Lynne Maser-Zimmerman

Lynne Maser-Zimmerman, a teacher and celebrated artist whose pioneering ideas helped launch a new era of computer graphic design, died on January 16, 2024. She was 81.

Ms. Maser-Zimmerman received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kent State University. She began her early career combining freelance design and photography, while working as an advertising production assistant at McCall’s Magazine, and later as a production manager at Bergdorf Goodman. Throughout that time, she experimented with a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, tapestry, textiles, jewelry-making and photography. After receiving her master’s degree from NYU, Maser-Zimmerman taught art and art history to elementary and middle school students, while continuing to experiment with playful, vibrant designs in her own work.

In 1974, Maser-Zimmerman moved to Mission Viejo, California with her family, directing much of her focus to raising her two children, hoping to instill in them the same passion and creativity she held for the arts.

In the late 1980’s, Maser-Zimmerman’s experiments took a new turn. She expanded her work with fiber, textiles, photography and painting to the then- incipient world of personal computing. To Maser-Zimmerman the computer screen served as a powerful new electronic canvas, or in her words, “an exciting painting – drawing -design medium.” She described her computer-generated paintings as “like holographs in the mind’s eye…provoked by random emotions, intense passions, poetic expressions, and musical waveforms singing in the brain,” as well as “It’s a hell of a lot of fun.” With the assistance of several commissions, she began lecturing on graphic design, while exhibiting her artwork in showings across the country, including in New York City, Toronto, Illinois, Florida, Las Vegas and Southern California.

In the 1990’s, Maser-Zimmerman acquired one of the first industrial color printers to produce museum quality prints in brilliant hues of her abstract designs. She also launched her own design studio and gallery, “Design Concepts,” where she offered imaging and commercial graphic design services for local artists and businesses.

Ms. Maser-Zimmerman was born in Queens, NY in 1942 to Sol and Mildred Maser. Outgoing and creative, with a deep love of books and a flare for the dramatic, Maser-Zimmerman excelled at writing, debate, music, art, and foreign languages. She attended Mamaroneck High School in Westchester County, NY. In 1970, she married Louis Zimmerman. She was a devoted mom to her two children, always there to cheer them on. In her spare time, she enjoyed playing folk music on her classical guitar, singing, theater, traveling, photography, jewelry making, reading, and experimenting with new recipes. A harmonious voice, adventurous spirit and a huge heart, she will be incredibly missed.

Maser-Zimmerman is survived by her son and daughter, Adam and Rachel, and her grandson Jonah. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the National Endowment for the Arts.