A Life in Art & Healing: Cindy Lutz Kornet
By Seth Stutman | Photography by Amy Crosby Photography
Published In Longmeadow Neighbors | October 2026
From Springfield to the world, and back to Longmeadow, Cindy Lutz Kornet has raised a family while giving back to our town and to everyone she knows. Cindy grew up in Springfield in the 1950’s and 1960’s and looks back at that time with great nostalgia.
“It was a time where we could go downtown alone, wander in and out of the shops, have lunch and take a city bus home. I graduated from Classical High School. It was a wonderful time to grow up!”
At the age of 12, Cindy had decided that she wanted to be an artist - but she kept that notion to herself. At 16, she asked her father for a sewing machine instead of a birthday party and soon, she was churning out skirts, dresses, pants, jackets, and more!
“I loved shopping at Osgood’s Fabric Store in Springfield for interesting fabrics and visualizing how I would use them,” she says.
After high school graduation, Cindy attended UMass and Springfield College, earning a Master’s in Guidance and Psychological Services. From there, she began teaching, and creating, and over time, she combined the two into her passion.
“I took dozens of professional art classes and instructors often told me I did professional quality work. I lived in Santa Fe for a year. I studied with a batik artist and when I came home began ‘batiking’ pillows and wall hangings. It was the beginning of selling at craft fairs and other local events” Cindy recalls.
However, Cindy did experience self-doubt along the way, first, not having the courage to proclaim herself an artist. She wasn't allowed to take art in High School because of a B in her Junior High School art class! However, soon her gratitude bank was “full”, and Cindy began a life as both an artist and inspiration for others learning the craft.
“I was told by my unit leader at Y Day Camp, where I was a Camp Counselor, that I was the most creative person she had ever met. Years later Barbara Reinholt, the head of career counseling at Smith College, told me she was put on this earth to give people permission to pursue their dreams. She said all she saw in me was ‘Artist’ - teach art, make art, sell art. I believed her. I did tremendous amounts of personal growth work surrounding my artistry.” Cindy experienced a transformational moment that concretized her life’s work and ambition while in a session with Donna Stirton at the Center for Movement Alternative. “Three things happened simultaneously,” Kornet relates. “A feeling came over me; I heard the words ‘Art and Soul’ in my breath Donna said there’s your spirit! From that point Art and Soul became my signature. I self-published my first book Art and Soul, a Spiritual Approach to Crafts.”
“Teaching art has been the alpha and omega of my career,” said Cindy. “My first job out of college was at the JCC teaching pre-school and children's art and just about anything I was asked to do. There were people in those early years who enhanced my confidence in my creative ability and helped start me on my destined path of making art, teaching art, and marketing art.”
While beauty industry sales enabled Kornet to afford her first home, teaching was her first passion and Cindy taught art at the Yeshiva Academy (LYA) for 15 years, where she was able to showcase art as a healing modality and as a tool for wellness.
Cindy and Lou and their son Nathaniel moved into their current home in 1998 on a cul-de-sac surrounded by woods. She appreciates what Longmeadow was able to provide for her son and her family.
“Longmeadow was a wonderful school system for him,” said Cindy. "[Nathaniel] ran track three seasons all through High School and still has the bright, interesting quality friends he met there. He graduated from UMass with degrees in Neuroscience and Computer Science. He is working as a software engineer and plays music as a passion. He lived in Portland Oregon for almost a decade, curated a trip to Japan and has been learning to write and speak Japanese. He plans to go there often but assures me he plans to live in Western Mass to continue sharing his life with his dad and me!”
"My husband Lou has been a major source of support for me as I continue my artistic journey. Lou grew up in this area as well and went to school in the Boston area and worked in Boston in the Computer industry and as a Management Consultant. He returned to this area, and we met and raised a family!"
"We both believe in giving back to our Community, each in our way. Lou has served on Town Committees (Planning, Town Tree) and as a volunteer for many town and local organizations. We have been Members at the Pioneer Valley Yacht Club (PVYC) where Lou has been on the Board for many years and now serves as the Rear Commodore."
Cindy’s artistry also extends to her garden. Cindy is an active member of the Springfield Garden Club, and this year she was brave enough to be a stop on the Springfield Garden Club House Tour.
As for the gardens at her home, “Lou mows the lawn, and I do the gardens,” said Cindy. “I love seeing what’s ready to eat and using it for our next meal. Lou says we may never get the exact thing twice because I might not even know how I did it! I garden the same way I make art. I go with the flow. I try not to think about it and to trust my instincts.”
Art has been therapeutic for Cindy, but her work has also seen some critical success. She has won recognition from the Rockport Art Museum, displayed several pieces in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and multiple pieces in New York including at the Bernard Heller Museum and Manhattan Arts International. Locally, Kornet had shown at the Northampton Center for the Arts and has participated in more than a dozen exhibits around Western Mass.
Additionally, to increase joy and showcase art, Cindy funded a permanent art gallery at Jewish Geriatric Services (JGS), donating the hardware in the memory of her parents Phyllis Barr Lutz and Arthur D Lutz.
