Lori dickinson-black
Lori’s first love has always been art. Growing up in Noble, Okla., she loved sketch books, pencils, pens, colored pencils, and art class at Noble Junior High then Noble High School. Teacher Gloria Hill introduced her to Georgia O’Keefe, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Henry Matisse, Claude Monet, Andy Warhol, and Picasso, to name a few.
She majored in agricultural communications at Oklahoma State University and was able to use her artistic talents in graphic design, photography, and videography while pursuing a 25-plus year career in public relations and development. She lead communication and fundraising efforts at Moore Norman Technology Center, the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma State University, the Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, and the Edmond Public Schools Foundation. Her professional efforts were recognized when she was named the 2016 Edmond Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year, the Journal Record’s Oklahoma 2010 class of the Top 50 Women Making A Difference and 40 Under 40.
Lori’s life took a drastic turn in 2015, when she lost her husband to glioblastoma. A widow at 42 with two young children, writing and art became an important part of her journey in processing trauma and grief. In 2017, she remarried Chef Robert Black. As part of the blending of their families, Robert took over the garage to create his professional woodshop and built Lori a small art studio in their backyard where she could spend more time creating. They also purchased Evoke in Sept. 2019 in downtown Edmond, Okla.
A bittersweet blessing of the 2020 pandemic was the gift of hours upon hours drawing and painting. Lori discovered “intuitive abstract” and used the style as a way to continue to not just wrestle with her grief, but as a way to express ideas and emotions swirling in her heart and mind or being moved by reading and listening to books and music. Now, she’s living her lifelong dream of achieving the title, “Artist" and "Writer."
She majored in agricultural communications at Oklahoma State University and was able to use her artistic talents in graphic design, photography, and videography while pursuing a 25-plus year career in public relations and development. She lead communication and fundraising efforts at Moore Norman Technology Center, the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma State University, the Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, and the Edmond Public Schools Foundation. Her professional efforts were recognized when she was named the 2016 Edmond Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year, the Journal Record’s Oklahoma 2010 class of the Top 50 Women Making A Difference and 40 Under 40.
Lori’s life took a drastic turn in 2015, when she lost her husband to glioblastoma. A widow at 42 with two young children, writing and art became an important part of her journey in processing trauma and grief. In 2017, she remarried Chef Robert Black. As part of the blending of their families, Robert took over the garage to create his professional woodshop and built Lori a small art studio in their backyard where she could spend more time creating. They also purchased Evoke in Sept. 2019 in downtown Edmond, Okla.
A bittersweet blessing of the 2020 pandemic was the gift of hours upon hours drawing and painting. Lori discovered “intuitive abstract” and used the style as a way to continue to not just wrestle with her grief, but as a way to express ideas and emotions swirling in her heart and mind or being moved by reading and listening to books and music. Now, she’s living her lifelong dream of achieving the title, “Artist" and "Writer."