Leslie Chisholm

Ancient Greeks and Romans and Chinese used bronze for its durability and its beauty. Bronze clay enables me to do the same. As in my silver work, I am compelled by the simplicity and uniqueness of nature. I take great pride in the fact that each one of my pieces is one-of-a-kind; just like the flowers and shells that inspire me. The snowflake blossom was one I picked along the path leading to the Barn Swallow last spring. I found the shell in the sand on Topsail Island in May and the beach daisy (I don’t know its real name, do you?)  grew outside our beach house.

I am amazed by the detail the bronze clay allows me to reflect – every vein, each petal, all that makes it true to life. The rich, lustrous, gleaming finish gives my bronze jewelry the elegance and extravagance of gold without the expense. I have worked in silver for so long that I am excited about the new color scheme that bronze leads me to.

I hope you will keep coming back to see what I have created with this new medium.

I work for Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) and last year the Carpentry students built the first LEED ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) "registered" house in the Country built by high school students. If the right person buys it and follows all the necessary steps, it will be the first LEED "certified" house in the Country built by high school students. That is quite an accomplishment!

Working in an atmosphere that encourages “green” thinking is so inspiring. I picked up a great book at Barnes and Noble when I was home in Erie last month called Go Green, Live Rich (50 simple ways to save the earth and get rich trying) by David Bach. He is the guy who wrote The Automatic Millionaire and Start Late, Finish Rich - two informational books for people like me who can't seem to save as much as they want to. Anyway, this book is just as encouraging in a different way. His premise is that everyone can do something to help the environment and each page is full of doable, easy, common-sense suggestions. Then, if you invest what money you save (going green doesn’t have to cost more) in a “green” fund, you can make some money along the way. My financial adviser already had my money going to an alternative green fund before I ever read about that exact one in this book – it was nice to have that validation.

This idea of “saving the earth” is a cause near and dear to my heart and whatever I can do to help, I will.

The more I am involved in creating jewelry, the more I am humbled by the artisans I come across every day.  I have worked at the Barn Swallow for years and am honored to be a member of the Artisans Center of Virginia, so I have been exposed to the highest quality of craftsmanship possible.   I know the struggles of trying to sell one's "art," not just financially but also emotionally, so I made a pledge to buy as much as I can that is "hand made" and I urge you to do the same.  The site,  www.buyhandmade.org, does a great job explaining why you should.

The Etsy Showcase is another very imaginative site with many, many pages dedicated solely to hand-crafted treasures. Several of us who show our work at the Barn Swallow also sell through Etsy.  It is there that I read "a connection to the creator is part of the reward of buying handmade.  Mass-produced pieces of art don’t have any meaning ."  If you are giving your purchase as a gift, what better way to show your thoughtfulness than to give a one-of-a-kind piece of art (that IS what it is...a piece of art.) There is so much value in it for what you spend and you are helping to promote such an important way of life.  I have several of my favorite "artists" featured on my "Links" page; take a minute to look at that - you might just find the source for the perfect gift - for yourself or that lucky recipient.

I just spent ten indescribable days on Topsail Island to celebrate my looming 50^th birthday. I was truly inspired by the shells and the plants and the water and the beach. In the coming weeks, I will be highlighting my work that was a result of that time at the ocean. I not only searched every day for the "perfect" shell, but I was struck by colors and symmetry and textures of the imperfect ones that I never really noticed before. I will make a pendant from the mold of this flower (front AND back.) There will also be pure silver shells inspired by the ones that I found. I am really excited about creating cluster necklaces using the beach glass and shell fragments that I brought back with gemstones and pearls and silver charms.

I will keep you updated as the new pieces are finished – just in time to help you immortalize your summer vacation!

PS - here's a picture of my son, Daniel, and me and then one of my cousin, Dot, on our last evening at Topsail.   We really had a wonderful, wonderful time!

“Congratulations, you’ve been accepted…”   “It’s a boy!......." “I don’t love you anymore.......”   “You got the job!”

In the blink of an eye, in the amount of breath it takes to say a few words, the direction your life takes is altered forever. I find that mind-boggling.

I have to say that I pride myself on thinking before I speak – maybe too much, but I never want that sick feeling of regret for what I have said. But, so often, it is the words said to us that has the most lasting influence. I can’t help wondering what a different place I would be in now if different words had been said to me and, as a result, I’d gone to a different college, married a different person, or not been hired for my present job (which I actually didn’t really want, but am, oh so, glad I got). It is an exercise in futility, I know…but I am getting philosophical as I am approaching 50. I do know that I wouldn’t be sitting here right now writing this if just a few words had changed my life’s path. 

I love my life – I have two amazing sons, everyone that I love is happy and relatively healthy, I LOVE my two jobs, and I have several truly wonderful friends who continue to sustain me and bolster me and encourage me and it just doesn’t get more meaningful than that.  For that, I am very, very grateful; I truly believe I am right where I am meant to be.

What phrase has changed the direction of your life?