Leanora Erica Mims is an experienced Textile Fabric Artist. She is a Distinguished Certified STEM.ORG Educator, a Toastmaster Competent Communicator, a Certified Holistic Hardware Coach, and a two-time NYSCA Grant recipient. 

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She was born in 1960, and comes from a family of sixteen and describes herself as an "outsider" growing up. When she was fourteen, she began a program through her high school taking classes at the Munson-Williams Art Museum, where she developed an appreciation for art. Through her art, she was able to tolerate bullying, which allowed her to complete high school and attend Cornell University where she studied Africana Studies & Research Center.

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In college, she took Art History classes and developed an appreciation for the historical quilting tradition of African American enslaved women. She also studied the origins of quilting patterns in Africa. She was inspired by this work and started her own collection. 

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Leanora states, "I have never been good with working in offices or in environments where I cannot express the artistic side of myself. I have worked out of necessity, but my soul was never in those work situations."

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​The pieces in her QUILT COLLECTION celebrate life, and tell narratives about social justice issues and help teach S.T.E.A.M. skills. Her goals as an artist are to bring to life stories that go untold, and to connect with communities that represent stories of healing, inspiration, uplift, and education. 

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She has had six exhibits in the Ithaca area and exhibits of my work at the Iverson Museum in Syracuse, NY. She also gives community lectures, and was recently appointed the Director of Arts in Education Programs for two non profits in Syracuse, NY. Mothers of the Community and Man Up!