Conversations with Chalon L. Ross

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chalon L. Ross.  

Chalon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My husband died in the Summer of 2012, and I was left to raise our child all on my own. I’d just landed a job as an art teacher in my hometown and so I was financially secure. But with that security came responsibilities, and I was very quickly thrust into the world of too much to do and not enough to give. I fell into depression, though I didn’t quite have that language back then. All I had then was the vague understanding that everything that had once reminded me of me was slipping through my fingers. And this was the pattern for a number of years, this self-destruction disguised as selflessness. 

It would still be the pattern, had my son not been admitted to the hospital for suicidal ideation in 2017. He told me, “It was like trying to fill everybody else’s cup when mine only had a few drops left. I had to refill my own cup.” 

He only had to tell me once. 

From that day forward, I made a commitment to make joy my priority. I started taking medication and going to therapy, but most importantly I started doing the things that would refill my cup. I would doodle in my notebooks and piece together outfits. And I started making jewelry, which satisfied the more crafty parts of my personality. 

And even beyond that, I want to promote the idea of self-care— not just as a hashtag, but as a necessary part of being human. How many people are out there, suffering under the weight of a million obligations, when the treatment to their pain is as simple as doing what they’ve always wanted to do? 

That’s ultimately why I make jewelry. Working with my hands and expressing my creativity makes me happy. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The main struggle has been battling my own introversion. Selling at pop-ups requires me to confront my own anxiety around social situations— what my therapist called exposure therapy. 

It’s ironic; I’m a teacher. My job requires public speaking on a daily basis— yet there’s something so much more vulnerable about the one-to-one interactions you’ll have selling at a pop-up event. It’s like, “Here’s my offering, which I made from the creative energies closest to my heart. Will you, have it?” Ugh, even writing that makes me feel uncomfortable. 

But even before pop-ups became a thing, I’d started challenging my social anxiety by posting regularly on social media. I think that at the time, I was afraid of failure. As if I should be embarrassed if I didn’t make a million dollars in my first year. So, what I did was take baby steps— social media became the gateway for the pop-ups that came after. It’s like, the world didn’t end when I didn’t get as many likes as I’d hoped for. It sucked, but it didn’t break me 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Chay Larri [lə REE] Ross is a Multifaceted Creative/Teaching Artist born and raised within the inland cities of South Bay and South Los Angeles, California. (You guessed it — a very fancy way of saying, “the hood”!) After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art with a concentration in Art Education [sub-con in Graphic Communication Design] from California State University Los Angeles, which allowed her to train and study interdisciplinary areas within the arts and education profession, she decided to further advance her academic discipline and went on to earn a Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) and a California Single-subject Clear Teaching Certification in Visual Arts. Chay Larri is currently in her 10th year at a Title 1 charter high school in her hometown teaching a well-versed index of courses, including Commercial Art, Yearbook Publication, and Advanced Placement Art & Design with a heavy emphasis on literacy, technology, culture & identity, and contemporary social issues deemed pertinent to her burgeoning scholars. In her spare time, she enjoys creating jewelry, zen doodling, listening to controversial podcasts, analyzing select hip-hop music and films, quad skating, and watching YouTube tea channels. 

Fun Fact #1 | “I started creating different types of jewelry on and off, since the summer of 2013. Early last year, I felt motivated to take my craft seriously, so I enrolled in a free jewelry class at Michaels. Fast forward to over $1000 later, I’ve practically purchased the entire aisle of jewelry tools and supplies. Hyperbole or naw? What you think? Lol.” 

Fun Fact #2 | “I wasn’t able to spend time with my son nor buy him a gift for his 21st birthday. Feeling guilty, I grabbed a notebook and started sketching bracelet designs that match his personality and style, then texted him the sketches as his “gift”. This gave rise to the birth of The Lee Vaughn Collection.” 

Fun Fact #3 | “I recall my father pitching me the idea of giving my son his last name after I gave birth. My dad stated that since I was his youngest child, this was his last chance to continue his name. Sticking to tradition, I declined. Fast forward to 2019, I decided to launch LarriStones (formally ChroviaStones) in memory of him [Larry Ross] and for the continuity of his namesake.” 

Fun Fact #4 | “My Meyers-Briggs personality type is an INFJ-T [The Advocate & Mystical Empath]. Others that share my personality include: Dr. Martin L. King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Lady Gaga, and James Wilson (House M.D.) Aragorn of Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones King Jon Snow-Targaryen. The INFJ personality is the rarest, making up less than one percent of the world’s population. For more information on INFJs, click here. This video describes me To. The. T!” 

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I really didn’t have anyone to cheer me on in my endeavors. Mostly because I kept things to myself – maybe in fear of criticism or failure. Now I’m in a place where I seek my own approval and build the strength to accept judgment without it crushing me. 

But as far as sources of drive and inspiration, I think that my mom has to top that list. She passed away early in 2021, which led to me reflecting on her life in the months after. She was the creative in her family; naturally gifted in art, music, and engineering. 

But my mom also had problems. Without getting too much into it, there were a few events in her life that left her scarred and traumatized. Maybe in a different world, she could have gotten counseling, but the language around mental health is only now starting to permeate within the black community. She simply didn’t have the tools nor resources to address her pain. 

My mom is my inspiration and my drive because I can only imagine how rich and vibrant her life would have been had she been able to take care of her mental health. I, having inherited her creativity and having access to resources that she lacked, intend to follow up on that seed of potential within her. I’ll enjoy my life and my talents in a way that she couldn’t. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.larristones.com
• Instagram: @larristones
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larriarts
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrK36ZmExx9D-RtY2lM6z8g
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/chayarts_edu/