Our Creative Team:

Laura Leigh

   Laura has been an artist for most of her life. She is an award winning animator and freelance illustrator. Her awards include a "Toonie," for her work in comics and the "Evergreen" for her participation in an environmental project. Laura has recently discovered a love for sculpting. The last decade has found her focused on projects that involve children and the environment. Her clients have included The United Way, King County and the National Wildlife Federation.  

   Laura loves horses. They have held a special place in her heart since childhood. The fight for legislation to protect these amazing beings has become integral to her work. She pulled her horse  “Passion,” from a packing plant after she was thought to be “lost.”   

    The Rescue Friends has been a project she conceived a few years ago. Production/direction, concept, layout, extra pair of hands and stall mucker. 

 Kathryn Ault Noble

Kathryn Ault Noble spent her early career in the South where she worked as a designer/art director on national and international accounts. Kathryn's design work won ADDY awards from the Arkansas and Memphis Advertising Federations.

In 1986 she and her family moved to Seattle in search of a larger artist community where she began a new career as an illustrator. Her first illustration client was Lucy Rigg, famed Teddy Bear artist, for whom Kathryn developed a line of teddy bear greeting cards. Then she went on to be represented by Susan Trimpe of Susan and Company and created illustrations for McGrawHill, Houghton/Mifflin, Millstone Coffee, Northwest Flower and Garden Show, and other freelance clients.

In 1995 Kathryn received a phone call from a large art school inviting her to teach advertising design classes. Kathryn fell in love with teaching and remained at the school for 14 years during which time she became a senior faculty member in the Animation and Game Arts Departments, teaching Concept Art and Digital Painting.

Currently Kathryn is honored to be working with the "team," adding color through digital painting to The Rescue Friends. Hoping to bring the plight of America's horses to the attention of the next generation of caring hearts, America's children. 

Rachel Teigrob  Willis 

   Rachel Teigrob Willis is a freelance animator and illustrator working in Western Washington State.  Rachel's passion for animation led her to The Art Institute of Seattle where her work was consistently showcased as one of the strongest student portfolios in the school. After graduating Rachel continued to work on her portfolio by posting her work online on conceptart.org, where her sketchbook quickly became the seventh highest viewed, with a total of I64,000 viewers (although now that she is a full time mom, the activity has quieted down somewhat).  After entering the animation industry in Seattle, Rachel animated secondary characters for Hidden City Games' "Bella Sara" online game and produced Flash animation for McGraw-Hill Education. Rachel has previously illustrated two children's books for the Pumpkin Patch Pals brand, which allows her to bring professional experience into her current position working on character design and pencil illustration for a series of projects for The Rescue Friends.