lynette hensley biography
Lynette Hensley
Collage artist, Painter, Assemblage sculptor
Lynette Hensley is a native of Southern California. After relocating many times around the eastern half
of the US, she happily became a permanent Washington resident in 1996. Wherever she has lived,
creativity followed. For Lynette, the leap from a creative life to a creative career was in 1979, at
Princeton, New Jersey as a costume maker with the Princeton Ballet. Ultimately, she became a costume
designer for theatre and ballet productions. Her theater background peeks though into the current
paintings and collages as well as the “Actors,” assemblage sculptures made from found objects and
sculpted elements. All are layered with complex ideas and energy, much like working with fabrics and
costume design in a theater setting. As a mixed media artist, everything is game. She uses strong colors
and layers patterns, juxtaposing elements that have a sense of history. Her conceptual focus is on the
nature of character and what it means to reside in this world.
In the studio she feels free to be playful, puckish and experimental. Some of her favorite words to
describe her art play are juxtaposition, pattern, layers, emotion, joy, teasing, solemn, thoughtful,
heartfelt. Art is like a magnifying glass for life; the art may be artifice, but like a good storybook or stage
play, it's also real and true.
Lynette received a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Summa Cum Laude, at Virginia Commonwealth University in
1992 in theater, costume design. She taught costume history at Bauder College in Atlanta Georgia, and
costume construction at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Lynette has participated in local Seattle and Edmonds art studio tours and has won awards in numerous
juried exhibitions in the Pacific Northwest. Her work has been published in art magazines and
publications and is in national and international collections.
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Theatre Costume Design, Summa cum Laude, Virginia Commonwealth Univ, 1992.
_____________________________
Visual Art, Notable Exhibitions
Edmonds Art Festival Juried Galleries, Paintings, Mixed media, Sculpture: Multiple years, 2x prize winner
NW Collage Society NW: Multiple juried shows
Women Painters of Washington: Juried Member Show
Three Artists Show, Lynnwood, Multiple years
Edmonds Art Studio Tour, NEAT Seattle Studio Tour and Arts North Studio Tour (Organizer) Multiple years
Invitational exhibits: June Sekiguchi, Seattle Athletic Club, Habitude Spa, Ballard Art Walk
Phinneywood, Capitol Hill, Vashon, Edmonds Art Walks
Kenmore Art Show: multiple years, multiple prize winner, juror
Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Gallery and City of Shoreline Gallery
Bemis Building Seattle
Seattle Shakespeare Company Lobby Exhibit
Christoff Gallery, Georgetown Seattle
Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, Salem, OR
Edmonds Library Exhibit, Invited by Edmonds Art Festival Foundation
The 6th Bakers Dozen International Collage Exhibit, New Plymouth, New Zealand
International Museum of Collage, Mexico, Permanent collection
ArtColle, the museum and gallery of collage, Sergines, France, Permanent collection
Art Port Townsend: Juror: Jake Seniuk
Costume designer, Freelance 1983- 2001
Design, render, purchase and/or create costumes in collaboration with director/design team. Hire and supervise
teams to build costumes. Various regional ballet and theatre productions.
Edmonds, WA, Atlanta, GA, Richmond, VA, Pittsburgh, PA, Princeton, NJ
Publications
The Poetry Book, Lynette Hensley, Self-published
The Copeland Collection 100+ Collages from the International Exhibition/Exchange
Somerset Legacy Magazine
_____________________________
Awards Received
Northwest Collage Society Award Fall 2023
First place Mixed Media 2023 Edmonds Art Festival
Third Place 3D Sculpture 2017 Edmonds Art Festival
Repurposed Materials Award and Honorable mention 2016 Kenmore Art Show
Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s best of 1992-93 Atlanta Theatre season–costume design
Undergraduate research grant VCU 1992. 19th century fashion plates
First place costume design 1991 Virginia Theatre Association
Organizations
Women Painters of Washington, Northwest Collage Society, Artist Trust, Artist Connect, Edmonds WA
Gallery Representation
Lynn Hanson Gallery
Collage artist, Painter, Assemblage sculptor
Lynette Hensley is a native of Southern California. After relocating many times around the eastern half
of the US, she happily became a permanent Washington resident in 1996. Wherever she has lived,
creativity followed. For Lynette, the leap from a creative life to a creative career was in 1979, at
Princeton, New Jersey as a costume maker with the Princeton Ballet. Ultimately, she became a costume
designer for theatre and ballet productions. Her theater background peeks though into the current
paintings and collages as well as the “Actors,” assemblage sculptures made from found objects and
sculpted elements. All are layered with complex ideas and energy, much like working with fabrics and
costume design in a theater setting. As a mixed media artist, everything is game. She uses strong colors
and layers patterns, juxtaposing elements that have a sense of history. Her conceptual focus is on the
nature of character and what it means to reside in this world.
