TCAA Exhibit Tour

Being a member of the TCAA and being part of a great show this year at The National Cowboy Museum is such an honor. This December I had the privilege of spending two Sunday afternoons at the museum and talking with visitors as they viewed the TCAA show. It's always amazing to me to see the change in people's perspective of how they look at each piece of work, after understanding the amount of time involved in building a piece for the TCAA Show. I spoke with several visitors who had some basic knowledge of horses and the West, who were fascinated by the pieces. The process of how one does silver high relief engraving on steel was especially fascinating. After explaining the basics of removing the background to enhance the scroll work, each would go around the room again and re-examine each piece with new found interest. This was true of every medium in the show. Visitors were amazed at how the process evolves from the initial thought, to the layout of a design, and then to the finished product. They all came away with a new appreciation for who we are as both artist and craftsman. The visitors varied from a local woman who had been to Morocco and Spain and could see the influence of their cultures in the designs and workmanship, to a couple from China with a fascination for cowboys and the West, marveling at the artistry as they stopped to look at each piece in the show. It was an honor to be in the gallery among the great works of each member of the TCAA, and to bring a new appreciation of our goals as an organization to those that came to the exhibition.

John Willemsma

 

Mike Beaver by Teresa Marsh

Published on 01/11/2011

The journey began for Mike Beaver in Buffalo Center, Iowa, where his parents farmed. Cattle was a big part of his life. More importantly were the team of draft horses he owned and so began his love for horses.

Mike joined the Army in the 60's serving a tour in Korea and Viet Nam. After the Army in the 70's he made it out West, a long time dream. While visiting the Extension Office, in Coeurd' Alene, Idaho, Mike noticed a piece of braid work done by Claude "Red" Hutchings. It took six long months of trying to persuade him to help Mike out. Working with Red, Mike learned the basics of making rawhide and knots. Mike then met Horace Henderson. Horace's work was a little finer than Red's. Mike spent time the next year learning what he could from Horace. It was Horace who showed him a copy of a Persimmon Hill magazine that had a article and photos of Luis Ortega's work. After seeing Ortega's work on display at the Cowboy Hall of Fame, Mike started corresponding with him. The only thing he ever would tell Mike was "practice, practice, practice."

After six years of learning to make rawhide, cutting string and making knots it was time to give the rawhide world a go. After doing shows from Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming and Oklahoma City, Mike was humbled by receiving Braider of the Year in 1997.

Along with his wife Cindy, they have been very generous in passing knowledge on to others, for many years they have offered seminars that have given many braiders an educated start and continuing advise.

Mike quotes" The highlight of the pass 30 years with rawhide has been the people and doing something that one enjoys as well as preserving his part our Western Heritage. What a privilege it has been."

 

 

Rick Bean by Teresa Marsh

Published on 08/13/2010

Our Featured Artist for this month is is Idaho saddle maker Rick Bean. A TCAA member since 2004, Rick has taken the art of Saddle making to new levels of artistic quality. His passion and devotion to his chosen trade are quite evident in his finished work and conversation. As we write these short comments we try to give a more well rounded view of our members, but as we have never heard Rick talk about anything but saddles, we asked Ricks wife Kristie for some input.

This is what she came up with. Back in 1976 when just a budding teenager, Rick Bean chose his own road. He was going to be a saddle maker, and he has never deviated from that path. His favorite topic of discussion is saddles. He draws them, dreams of them and occasionally builds one. The swivel knife is his favorite tool and he has mastered it well. His next best tool is a 00 Pony shovel- not to downplay the swivel knife- but some guys can dig better than others. Everybody has their vices however, and Rick likes tools, trees and rocks. His 15 acre property is crammed with trees, shrubs, plants and lots of cool rocks, none of which are native.

Conveniently located in the middle of his house is his trick saddle shop, filled with cool sewing machines and tools. A silver shop, wood shop, machine shop, art studio and wife are all close by. Occasionally, life interrupts and he leaves his paradise to visit his parents. Other than food and the company of his lovely wife, Rick has a one-track mind: SADDLES!

