LeAnn Hale, Purple Turtle Art Studio | M.L. “Sonny” Moss Artist of the Year
LeAnn Hale is an artist, art educator and founder of Purple Turtle Art Studio in Bryan, Texas. She spent her childhood in Navasota, Texas and graduated from high school in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from West Virginia University in 1993 and her Art Education Certification from Sam Houston State University in 1999.
She is married to Bryan native, Richie Hale and they have two children, Grayton and William.
LeAnn opened the Purple Turtle in the fall of 2000 with a mission to equip children with the tools of creativity, so they are able to express themselves visually with confidence. The studio provides young artists with after-school classes, homeschool art education and programming for students with a variety of learning styles. The studio is also known for its art parties and corporate events.
Before opening the Purple Turtle, LeAnn was the art teacher at Johnson Elementary School and contributed to their designation as a Blue Ribbon School. She was an instructor at One Day Academy and has worked for a variety of summer art programs and her love for summer programming continues at the studio, routinely hosting popular sold-out Summer Art Camps.
The Purple Turtle Art Studio has grown into a fixture on the landscape of the vibrant Downtown Bryan area contributing to the community with the addition of public art listed on the Brazos Valley Art Trail. Many of those pieces were created by the Brazos Valley Arts Center’s Art for Life program where she has worked with teens in the Juvenile Justice System with the goal of empowering youth through the arts. She has presented on this conviction of empowerment at a TEDx event at Texas A&M titled, Art is my Super Power.
Community partnerships are a top priority and can be seen annually at the spring art exhibit and with her students displaying and selling work at the annual Downtown Bryan Street and Art Fair. LeAnn and her students often collaborate with the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections at Texas A&M University on projects funded by the National Science Foundation, providing unique interdisciplinary experiences that are a fusion of science and art. Their collaborative broader impact projects have been showcased at the SEAD Gallery, Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center, Cedar Hill city Hall and at the Memorial Student Center’s Reynolds Gallery and a new mural coming soon to art alley.
She looks forward to many more artistic contributions to the community as the new chair of the Downtown Bryan Arts and Culture Association. Art truly is her super power!
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