In the studio she feels free to be playful, puckish and experimental. Some of her favorite words to
describe her art play are juxtaposition, pattern, layers, emotion, joy, teasing, solemn, thoughtful,
heartfelt. Art is like a magnifying glass for life; the art may be artifice, but like a good storybook or stage
play, it's also real and true.
Lynette received a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Summa Cum Laude, at Virginia Commonwealth University in
1992 in theater, costume design. She taught costume history at Bauder College in Atlanta Georgia, and
costume construction at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Lynette has participated in local Seattle and Edmonds art studio tours and has won awards in numerous
juried exhibitions in the Pacific Northwest. Her work has been published in art magazines and
publications and is in national and international collections.
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Theatre Costume Design, Summa cum Laude, Virginia Commonwealth Univ, 1992.
_____________________________
Visual Art, Notable Exhibitions
Edmonds Art Festival Juried Galleries, Paintings, Mixed media, Sculpture: Multiple years, 2x prize winner
NW Collage Society NW: Multiple juried shows
Women Painters of Washington: Juried Member Show
Three Artists Show, Lynnwood, Multiple years
Edmonds Art Studio Tour, NEAT Seattle Studio Tour and Arts North Studio Tour (Organizer) Multiple years
Invitational exhibits: June Sekiguchi, Seattle Athletic Club, Habitude Spa, Ballard Art Walk
Phinneywood, Capitol Hill, Vashon, Edmonds Art Walks
Kenmore Art Show: multiple years, multiple prize winner, juror
Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Gallery and City of Shoreline Gallery
Bemis Building Seattle
Seattle Shakespeare Company Lobby Exhibit
Christoff Gallery, Georgetown Seattle
Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, Salem, OR
Edmonds Library Exhibit, Invited by Edmonds Art Festival Foundation
The 6th Bakers Dozen International Collage Exhibit, New Plymouth, New Zealand
International Museum of Collage, Mexico, Permanent collection
ArtColle, the museum and gallery of collage, Sergines, France, Permanent collection
Art Port Townsend: Juror: Jake Seniuk
Costume designer, Freelance 1983- 2001
Design, render, purchase and/or create costumes in collaboration with director/design team. Hire and supervise
teams to build costumes. Various regional ballet and theatre productions.
Edmonds, WA, Atlanta, GA, Richmond, VA, Pittsburgh, PA, Princeton, NJ
Publications
The Poetry Book, Lynette Hensley, Self-published
The Copeland Collection 100+ Collages from the International Exhibition/Exchange
Somerset Legacy Magazine
_____________________________
Awards Received
Northwest Collage Society Award Fall 2023
First place Mixed Media 2023 Edmonds Art Festival
Third Place 3D Sculpture 2017 Edmonds Art Festival
Repurposed Materials Award and Honorable mention 2016 Kenmore Art Show
Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s best of 1992-93 Atlanta Theatre season–costume design
Undergraduate research grant VCU 1992. 19th century fashion plates
First place costume design 1991 Virginia Theatre Association
Organizations
Women Painters of Washington, Northwest Collage Society, Artist Trust, Artist Connect, Edmonds WA
Gallery Representation
Lynn Hanson Gallery