A group of Chesapeake artists, scientists, and citizen activists, educators, poets, writers and waterfolk gather around a hope: That it is possible to change the quality of the story driving us and our culture toward a deeper, more joyful and life-giving relationship with the place in which we live.

We think that art, song, and story can help us connect with the deep spiritual experience of the Chesapeake chapter in the on-going story of the Universe.

Wisner’s legacy continues through Chestory

At the late Tom Wisner’s celebration of life in April 2010, many spoke about his unfinished work, and this past year his friends have continued his work ensuring that his creativity will last generations and foster respect for the environment.

Known as the “Bard of the Chesapeake,” Wisner, a multitalented writer, singer/songwriter, artist and environmental educator who had a love for the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, created the organization Chestory The Center for the Chesapeake Story. In early 2000, he began collecting artists, scientists, citizen activists, educators, poets, writers and waterfolk who believed in the idea that art, song and story can help people connect with the deep spiritual experience of the Chesapeake, and in turn foster a relationship with the surrounding elements, its website states.

Walter Boynton, an advisor of Chestory since its inception, met Wisner when he shared a dorm room with him in 1969 at the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, and they remained good friends. His vision for Chestory remained the same, he said, adding that Wisner’s hope was that through education, art and spiritual existence, people will have “a more caring, respectful attitude and actions relative to the land, the air and the water.”

Wisner, who had a master’s degree in biology, began blending the arts with science at the lab in the 1970s when it was unusual and not popular, but the director of the lab at the time, Gene Cronin, was a great supporter of using the arts to teach the sciences, said Boynton, who holds a doctorate in environmental engineering and has been a professor at the laboratory since 1975. Boynton’s wife, Mary Ellen, whom he met through Wisner, has been shifting through Wisner’s works at the Calvert Marine Museum and putting them into “major categories” organizing them ... READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

Continuing Tom Wisner's Legacy

Since Tom's passing in early April, 2010, a group of people close to Tom have been working to carry on his legacy and make his work available to others. There have been a number of performances by the people who performed with Tom: Frank Schwarz, Teresa Whitaker, John Cronin and Mac Walter, and other concerts are being planned. Tom wasn't done creating music when it was his time, and another CD of his recordings and those of others is being considered.

Folks are also working on cataloging Tom's creative work; charting and publishing his music; and displaying his children's collages and his own art work. An art show called "The Art of Healing the Chesapeake - A Tribute to Tom Wisner" was shown in May and June at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, Maryland as part of the Greenbelt Green Man Festival. The show will move to other venues around the region. If you would like more information about this show or know of other venues, contact chestory@gmail.com.

Jeff Place from the Smithsonian Folk Life Collection has developed a wonderful webpage and video about Tom's life and work at: http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/tom_wisner.aspx. Other films and multimedia products about Tom's life, his connection to place and his approach to providing environmental education with children are in the discussion phase as well as plans to create information sites about Tom on My Space, Wikipedia, etc.

Tom's central vision was to create a "virtual archive of Chesapeake story and song" -- including not just Tom's work, but the work of many other area artists, musicians and story tellers. A small group met with Tom in January of this year to discuss a way to move forward with this vision. After his work has been catalogued, the next step will be to bring this vision to reality.

Tom Wisner CD Sales

Tom's last two CD's -"Follow on the Water" (a two CD set completed by Tom in January 2010) and "Made of Water" - are available at local venues (Annapolis Maritime Museum, Calvert Marine Museum and Bay Books in California, MD) and on the Chestory website www.chestory.org. If you know of other local retailers who would like to sell Tom's CD's, please contact chestory@gmail.com. Tom's first two CD's, "Chesapeake Born" and "Come Full Circle" (songs for children) can be ordered through Smithsonian Folkways Recordings at: http://www.folkways.si.edu/.  Eventually, Tom's last two CD's will also be transferred to the Smithsonian.

Tom Wisner was an award winning song writer, folk singer, story teller and educator, who spend his life looking for ways to help people connect with the Chesapeake Bay. He passed away on April 5, 2010 in Prince Frederick, MD. In 2000, Tom created Chestory, the Center for the Chesapeake Story, to "bring the artist in each of us into the story of our Chesapeake community of life." Chestory recently became a project of Chears, the Chesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society, and its mission will continue on their sponsorship.

Chestory - The Center for the Chesapeake Story
(a project of Chears - the Chesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society - www.chears.org )
Joan Clement, Coordinator
506 Elm Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912
www.chestory.org
chestory@gmail.com
301-775-5368

Chestory is bringing the artist in each of us into the story of our Chesapeake community of life.