David Alderson by Teresa Marsh

Published on 02/02/2010

Dave Alderson, from Twin Falls, Idaho. A master silver smith and TCAA member since 2002 and has been in the business since 1974. He is a prime example of the traditional one man shop operation with a continually evolving and unique style that is distinctly his own. He's developed his business by creating beautifully designed pieces using top quality materials without limits on time or effect invested. Venturing into territory, where copying mass producers are unable to follow. Recently he returned from a trip to Argentina where he spent time trading techniques and expertise, putting on a workshop and visiting the Plateria Olavarriense School an iconic institution and Armando Ferriera (sus Maestros y Discripulos). This visit was very well received. A full report is in the works.

When Dave's not hard at work in his shop, he is a very serious fisherman and never misses an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, scheduling a little extra time while traveling to explore new rivers and streams throughout the west. Dave gave us a little insight as to what keeps him excited about his work. "As a great supporter of working arts, I have seen many changes since my beginning in the field of silver smithing. I certainly have seen the rise of high tech influences, computer equipment and tools, all are wonderful. I have tried to keep up on all the new developments over the years, sometimes at great expense. I keep going back in time to historic old school methods to achieve my goals in creativity. This ever increasing thirst for knowledge has led me to go places and try things I never thought I would have a chance to do. Success is fleeting and frightening to me but it also has its rewards, that is what keeps me going for now." Dave Alderson

"You're an artist" by Cary Schwarz

Published on 02/04/2010

Any craftsman who has taken it upon himself to refine his work has heard this statement. The comment usually implies that one is no longer "just a craftsman" and has ascended to the rank of "artist". It is almost as if one goes to bed a craftsman, and wakes up an artist. It is as though there is an invisible line, a threshold that exists between function and art.

As descendants of Greek thought, we Westerners regard almost everything in a compartmentalized, lineal fashion. Life is considered a progression of events with a beginning and end with crisp lines separating stages. But is this an accurate way to think about function and art? Our culture often encourages us to choose one over the other, but whenever we draw a line of distinction between the two, we inadvertently create tension...one over against the other.

So what are we to do with functional art?

It has been said that if the craftsman can make a plain saddle (or bit, or bosal, etc.) look like a work of art; he/she has achieved a high level of success. Let's consider for a moment what goes into a plain piece that would make it appear to be a work of art. In order for parts to fit together well, one has to master the unique properties of the medium (leather, metal, rawhide) and have a well developed eye for the lines of the piece. Any work that is architecturally well-designed is pleasing to the eye. The piece has the correct proportion, balance and composition... terms that are used within the art world, but interestingly are found in the realm of function as well. A bit that has the proper ratios, weight, and diameters would be functionally well-balanced. But it would likely also be aesthetically pleasing even if it were undecorated. "Balance" is a word that can be used to describe both function and art, and it can be very difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins.

A case can be made that an aspect of the beauty of a piece of cowboy gear is its ultimate usability. How often have we looked at a saddle and it seemed to beckon us to step across it and ride off. There was something "right" about the shape of the seat, the line of cantle, the relationship of the front of the saddle to the seat. These are aspects of a saddle that exist (or not!) regardless of decoration. Simply put, there is a strong connection between function and art when the two are blended successfully. In fact, the best work shows a seamless integration of the two: the craftsman has kept both in balance, taking care that one would not swallow up the other.

The members of the TCAA are both craftsmen and artists (even though they may not be comfortable calling themselves artists... but that's another story). Their ultimate goal, whether it is work made for an exhibit or for the cowboy down the road, is to make beautiful pieces that are both durable and functionally sound.

"Spur Identification" by Bill Heisman

Published on 01/02/2010

I have been building and collecting saddles, spurs and bits since the 1970s and have been a full time bit and spur maker since 1988. Most of my work is California style bits and spurs. I do restoration work on higher quality items for a very few collectors and I work as a consultant to individuals who are just starting or have large collections and have questions. I have done a lot of research on bits and spurs and have a large collection of books that have come out through the years since I was able to purchase was 'Old West Antiques and Collectibles' back in 1979. Books have helped very much but I feel that restoration has helped more than anything. When trying to match the work, tools had to be made to reproduce the marks of the piece. In doing this, I have discovered many things in the construction of the old work. It differs from what we do now because we have so many tools that they did not have which allows us to take our work to new levels. Collecting high quality contemporary work is gaining in popularity. This is primarily due to groups that promote high quality contemporary work such as the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association (TCAA) and the Texas Spur Makers Association. The TCAA also focuses on the education of makers, collectors and public so that they can identify quality work.

