Reflections

From time to time it's good to look back and see if you are improving in your craft or art or life in general.  I have kept the first few carvings that I ever did and I have wanted, for awhile now, to go back and tool the same pattern just to see the differences.  I like to keep my old stuff to show people that may be interested in doing leatherwork but are discouraged because their work may not look as good as some others that they see.  My tooling is still not where I want it to be and I believe that is the beauty of a craft that is also an art form, you can continue to grow and learn no matter how long you've done it.

One of my favorite leather carvers, Don Butler, told me at the show in Colorado that it was only the fifth purse he had ever made.  The project actually made him sit back and study the finer points of creating a great handbag.  This is coming from a guy who has done leather for over 50 years.  There is always something to learn, always a way to hone your style and craftsmanship.

The piece done in early 2003 was the second flower I had ever tooled.  The other one was done today, a little over nine years later.  The pattern is more of an old western style instead of the Sheridan style that I normally do, so it's not my best work.  The western style flower is built more for a larger pear shader but I did it with the tools I had.  Hopefully at least you can see the difference in crispness and depth.  The leather was obviously cased better on the new one because it "took" the tool better.  The imprint burnished the leather when stamped causing it to darken the leather more.  Casing is an issue for a lot of new carvers I believe.  Most folks get in too big of a hurry when you are new.  Early on, casing the leather is the far most important thing to learn, right there with keeping your swivel knife sharp and at the correct angle.  Fading bevels is something I've tried to pick up over the years and I'm still continuing to learn how to keep everything clean looking. 

2012 vs. 2003

2003

2012

I debated putting up this due to the fact of showing early work that was severely lacking any talent.  As Cash told me when I brought my first Bible cover in to be sewn; "It looks like a cabbage patch threw up on it", keep practicing, keep learning, and don't let others work discourage you,  use it to strive to be better.  Until next time, RW