June 5, 2010

Composition Leather Saving leather scraps from ending up in the landfill. Interesting concept. Recycling is awesome!

Composition leather is made from recycled leather off-cuts, trimmings and shavings that would normally be sent by the leather industry to landfill. The type of leather specifically used in the manufacture of composition leather is called 'wet blue'. This raw material, which is duck-egg blue in colour (hence the name), comes straight from tanning.

May 15, 2010

Mark Evans Art This leatherwork will BLOW. YOUR. MIND. I am speechless.

February 13, 2010

This week I participated in a fantastic skin-sewing workshop hosted by the Becoming an Outdoorswoman program of the State of Alaska. A couple years ago, I took their winter workshop for a weekend at Chickaloon and learned snowmachining, rifle marksmanship, archery, and dog mushing. It was -15°F. Hands down, dog mushing is a total butt-kicker. I gained a newfound respect for the sport when I face-planted into a tree and dogs just kept a-goin'.
 
In the skin-sewing class, which was open to 10 students, we were each given a red fox pelt, which value is about $100 on the current market, along with a packet of patterns for two types of hats: a traditional Trapper Cap and a Denali Trapper Cap. We also got a DVD entitled "Alaska Guide to Fur Handling," a beeswax block, nylon thread, a glover's needle (which never fail to draw blood!), and instructions. All the other materials for the cap were provided, along with sewing machines for the cap liners, lining materials, et cet. Well organized and well run. Plus fantastic soups with local fish and game meats!
 
My fox had gotten an infection from a tick or burr, which left a scar in his neck area. I don't take this fox's death lightly. I had mixed emotions in the presence of the State-owned pelts and furs on display, which ranged from gray wolf to polar bear to wolverine to beaver to mink to rabbit to sea otter to Arctic fox — there were probably 20 animals in all. I think that anyone who could sit in the presence of these beautiful furs and not think about the animals and respect their deaths is soul-less.
 
Ladies: if you ever get the chance to participate in a BOW program, do not hesitate. Their workshops run the gamut, from field dressing to salmon canning to winter survival skills — the list is long. And they have Beyond BOW backcountry trips and instruction. Alaska has just 3-5 days' supply of food in case of disaster. The more you know and do for yourself, the better.

December 15, 2009

Most of this year has seen me waiting for my new workshop to be built and permitted. Then I will once again make my taking-over-the-world finger tent gesture.
 
However, please contact me anyway! If there's a ready-made product you like but don't like the price, I am flexible; so make me an offer. I also do barters by agreement. I just lowered prices on everything in stock! Or buy a gift certificate.
 
I have no less than 5 million ideas in the queue and am doing some projects with local Anchorage artists (painter, airbrusher, basement dilettante) that will knock your block off in 2010.

December 6, 2009

Very frustrating all these months, as I wait for my new workshop to be ready. It's going to be great, better creative space than I've ever had before (and what a privilege!), but the waiting is excruciating! I am setting up projects with some local Anchorage artists in various media so that I can bring some cooperative pieces to the local marketplace — unfortunately, not in time for holiday gift-giving this year ... see previous comment re very frustrating.
 
Of course it's when we are restricted from doing something we love that the ideas flow in. I have a fat notebook of sketches, scribbles, and lines in my task list that make my head spin. But it shall be done! Soon I can catch up on customer orders, including a couple of things I'm very excited about that I've never before attempted. Then on to the Design File of experiments and ideas to try and a few items I know will really be special.
 
The Sexy Beast is finally in the repair shop for a tuneup and clutch repair, and I threw my back out getting it down the stairs and into the truck. Seriously. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to use it yet, not only because of the construction but also because it's just not quite sound yet and needs the expert TLC of Jess at the sewing machine hospital.

August 15, 2009

I've been waiting for an affordable industrial sewing machine to come along here in Alaska. And the time has arrived. This machine is an Eagle from perhaps the '70s, but I am unsure. This pic was snapped in the seller's dining room so I could find a repairman to identify it and let me know if it would meet my needs and could be repaired if necessary. The answers were all positive; so I am now broke but the happy owner of a machine that will cut my labor in order to drop prices and save stress on my elbows, neck, and hands which often curtails my work. The belt-driven machine sits in a heavy table assembly (not shown), with a 1/2 hp clutch motor and spindle tree. What a sexy beast.