“My parents lived here in Longmeadow for decades and thought it was the most beautiful place they could live in. They often walked the town green and enjoyed their beautiful home on Fairhill Drive,” Kornet reminisces. “I am told [the art gallery] brings much calming and beauty to residents and visitors alike.”
In addition to the art accolades, Kornet is also the recipient of the Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award by the Grinspoon Award Foundation. That 2007 award came with a trip to Israel, where Cindy explored concepts around leaching for co-existence. Her faith feeds both her teaching and her art. “I am a Jewish American Artist. I get much pleasure in using the Bible as a road map for a healthy life. All my work is spiritual.”
While Cindy loves to express herself in many ways, she does have a favorite. “Mixed Media work is very exciting for me to create. I photograph bouquets from my garden and collage them into my work,” she says.
Recently, inspired by her decades in the art world, Cindy Kornet decided to make a “Drawing Book” for adults to color! Utilizing word associations with affirmations and meditation prior to creating each drawing, she created her book. “Coloring Dreams: Brain Based Drawings” was enjoyable both to create, and because I received such positive feedback from people using the book, she noted.
“I employed principles of right brain-based drawing, Zen tangling, symmetry, mirror imaging and neuro line drawing,” she writes. “I rounded off all the corners with smooth flowing lines. This encourages positive thoughts and positive actions.”
Cindy’s Artist Statement
My art represents the way I see and feel in the physical world. I employ mixed media techniques including encaustic, inks, collage, and calligraphy. The versatility of each medium becomes a synergistic whole once combined! My many years of teaching experience and early crafts background provide me with a tool kit and skill set for calls to art. My pieces evolve. I choose materials, but don't have a full plan in mind. I live by the premise that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. My main reason for art is self-expression, of course. On a deeper level, it is to share what gifts I have been given, to inspire, help heal, uplift and give hope to those who need it. I understand my purpose.
Find Strength in Imperfection
By Cindy Lutz Kornet
Blessed are the cracks as they let the light shine through! Hardships can transform and strengthen each of us.
Have you ever heard of the Japanese Kintsugi technique? It is a beautiful form of repair and a healthy philosophy for self-repair. It suggests when objects break i.e.: a China cup or plate, we should not throw them away. We should repair them. In that repair, they can emerge more beautiful and more valuable.
The same holds true for our inner lives. When we feel broken, depressed, or not at our best we have an opportunity. Kintsugi invites us to transcend struggles and to transform hardships. It reminds us to do the work and grow stronger, healthier and more beautiful. We accept our flaws and work to mend them and be the best versions of ourselves. Layer by layer we can help our self-esteem to grow and improve our lives.
Here Are Some of My Favorite Tools
Mindful Meditation: There are many ways to meditate. It is important to pay attention to our breathing. We can take cleansing breaths or control the length. We breathe in possibilities and exhale things that no longer serve us. We can focus on head-to-toe relaxation. While we are doing this, there is little room for negative thoughts. It’s important to pay attention to how we think. Our brains hear everything we think as true. In many cases it is not true! So, thinking positively is an incredibly important way to think.
Creative Activity: Most hobbies or activities have a meditative quality. We lose track of time while being engrossed in what we love to do. Whether it is art, music, dance, tennis, golf, gardening, cooking, baking, or walking in the woods. Find out what you love to do, what makes you the happiest and do it! Ask yourself if you like doing it alone or if there is someone you want to do it with.
Jin Shin Jyutsu is an ancient gentle Japanese healing art that helps balance your body’s energy. Each finger is connected to an emotion. Thumbs are a worry. Pointer is fear. Middle finger is anger. Ring finger is grief, and pinky is crying on the inside. It's essentially hand reflexology. By holding each finger one at a time you wait to see if it begins pulsing. You continue to hold it until the pulsing stops. You move on to the next finger and continue until all 10 fingers are done and there is no more pulsing. It's a wonderful form of self-care and empowerment. It can be done on a couch, in the dentist’s chair or anywhere you can hold your own fingers. It works!
EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a mind body practice. It includes tapping on 10 different points where our bodies tend to hold disease or anxiety. By tapping with a chosen phrase or mantra it helps the brain to slow down, lets your body relax and take you out of the uncomfortable mindset. There are many step-by-step guides online. I learned from a friend and Chinese acupuncturist. I use the phrase “even when I am anxious, I am fine.” Tapping is currently used in hospitals and health clinics to help relax patients. It can help lower heart rate, blood pressure and general distress.
Brain Spotting grew out of EMDR and is considered by many to be the gold standard therapy for PTSD. It was developed by David Grand while working with 9/11 survivors. One of my closest friends, Deborah Davison Antinori, is an international trainer and introduced me to this work. It combines brain-based therapy and some talk therapy. It uses eye positions to assess distress. By following that point or spot you can release unprocessed trauma. It is said to be able to rewire your brain pathways for a healthier life. Research it first!
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