Leslie Evans
Artist and Jeweler
My Words:
Halloween is my favorite holiday hands down. As a little kid I would decorate my own haunted hallway with any decoration I was able to buy or make myself. After hours of trick or treating with my friends we'd come back to our house and have a party in the basement - and yes bobbing for apples, peanut run and all the old fashion games were played. (I might be giving away my age) I loved the colors, I loved the jack o lanterns and every symbolic Halloween character. I also never missed a horror movie on Chiller Theater.
And I drew pictures. Constantly. That was my thing - art. My mom always carried a small pad and pencil for me in her purse - to church, restaurants, car rides, wherever. I had a small suitcase full of drawing of creatures from outer space. I made a robot, taller than me, out of cardboard boxes. And then I drew horses and had quite a collection of figurines. In school I opted to illustrate the cover of a book instead of writing the book report. You don't realize how much you practice something when you're a kid... And then I married a guy who was born on Halloween and we moved to Hemlock Drive in Sleepy Hollow, NY - how about that!
Professional Words: The Jewelry Years
To look at Leslie Evans' jewelry, you immediately realize that she is a true artist with a vivid imagination and an eye towards mythology, heraldry and all creatures from the natural world. Her sensibility lends itself to three-dimensional miniature wearable sculptures, which range from sophisticated to whimsically imaginative. Evans was trained old school, learning to carve and finish pieces at the bench in the worldly tradition of European jewelers.
After extensive dance training in college, Leslie Evans’ career began in 1977 as an apprentice for the world-renowned jewelry manufacturer McTeigue & Co, founded in 1895. McTeigue's jewelers were unequaled craftsmen selected for their artistic excellence. Her sculpting skills were developed while creating their distinguished collection of 18K and platinum pave diamond animals which were sold at Tiffany & Co. “I was taught the art of hand crafted perfection. Over the course of ten years, I was molded into a master jeweler by McTeigue’s finest craftsmen. These were men who worked in the tradition of jewelry making, creating masterpieces with meticulous focus on every detail that gave each piece of jewelry its essence.” McTeigue's collections were sold at Tiffany & Co, which bought McTeigue in 1991, as well as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston.
After ten years with McTeigue & Co, Evans' career led her to work as art gallery consultant, fine art publisher, and representative for private artists. In 1993 Leslie launched “Gothic Arts Inc.,” a mail order catalog containing a collection of reproductions of original stone carvings of gargoyles and ornament from historic buildings and cathedrals from around the world. Several of her own pieces were sold through the catalog, after which she launched the Thompson Every Designs jewelry collection. The late David Rockefeller owned both her lobster and beetle cuff link designs. The name Thompson Every is a combination of her grandmother's surnames.
After living in Sleepy Hollow for 30 years Leslie now has a private studio in Scarborough, Maine. Here is where all of the pieces come together and now form an alluring original collection which links together her history and her future. “I'm creating visions I love, carving out a niche in the market for paintings that tell different stories, depending on the viewer— what I consider a collection of curiosities and spooky visual tales that will become personal treasures to be enjoyed for years to come.”
To look at Leslie Evans' jewelry, you immediately realize that she is a true artist with a vivid imagination and an eye towards mythology, heraldry and all creatures from the natural world. Her sensibility lends itself to three-dimensional miniature wearable sculptures, which range from sophisticated to whimsically imaginative. Evans was trained old school, learning to carve and finish pieces at the bench in the worldly tradition of European jewelers.
After extensive dance training in college, Leslie Evans’ career began in 1977 as an apprentice for the world-renowned jewelry manufacturer McTeigue & Co, founded in 1895. McTeigue's jewelers were unequaled craftsmen selected for their artistic excellence. Her sculpting skills were developed while creating their distinguished collection of 18K and platinum pave diamond animals which were sold at Tiffany & Co. “I was taught the art of hand crafted perfection. Over the course of ten years, I was molded into a master jeweler by McTeigue’s finest craftsmen. These were men who worked in the tradition of jewelry making, creating masterpieces with meticulous focus on every detail that gave each piece of jewelry its essence.” McTeigue's collections were sold at Tiffany & Co, which bought McTeigue in 1991, as well as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston.
After ten years with McTeigue & Co, Evans' career led her to work as art gallery consultant, fine art publisher, and representative for private artists. In 1993 Leslie launched “Gothic Arts Inc.,” a mail order catalog containing a collection of reproductions of original stone carvings of gargoyles and ornament from historic buildings and cathedrals from around the world. Several of her own pieces were sold through the catalog, after which she launched the Thompson Every Designs jewelry collection. The late David Rockefeller owned both her lobster and beetle cuff link designs. The name Thompson Every is a combination of her grandmother's surnames.
After living in Sleepy Hollow for 30 years Leslie now has a private studio in Scarborough, Maine. Here is where all of the pieces come together and now form an alluring original collection which links together her history and her future. “I'm creating visions I love, carving out a niche in the market for paintings that tell different stories, depending on the viewer— what I consider a collection of curiosities and spooky visual tales that will become personal treasures to be enjoyed for years to come.”
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