top memories.
A visitor can’t come to Colorado and not experience the mountains, right? So off we go for lunch in Georgetown, supporting the local shops in Georgetown and sharing the history of Georgetown, Next, we hike near Breckenridge, and spend the night at Copper Mountain resort, The night ends with an outdoor dinner under the mountain stars and to complete the night we relax in a hot tub again under the gorgeous Colorado mountain sky.
On our second day in the mountains, we hike, or bike and explore Leadville, Dillon Lake or Keystone. The night is set for relaxing by a fire, with a book or some good music. It is time to reflect on the experiences of the past few days. Time to journal the memories.
Heading back to Denver the next day, we stop at Idaho Springs for some local beer, lunch and mountain shopping. The Indian Springs is our last mountain experience where we have a private hot springs pool and mud bath experience. We take the scenic route from Idaho Springs over Squaw Pass into Evergreen as out last mountain visit before returning to Denver.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a Shoutout to my family for always supporting my ideas and adventures. My parents, no longer here, were dedicated to my independent way of seeing and being in the world. My three children are my anchors to life’s value and intention. They are my inspirations for being more each day and being excited to face another day to learn something new.

The Impressionist artists have always been in my heart. I devour everything I can about the men and women impressionist painters and how they saw the world.

Website: www.RitaLynneStudio.com

Instagram: @Rita Lynne Studio

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