Mrs. Burnham: A lady of Art

By: Abby Richwine

Lynne Burnham is the new art teacher here at Mcloughlin High School. She wasn’t always planning to be an art teacher, instead she went to Shoreline College and earned an associate’s degree in 1991 for Graphic Design.

Later, she decided to attend Boise State University for BA in Art Education in 2004 and went on to earn a master’s degree in educational tec. Her first teaching job was at Vallivue High School District near Boise. After working at Vallivue, she decided to move again, to Walla Walla, teaching art to home-schooled kids. Now that she’s at Mac-Hi, her favorite part of teaching here is bonding with the students and helping them reach their full potential.

Her students talk about how she calls the classroom “Their classroom” and how excited she is to become close to each and every one of them. One of her students, Maddie Edwards says, “She is a very talented and creative person.” Mrs. Burnham loves to help others when needed and works to understand her students. She even puts on her students’ taste in music like Justin Bieber, despite what she would rather be listening to, such as country.


She truly loves to help them work hard and have fun drawing hands and expressing lines! But it’s not just her students she loves; she also has a young kitten at home named Tiger, AKA: kitty-kitty, fat cat. She also has a big personality to go along with her big heart.“I would jump onto a plane to New Zealand. I’ve always been fascinated by the beauty in their mountains and culture.”


Her favorite painting is Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh. She spoke about the story and attraction of the painting draws her to love his work. The art speaks to her like it always has.“I started drawing at a young age. But then I grew to enjoy many other forms.” Her favorites are watercolor, painting, and sculptures. When she is not concentrating on art, her hobbies include photography, gardening, and altered art paintings and books.

One of her students, Maddie Edwards said “She is a talented and creative person.” Many of her other students have said the same, and told about how she calls the classroom, their classroom, and that the supplies are their supplies. She is overall a very kind, and amazing person.