Meet Kim Lyon

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

Hi Kim, really appreciate your meeting with us today to talk about some particularly personal topics. It means a lot because so many in the community are going through circumstances where your insights and experience and lessons might help, so thank you so much in advance for sharing. The first question we have is about divorce and how you overcame divorce and didn’t allow the trauma of divorce to derail your vision for your life and career.

This experience changed everything for me and was surely the catalyst that put me on the path to where I am today, in more ways than one.

For context, I was on the tail end of recovering from chronic Lyme disease after nearly a decade of illness, and I was on the brink of divorce. I had been receiving treatment in Scottsdale every few months and on this trip I decided to revisit my first passion – painting.

I had never been to an open studio session and I was a bit intimidated. But the artists in the studio, novice and professional alike, were all so friendly and welcoming.

One professional artist in particular was so kind as to give me a few pointers regarding my painting’s value system.

“What’s the lightest light on your painting?” He asked.

“The whites of her eyes,” I assessed.

“Right. But look at the model. What’s the lightest light on her?”

I looked closely, “Her forehead.”

“Right. So we need to fix that.”

So I fixed it.

“Now, what’s the darkest part of your painting?” he asked.

“Her hair,” I concluded.

“Right. But on a human, the darkest dark is always the pupil of the eye. So let’s fix that.”

I fixed that, too.

“So the lightest light and the darkest dark determines your value system. And everything in the painting has to fall within that system,” he explained.

And with that I decided painting was a lot like life.

First, I needed to determine my own life’s value system. What did I value most? And why? What didn’t I value most? And why? This was the first step I took to really own my own choices and actions. My own life.

The divorce was finalized seven months later. As life went on, I learned I that I value my autonomy and my own energy, in addition to valuing compassion and empathy towards others. I value my own passions and the ability to express them through painting, dancing, travel, and learning. It took time, but I grew stronger and more resilient each time I made a choice from my own value system and expressed it outwardly.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

“Hi, Grandma! It’s me, Kim!”

At 97, my Grandma Lyon’s memory and eyesight had faded, so every time I visited, I told her who I was. Normally, she was able to remember me. But on this last visit she couldn’t quite place me.

“You’re my grandma?” My grandma’s piercing blue eyes, the same ones I inherited, looked quizzically into the distance.

“I’m Kim. You are MY Grandma!”

“Kim,” she paused, pointing her finger in the air as she tried to recall why that name rang a bell. “Kim. Yes, I know Kim real well. She goes places and paints things.”

“Yes, Grandma. That’s right, I do.”

Before I had even started my business, I was compelled to travel the world and paint it.

The very first book I read on my own was titled “The Runaway Bunny.” My mom said it was prophetic.

An Indiana native, I have always run away to distant lands to explore, learn, grow, and meet new friends. Then, after coming home to the people and places I love, I continued to relive and process my experiences through painting.

Now an Indiana University Herron School of Art and Design graduate (MFA Visual Communication 2018) and Scottsdale, Arizona resident, I combine my paints and the Adobe Suite to create vibrant, mixed media travel and southwest inspired designs that celebrate the spirit of the people and places that have welcomed and changed me.

In short, this work is my love letter to the world. It is my hope that each design connects us to communal love and respect for this beautiful world and the people in it, both near and far.

I’m thrilled that what started with twelve travel poster designs has grown into three travel poster collections, nearly a dozen limited edition prints, eight wallpaper designs in collaboration with Walls Need Love, and multiple, unique lifestyle products.

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?

When I was a teacher, I developed adaptability. My schedule, room, or even subject changed every year, if not by semester or quarter. Some days, I had to change lesson plans last minute when the internet went down or the copier broke. Maybe I needed to rearrange the entire seating chart or even actual desk arrangements in the five minute passing period. I learned to adjust, think on my feet, and be quick. This has come in handy at art festivals as booth layouts may need to change with every show or weather may disrupt my plans. I love being kept on my toes and the excitement that comes with each unforeseen challenge. I’m never bored!

In design school, I learned to objectively evaluate my designs and fail my way forward. “Everything is research,” my professor said. This has helped me tremendously in a business capacity. There will always be times to pivot, and approaching business and opportunities as iterations has helped me overcome setbacks and (eventually) come to see them as opportunities to try something new.

Growing up, my dad always said “Improve Your Odds.” So I do. I improve my odds of being seen by going to art shows, I improve my odds of succeeding by learning new skills, and I improve my odds of growth by saying yes to opportunities I don’t feel ready for.

So, in order to Improve Your Odds, fail your way forward, and adapt, it’s important just to be open, make strategic choices that fuel growth and opportunity, and, when you fail, acknowledge the disappointment but don’t stay there. Keep moving forward with the next iteration of your venture.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

When I was young I read “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.”

The book has everything I love: museums, adventure, independence, discovery, art.

But the main take away that has stuck with me since I was ten years old was that the main character, Claudia, who had run away from home and escaped to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, didn’t want to return home until she felt “different.” She didn’t want to go back home as the same old Claudia Kincaid.

I won’t disclose how, but she did return home “different.” She had grown, she had learned, she had fundamentally changed because she was open to it.

Now, every time I embark on an adventure, I want to come home different, too. Whether its the Taj Mahal or the Sahara, or just swimming up north in Sedona’s Oak Creek, I want to be open to discovery and come home having learned something and becoming fundamentally different. And that’s what I want to infuse into my designs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kimlyondesign.com
• Instagram: @kimlyondesign

Image Credits

Jared Murray
Deyan Christakiev