Lincoln attorney's paintings to be shown at a weekend art show (2024)

Lori Thomas knew she would eventually return to art. It had always been her haven. Her quiet place. Her escape.

It just took time.

Sometimes, life gets in the way of our wants and our needs. In Thomas' case, life's successes — her achievements — slowed down her return.

After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a double major — English and philosophy with a minor in mathematics (yes, numbers and letters co-exist harmoniously in her brain) — Thomas earned her law degree.

Now she's a wife. A mother of two. An attorney. And, as the chief operating officer of theNebraska Horsem*n’s Benevolent and Protective Association, she is overseeing the construction of the new Legacy Downs at WarHorse Lincoln race track.

And, eventually, her art, the thing that mattered so much to her while growing up on a farm 12 miles outside of Niobrara, reentered her life.

On Friday, about eight of Thomas' paintings will be on display in a show at the Miller Grell Law Group, 221 S. Ninth St. It's not her first gallery show, but this one has her more excited than usual.

Describing that excitement is Thomas' challenge, she admits. There's the thrill that her paintings are being seen by the public. That comes with some vulnerability and a small dose of fear. What if they don't like them, she worries.

But mostly, it's the feeling — relief mixed with exhilaration — that so many hours of hard work are soon to be realized.

"Her art is a perfect expression of the chaos that is going on in her mind," said Mark Grell, who went through undergraduate and law school with Thomas and is hosting Friday's art exhibit in the gallery at his law firm.

Thomas uses a mixture of mediums — paints and printed words, phrases and passages — to create thought-provoking and personalized works.

"Her evolution as an artist has been really interesting, especially her inclusion of hidden words hidden within the pieces," said Lynne McNally, CEO of the Nebraska Horsem*n. "If you look closely, you will see the words of significance."

Her return to art began innocently enough when she and her children did projects at the kitchen table. One day might be painting. Another day it could be making clay figures. Whatever the medium, "there was always an unfolding mess," she said.

Her husband Kevin Thomas would come home and wonder where the family was going to eat dinner that night.

Eventually, she convinced him to turn the home office into an art room for the kids.

"I genuinely thought it was for them," she said.

But it soon became her art room.

McNally owns one of the first pieces Thomas painted when she returned to art.

"The main difference between when she first started and now is that I used to consider her a hidden gem in our community," McNally said. "She is a regionally known artist now and her work is worthy of widespread recognition."

One of Thomas' paintings being shown Friday, titled "Chariots of Margaret" — an 11-foot-long collage of loud colors, phrases and a variety of flowers and lights — features the phrase, "It takes time," a recognition that what she creates operates on its own sense of time.

There have been times when her canvas has been blank for days while seeking proper inspiration for commissioned pieces. It's something that, while frustrating — especially when up against a ticking deadline clock — can't be rushed.

Eventually, she figures it out.

That was the case with a piece she was commissioned to create for the front lobby of the April Sampson Cancer Center, 4101 Tiger Lily Road.

For weeks, Thomas struggled with a theme for the piece, which dealt with a heavy subject but needed a way to offer support to the afflicted, their families and anyone else viewing the painting.

"It took me an unbelievable amount of time to paint that painting," she said. "I kept my eyes open and my ears open, looking around for it to fall into my lap, which it always does."

She finally went to an art store and bought some blue crepe paper, which she tore into pieces and arranged on a piece of paper.

"Boom, that's when it hit me," she said.

The Japanese art form kintsugi repairs broken pottery by reassembling the pieces and gluing them together withurushi lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum.

"That was the theme for my painting," Thomas said, which provides a feeling of hope and strength.

"They painstakingly put it all back together again and at the end of this fixing period, you have a one-of-a-kind, absolutely irreplaceable new vase," she said. "And it's stronger than ceramic and it's more valuable because it's full of gold base throughout.

"It's the same with a cancer patient. Although they're going through this hell, they put the pieces back together again and it's going to be stronger and beautiful."

Thomas has walked into theApril Sampson Cancer Center on many occasions, and each time she sees someone staring intently at her painting.

"There's not a better feeling," she said.