At 12 years old I was invited to my first real concert ever!!!......Alanis Morrissette on her Jagged Little Pill Tour. My sister and 2 of her college friends took me. I felt so cool to be with the college kids AND I get to see an awesome concert. Obviously it left an impression and soon afterwards it lead to a long string of concerts through my high school and undergrad. I had my prized Alanis ticket thumb tacked to a board in my room. I was young and didn't understand that the sun bleached things if left in the suns exposure. As you can see from the picture above that the ticket is left unreadable. Luckily I have 3 other people to back me up on my actually being there. After this I learned the importance of preservation. There my journey began.......
I was never someone who really damaged their toys. My American Girls Dolls from the 90's are still in pristine condition. I started to be better about it when I took photography in high school. From there I went to Art college where the importance of archival and preservation was key especially in the Fine Art Photography degree. My senior year I interned at the wonderful Govinda Gallery in Georgetown, Washington, DC. The gallery specialized in art made by and/or about musicians. There I fell in love with these priceless pieces of art of my favorite groups growing up. Donovan, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Miles Davis, John and Yoko images....just tons of unbelievable imagery. That's when I knew I had to be in the business of preserving art for the rest of my life.
I went on the get a MA in Museums Studies from the Johns Hopkins University where I concentrated on Collections Management. There I learned the process of accessioning and deaccessioning art, donations, deed of gift and handling of priceless objects. I keep these in mind while creating each and every one of my 3D Scrap Boxes and any other item I create where memories are meant to be stored, kept and cherished.
LeslieGallery combines the designer decor with the stability of preservation. That is my preservation story and like all great stories there is no ending. My journey is still in progress and as new items are created there I will be with my acid-free archival supplies in hand.
