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In her own
words...
I began my leather working in 1990 just for fun after I was given a
leather kit for making a wallet. The thought of working with this
medium intrigued me but I knew that wallets and belts was not what I
wanted to do. I called a local saddle company and asked them about
teaching me how to do more and was told of a man in Kansas named
Bill Gomer that I should contact. Mr. Gomer has been deemed one of
the master carvers by the International Federation of Leather
Guilds. There are only a few “master carvers” in the world and Mr.
Gomer teaches saddle making classes as well as sharing his knowledge
of working with leather with other countries as well.
During that same year I also attended and placed two of my pictorial
carvings into an International Federation of Leather Guilds
competition held in Dallas, TX. I was competing against artists
representing the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
South Africa, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Japan. I won
first place in the unpainted leather carving category with a
depiction of four cowboys involved in a card game. And also a first
place in the painted category with a leather carving of a Sioux
Indian on horseback. Since that time, I have created and sold a few
more pictorial carvings and have engaged in more international
competitions with great results.
About six years ago my interest changed a little and I started
breeding and training the most beautiful breed of horses in the
world… Egyptian Arabians. And now I am trying to incorporate both of
my loves into one. This is why I choose to use the Arabian horse as
my focal point in many pictures. Beauty, grace, elegance, strength
and so much more are depicted in the expressions of these horses.
The basics behind pictorial carving is that you can take any
subject, young or old, animal or human, alive or dead, and recreate
that image onto a piece of leather. Your only limitation is the size
of leather that you start with. If you desire a really large piece
then pieces of leather can be joined together, layered or affixed
onto the front of another piece of leather.
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