Now punching and hand-sewing will be by choice for certain projects instead of by necessity.

March 28, 2009

Pirography: burning leather. Feast your eyes on the work of this fantastic African artist, Hendrik Vrey, who burns images into leather. Visit more at hendrikvrey.com.
 
"Pirography (piro means fire in Greek) or Pokerwork, is done by burning pictures or images unto wood or leather with a hot iron. Since ancient times, people used this technique to decorate their weapons and implements. Round about 1967 I rediscovered this form of art by burning images with wire, heated in a campfire unto apple box planks. Nowadays I use electric soldering bolts. Through dedication and three decades of experimenting and experience, I perfected and developed it to its present form."

November 29, 2008

Leather Awesomeness: Few leather artisans come anywhere near the technical skill and design sense of the amazing Peter Main. He does it all and has an elegant website to showcase it, including his workshop, which borders on the pornographic to the leatherworker. He is also gracious and an active teacher in the leather community.
 
While everything he makes is absolutely top-notch and lovely, what I am most blown away by are his leather miniatures, such as the horses at right. He is just one of those fundamentally gifted artists who also works very hard and can seemingly do it all.

October 12, 2008

The Worshipful Company of Leathersellers: what the heck is that?! I found this cool English website called all-about-leather.co.uk which, among other things, hosts a concise leather history.
 
Also interesting is the science of leather. Leather can be an unforgiving and tricky medium in which to work, and I sometimes get a little weirded out when I realize I'm making utility objects out of skin, but it all goes back to utilizing everything when we harvest an animal for food. "The chemical composition of fresh hides and skins falls approximately within the following limits: Water 60% - 65%, Protein 25% - 30%, Fats 5% - 10%. Protein content consists mainly of collagen, and it is this collagen that is transformed into leather by the tanning process. Tanners use the terms hide and skin to distinguish the size of the animal they came from - hides come from larger animals such as cattle and skins come from smaller animals such as sheep, goats and pigs."

September 13, 2008

Silva Fox Artistry: I have stumbled upon this amazing leather artist's work several times. Her website says it all: "This leather art gallery exhibits fine art works in leather created by award winning artist, Silva Fox. The 1997 Al Stohlman award recipient is internationally known for innovative sculptural techniques and use of brilliant acrylic glazes for realistic creations in leather. Here you will find beautiful leather paintings, sculptured leather, and many other forms of fine art work. Silva's hand sculptured wall hangings features wildlife and western themes which illustrate her tremendous artist talent."
 
Since I'm not as naturally gifted and prolific, I aspire to put in the time and sweat required to be as accomplished as Silva Fox. She really is a master.

September 2, 2008

From the Wikipedia entry on Leather: "Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses. Together with wood, leather formed the basis of much ancient technology." Pretty sweet. This Wikipedia entry has a bunch of cool stuff about types of leather and production and some crazy info about sting ray leather -- what?!
 
From the Wikipedia entry on Leathercrafting: "Leather crafting is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both." People ask me what I do with leather. This is a simple overview of what's possible with leather, though there's so much more! In coming 'blogs, I will highlight some of the artists who inspire me. This Wikipedia entry, although admittedly incomplete, is part of the WikiProject visual arts listings and covers coloring, painting, carving, and stamping. Since the photos there are uninspiring, I will be sharing links to some spectacular artists who are doing MIND-ALTERING stuff with leather fine-art painting, construction (i.e., fetish clothes and more), and sculpture -- yes, sculpture! Wet leather is very malleable and super sexy. Witness this J. C. Velasquez pic. If that doesn't alter your mind, you are dead ... just so you are self-aware.

August 29, 2008

This week I discovered a 'site posted by the Turkish Leather Council, translated into English, including this wonderful page on Leather in Turkish History. It learned me a thing or two, even with its sometimes-awkward translation. "Leather work, one of the oldest arts in the world, today, still maintains its tradition of production which was yielded through centuries in Anatolia, the motherland of the world's oldest civilizations. For the people who started the civilization history of which we are a part today, covering themselves was undoubtedly one of the most important need, and leather was a natural clothing material. That's why the history of leather reflects the history of humans. Leather appeared as an extremely important raw material required in every area in the civilizations of the regions extended from Mediterranean basin, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, to Iran and Middle Asia. All strong and useful clothes, boots, mount/load/carriage animal cars' leather works, whips and bags were always made of leather."