Been A While

Well I haven't been updating here like I should so here's a little catch up.

I finally finished and mailed off a photo album I made for an outstanding woodcarver in that state above Texas.  Lynn Doughty does, in my opinion, the best wood caricatures I have ever seen.  He is also kind enough to film himself doing projects to teach regular ol' Joes how he creates these masterpieces.  I was fortunate enough to meet Lynn on a trip to Woolaroc Museum in OK when he was displaying his carvings.  I have to say that the man is even better than the carvings.  I was impressed deeply by his genuineness and I wanted to show my gratitude for all that he does, so I worked up this little project for him.

I found out about a little art gathering down in San Marcos called Art Unhitched.  It is held the second weekend of every month and I was able to get a booth there this month.  For some new stuff to put on the table, I dove into some real cowboy trappings and made up some iPhone cases and purses.  These little cases are flying off the shelf and hopefully the purses will follow.  I have great "prototype" pricing on the purses right now so you can get these for a great deal cheaper than what the next ones will cost.  Contact me if you are interested in them.

I guess that is enough for now.  If you have contacted me about a custom iPhone case, they are in the works.  Leather and more cases are in the mail so as soon as they get here I'll be churning them out.  Thanks for all of the support and make sure to spread the word.  Thanks, RW

A few new things: wallets

There was a Christmas rush on wallets this year.  Here is a bifold wallet and a checkbook/wallet combo.  Hope you like them.  RW

Leatherman/Trapper Combo

Here is the latest out of the shop.  It will hold a leatherman and a 4" trapper all in one handy dandy little package.  The sheath a working man needs.  If you haven't yet, make the journey over to facebook and become a fan of the shop.  Join now so when we're famous you can tell your friends that you were one of the first.  Take care, RW

Facebook

Well I finally broke down to the pressure of social media and put the shop on facebook.  Look me up, become a fan, and keep up to date with the shop.  I will continue to update this blog with pics of my projects and maybe more tutorials, but the facebook page will have more little tidbits of life around the shop just to keep the masses entertained.  Hopefully we'll get some more exposure over there and have more projects to bring out soon.  See you down the road, RW.

Good Looking Sheath, Terrible Looking Picture

I had a customer bring a knife that needed a new sheath.  The sheath will sit vertical on a up to a 2" wide belt, dyed light brown with a snap to hold the handle.  Of course, new camera and all, I didn't get a good picture of it and didn't realize these were this blurry until I loaded them up.  Well, better than nothing.  Hope you enjoy.  RW

For a more mouth watering photo (yet still blurry, better camera, worse picture, go figure), I'll add this.  Single serving pineapple upside-down cake hot off the grill. Homemade cinnamon whipped cream on top.

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

ACM 2012 Purse

After the long post about the trip, I guess I should show my entry.  The rules stated "any purse smaller than 10" by 14" and not made from a kit".  Pretty broad range and it brought many different styles to the table.  Here's what I came up with.  It was my first purse so I learned a lot for the next one.  It was a carving contest so I tried to cover as much as possible with tooling.

Under side of the handle

Interior

The purse will be showcased with other entries from the Art of the Cowboy Makers contest at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs from now until September.  If you are in the area, drop by and check it out in person.  As always, critique and comments welcome.  Take care, RW