Meet Lynn Shaffer

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lynn Shaffer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Lynn, so excited to have you with us today and we are really interested in hearing your thoughts about how folks can develop their empathy? In our experience, most folks want to be empathic towards others, but in a world where we are often only surrounded by people who are very similar to us, it can sometimes be a challenge to develop empathy for others who might not be as similar to us. Any thoughts or advice?

Ever since I was a child, I have had an acute awareness of the feelings of those around me. Some people have thrown out the word empath, but I feel as though I am just “tuned in” to the world outside myself. As a child, it wasn’t always a good thing. I have a sister who is 18 months older than me. She had a very challenging relationship with my mom. She was physically and mentally abused. Even as I write this, my heart hurts for her. Her pain became my pain even though I was treated well by my mother. This struggle was revealed during a cranial sacral therapy session years ago. I cried like I’ve never cried before.
I am now 63 years old and as I look back, I believe that those early years were the foundation of my empathy for others. It has helped me to navigate the challenges in my life by understanding why people may behave the way that they do. Even with my mother., I have come to understand her inner struggles that went unresolved. I often wonder if she recognized her own pain from her childhood that drove her to do such awful things to my sister. I don’t give her a pass for what she did, but I feel compassion for the turmoil that lived inside of her.
Understanding other’s stories or being able to feel their heart, has fueled my work as an artist. That’s why I love when someone connects with my work. Our hearts meet at that moment. It feels like magic to me every single time. And I am in awe!

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My “professional” life was quite unremarkable or perhaps nonexistent. I married young and had two children within the first 5 years. I had planned to go to college for art. My high school art teacher Sister Catherine was very encouraging. But when I interviewed with Professor Vullo to gain acceptance into the art program, he told me that “I was not good enough”. I can still hear the words in my head to this day.
Fast forward through a tumultuous marriage, three children, divorce and remarriage. I worked very nondescript jobs that allowed me to be present in my kids lives. I loved being a mom! I still do to this day. I took raising my children very seriously. I knew full well that I was helping to shape who they would become. My personal growth was on pause for decades and it seemed ok.
It was in 2020, during the COVID pandemic, that my friend, Hope, suggested we do a 100 day project while we were isolated. She was doing photography. I was at a loss. She suggested that I look up Iris Scott, a professional finger painter. I was intrigued by her work but Professor Vullo’s words still replayed in my head. I convinced myself that if I didn’t use a brush, no one would know that I wasn’t good enough. I attempted finger painting and would post my work on social media. People began asking me to paint something for them…a pet, a special vacation photo. They even paid me for my work! WHAT???? This is crazy! At this point in my life, I began to tap into the artist who had been hibernating for over 40 years. The flood gates had been opened and now I was free to explore a world that I thought was lost forever. I even decided to purchase brushes because finger painting was difficult especially on a small scale.
My original monicker of Custom Finger Painting became Art n Soul. I painted everyday and then explored other mediums. A fellow artist once told me that I was one of the most prolific artists he had ever met. I just imagine a dam holding back water and then when the flood gates are finally released, the water churns with an unimaginable furry. That’s what it felt like to me. I would wake up at 3 in the morning with an inspiration and creep quietly into our guest room to paint. My soul was on fire and I didn’t want to squelch the flames. I had never felt more alive!
After quarantine had ended I began showing my work. I was a guest artist at the Tarpon Art Guild and then became a member. I learned so much from the other artists and a platform to show my work. While at the guild, I used my art to raise money for orphans in the Central African Republic. We had an auction of my work and raised enough to give 50 children food and an education . I had found my purpose! Art was my voice to connect with others and a vehicle to exact positive change in our world. What a gift I was given at a time when I thought life was slowing down. I was just getting started!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I believe that my own internal resilience has helped me navigate the hills and valleys of life. I know that I have been blessed with a good life and some people are not as fortunate, but I have had my share of dark days spent in the “valley” of life. I have adopted an attitude of believing that every condition is temporary. Like the weather, it will eventually change. I also developed problem solving skills so that I could help myself shorten those chapters of my life that seemed filled with despair. When you believe that you are the author or maybe coauthor of your life story, you think of yourself less as a helpless victim and more like the super hero who overcomes adversity.
Don’t get me wrong, I have hit bottom more than I would like to admit. When my children were young, we lived in a bad part of town. Drug deals and wild packs of dogs were just outside our door. But inside, I created a safe haven for my kids, full of chocolate chip cookies and Cookie Monster birthday cakes. The kids never knew we were in real trouble. Our car was repossessed. Our gas was shut off and I occasionally looked through the cushions of my couch for money for milk and bread. But I was confident this would not last. This wasn’t the end of my story and it was making me stronger.
Now before you start sewing me a super hero cape, I need you to know another aspect of maneuvering my life’s pitfalls. I knew that I was never alone. I had a loving family that helped when they could. When I divorced, my parents watched my children so that I could keep my head above water. I had friends and coworkers that each played their part in building my confidence and sense of well being. And I have always had my faith, where I am never afraid to drop to my knees and ask God for guidance. I know that everyone may have a different spiritual foundation, but I firmly believe that our spirits/souls/higher selves are our guidance systems and our connection to each other.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

As I age, I find my husband and I wrestle with the feeling of being irrelevant. We are no longer working or raising our children. Our kids are spread all over the country and have busy lives of their own. My art has helped me stay connected with the people in my life and has helped to ignite new relationships. I recently began a project that I call Art for Everyone. I have tweaked my social media and developed a new website. The concept is to step away from the practice of trying to market and sell my art. That was process was becoming more like a job. . I have decided that in my short artistic life, it is the creating art and connecting through that art, that brings me joy. Art was meant to be shared and life was not meant to be lived alone.
I imagine my life as an artist as a circle. I get inspiration for art. I create the artwork. I share it with the world and someone somewhere feels what I felt. I give them the artwork and we connect. We have closed the circle and now I can repeat the process again and again. Along the way, I may find opportunities to donate my work to help a good cause. And if someone insists on paying me for my work, I have decided to pay it forward and donate it to the Hand in Hand project that helps the orphans in the Central African Republic.
I don’t need to be a professional artist and I have the utmost respect for artists that make a living through their work. It’s not easy but it does make the world a more beautiful place.
For me art is a privilege that I’ve been given late in life and it gives my life purpose. It has started good conversations and forged new friendships and who knows what adventures will fill the coming chapters. I am just going to approach each day with an open heart and mind. Hoping that with each new painting begins that magical circle that in the end completes me. That’s my objective now, connecting art and soul.

Contact Info:

• Website: HTTPS://lynnshaffersart.com
• Instagram: Artnsoul143
• Facebook: Art for everyone