Some of my most asked questions are: "How do I know if a spur is contemporary or an original old piece?" "Is this an original G. S. Garcia?" "Is this a Mexican spur?" G.S. Garcia is being marked on contemporary pieces coming out of Mexico for the J. M. Capriola Company in Elko, Nevada. Capriola legally has the right to mark the pieces which makes it harder to identify if the piece is old or contemporary. With just a little practice and education, learning what to look for is easy. I will attempt to give you a little advice in what to look for but remember, there are exceptions to every rule.

First thing to look for is how the shank is connected to the band. This is one of the easiest ways to identify the work. If the work is an old California piece it will most likely have a riveted shank. That means the shank has been riveted on the band by filing a square hole in the band to fit the square end of the shank. The square end of the shank and hole in the band is made that way to keep the shank from twisting. The shank should fit the band well with a visible line around the point where the shank meets the band. If the piece is contemporary or from Mexico it will most likely have been welded where the shank meets the band and have a shoulder that is visible.

Some of the California pieces and contemporary pieces are forged from one piece of steel and the shank on those spurs will be a crisp 90' angle where it meets the band with no dividing line and in most cases will not have a shoulder as a welded shank. Mike Morales made one piece spurs as did Phillips and Gutierrez. There are a very few makers out there now that make 'one piece' spurs. Another thing to look for is the way the piece was inlaid. Most of the old California and U.S. contemporary makers chisel out their silver cavities and set their silver by undercutting the edge of the cavity and hammering the silver into the cavity, while in Mexico they use a very thin piece of silver and just undercut the steel for the edges of the silver with no cavity and burnish the silver in place causing it to spread smoothly and look like an inlay. They use tools to engrave that do not dig as the old gravers did so that it does not cut through the silver. The way to tell the difference is to look at the stripes on the edge if there are any and the inlay itself. On an old piece, the silver inlay will be flush with the steel (if it has not yet rusted under the silver) and the stripes will also be flush with the steel and you may be able to see the undercut. On a Mexican piece, the silver inlay will be very slightly above the steel and on the stripes you will see a chisel cut on each side with the silver again slightly above the steel.

The engraving will also tell a lot about the spur but engraving is easy to copy. The old California engraving was usually done with the same tools that were used to cut the cavities. Most of the engraving on the old pieces looked something like this. Note the chisel marks are done with a flat chisel leaving a long cut to the outside.

Now on most of the Mexican, and a good part of contemporary work, the engraving is done bright-cut style using modern tools. One of the easiest ways to tell old engraving from Contemporary is the use of a liner. A liner is a graver that makes uniform side-by-side lines on the piece engraved. The liner is used for shading in bright cut engraving, remember, the old engraving was done with what tools they used to cut the silver cavity. Old work will not have a liner because they were not readily available. Some of the master level makers now are going to single point or firearms style engraving which is different than the old way as only a square graver is used and not the flat graver or chisels. The difference is in the way the gravers cut the material.

With these few pointers you should be able to tell the difference but nothing takes the place of experience. I suggest those interested take the time to buy a few books, look at as many different pieces of work as possible and ask questions of the makers working now. Times have changed and makers are now more willing to answer questions and explain the differences in work. Ask someone trustworthy what they think before buying a piece you are not sure of. Do not be in a hurry to buy that G. S. Garcia from the old cowboy that has had them since the teens if they just don't look right. It takes a while to get an 'eye' for engraving patterns and such but it is better to wait until you are sure than to just buy a piece because it might get away if you do not buy it right now. There are too many people out there who are more than willing to sell something they know is not right and once you buy it, it is yours. There are also a lot of people out there who would be glad to help and answer questions. Be careful, study as much as you can, and do not be afraid to ask lots of questions. That is how we learn.

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