Leigh, Tera 1964–

views updated

LEIGH, Tera 1964–

PERSONAL: Born 1964. Education: Western State University, Fullerton, CA, J.D., 1993; studied makeup at Joe Blasco, Hollywood, CA.

ADDRESSES: Office—6965 El Camino Real #105-431, Carlsbad, CA 92009. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Artist and attorney. Has worked as an esthetician and as a secretary. Admitted to the Bar of the State of California, 1993. Law Office of Curtis L. Gemmil, Whittier, CA, personal injury investigator, 1986–89, supervisor of Investigative and Research Department, 1990–92, attorney, 1993–95; attorney in private practice, Whittier, 1995–; artist's consultant on law, 2001–04; freelance legal consultant, 2004–. Founder and chief executive officer of ToleNet (online decorative painting company; president of Memory Box Project (nonprofit organization), 2001–. Spokesperson for Robert Simmons Sapphire Brush line, 2002–05; has also been a guest artist for Paintideas.com, Rustoleum, 2004, and Hewlett-Packard.com scrapbook Web site, 2004–05. Appeared as a guest on numerous television and radio shows, including Aleen's, The Nashville Network (TNN), Creative Living with Sheryl Borden, Public Broadcasting System (PBS); Scrapbooking, DIY Network; and It's Christopher Lowell Show, Discovery Network.

MEMBER: Housing Industry Association, Society of Creative Designers, Society of Decorative Painters.

AWARDS, HONORS: Best Artist Award, Joe Blasco Makeup Academy, 1983; American Jurisprudence Award, Trusts, 1991; Crafts/Craftrends Award of Excellence (with others), 2001, (solo recipient), 2003; Top Ten Craft/Hobby Book designation, American Library Association, 2002, for Complete Book of Decorative Painting, and 2003, for How to Be Creative If You Never Thought You Could; More than Words award, Harlequin Enterprises, 2004; Special Recognition Award, Housing Industry Association, 2003; Designers with Heart Award, Society of Craft Designers, 2004.

WRITINGS:

The Complete Book of Decorative Painting, North Light Books (Cincinnati, OH), 2001.

How to Be Creative If You Never Thought You Could, North Light Books (Cincinnati, OH), 2003.

Faux Mosaics, North Light Books (Cincinnati, OH), 2004.

Also contributor to Crafters' Internet Handbook: Research, Connect, and Sell Your Crafts Online, Muska & Lipman Publishing, 2002; and Everything Crafts: Easy Projects, Adams Media (Cincinnati, OH), 2005. Has contributed columns and articles to numerous decorative arts magazines, including Artist's Magazine Sketchbook, Craft & Needlework Age, Country Marketplace, Create & Decorate, Decorative Artists Workbook, Paintworks, Priscilla's Club Online magazine, Quick & Easy Painting, and Tole World. Member of editorial board, PaintWorks and Quick & Easy Painting.

SIDELIGHTS: Tera Leigh was a practicing lawyer who committed herself to becoming an artist in 1999. In an interview on the Another Girl at Play Web site, Leigh said, "My first creative goals were to create a product line and write a reference book to make it easier for people to learn how to paint." Her first book, The Complete Book of Decorative Painting, focuses on folk-art painting and discusses such aspects of the craft as faux finishes, brush-stroke techniques, and realistic interpretations. She also details how to do surface preparation, master floating techniques, and complete the job with finishing. Much of her instruction is presented in a question-and-answer format, such as "I can't draw a straight line. How can I paint?" Leigh also tells readers they can get the most out of classes and seminars, and she lists the major decorative arts conventions throughout the world. In an interview on the Kota Press Web site, Leigh noted that she wanted to "write a good reference book on painting that would fill a gap I thought existed between other books currently available." Writing in Booklist, Barbara Jacobs commented on the "depth and breadth of the detail" in the book and called it a "bible for novices and experienced painters."

In How to Be Creative If You Never Thought You Could, Leigh presents readers with fifteen projects, guiding them through each step with the focus on becoming creative in the crafts. She discusses working with a variety of media and techniques, including metal, paper, mosaics, collage, and painting. She also discusses the need for confidence while producing crafts and guides the reader in generating ideas. Daniel Lombardo, writing in Library Journal, commented, "The result is a good choice for most craft collections." Booklist contributor Whitney Scott noted that the book "goes beyond abstractions and sensitivity-training exercises" and "will be a key starting point for begin-ners." Keir Graff, also writing in Booklist, included How to Be Creative If You Never Thought You Could among his top-ten craft and hobby books in 2003, and wrote, "Crafts novices who doubt their creative ability will welcome Leigh's advice."

Leigh guides the reader through twenty step-by-step projects in Faux Mosaics. She demonstrates how to paint on grout, create beautiful tiles with various papers, and glaze the tiles. Among the projects are decorating a necklace, a jewelry box, and coasters. Many of the projects can be completed in just a few hours, and the reader learns how to apply mosaic designs to almost any surface. A reviewer writing for Expressions liked the accompanying photography and called Leigh's instructions "super clear." Stephanie Zvirin, writing in Booklist, also praised "Leigh's precise, easy-to-follow instructions."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2002, Barbara Jacobs, review of The Complete Book of Decorative Painting, p. 792; March 1, 2003, Whitney Scott, review of How to Be Creative If You Never Thought You Could, p. 1135; December 15, 2003, Keir Graff, review of How to Be Creative If You Never Thought You Could, p. 717; July, 2004, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Faux Mosaics, p. 1809.

Expression, November-December, 2004, review of Faux Mosaics, p. 98.

Library Journal, March 15, 2003, Daniel Lombardo, review of How to Be Creative If You Never Thought You Could, p. 82.