Terry McCray has had an appreciation for the arts since she was very young. After viewing works of art at the Ohio State Fair, she made her first attempt at painting a figurative piece at age 10 using the left-over oil paints from a paint-by-number kit. In high school she spent most of her time in the per-forming arts and did not take any visual art courses until her senior year. An unusual set of circumstances allowed her take all the visual art course offerings during that year which fostered an eagerness to learn about and to use various media in the visual arts. Pursuing a degree in art was a natural path for Terry to follow.
Terry taught art for 20 years where most of that time was spent at New Lexington High School. She also opened a studio where she taught art lessons to young children as well as adults. During that time she worked in oils and pastels with the figure as her favorite subject and exhibited her works in state, re-gional, and local shows.
Terry put away her brushes for 10 years as she left the classroom and pursued degrees in administration and finished her career as an educational administrator at the middle school level. Her retirement allowed her to once again pursue her passion and to dig out those old brushes. Once again she started with figurative works but soon took on a new approach and new subjects. Her recent works are in acrylics and currently focus on the family pet. She finds it chal-lenging to capture the personality of her subject and often works on multiple paint-ings of the pet to discover the different moods exhibited by her subject. Terry paints from photos taken while visiting local shelters and dog parks. She also accepts commis-sions and sets up photo sessions with the owner of the pet or works from photos taken by the owner of the pet.
Education: BSED in Art, Ohio University; MA in Art Education, Muskingum College/Miami University; coursework Columbus College of Art and Design; and summer workshops at Savannah College of Art and Design. Les-sons from portrait artist Marvin Triguba and workshops by wildlife artist John Seery-Lester, western artist Jack Hines, and figurative artist Jessica Zemsky. A recent workshop with Nita Leland on color has challenged her to experiment with new color combinations. Currently she is taking classes at Columbus Cultural Arts Center.
Please join us June 13 after worship for a re-ception to meet the artist, and feel free to contact Terry McCray for a commission (740.506.2226, tsuemccray@aol.com).