Naomi Thornton
Missoula, MT
Exhibit Year: 2021-2022
About the Artist
Naomi Thornton is a local Missoula grandmother, psychotherapist, and mixed media artist. In her art and in life, she explores the juxtaposition of these roles. She was a longtime director at Women’s Opportunity and Development, a local feminist organization, working to address issues of poverty, discrimination, and injustice. Naomi is a self-taught artist who always felt the strong pull to create with her hands and her heart. She started painting with acrylics at age 50 with a focus on large paintings of women using photographs for inspiration. As she turned 60, she shifted to small scale collage 5” x 8” cards that serve as a tool for self-exploration.
Artist Statement
This collage is a piece from a recent series “Healing Our Inner Child”. In this series, I am interested in the relationship of children to the natural world, a focus in my art that started with the onset of the Pandemic. As a grandparent, it may be my way of dealing with anxieties, not just about the COVID virus but also about climate change and the future of the planet. In my works, I envision children being comfortable, safe, and immersed in their environments.