Cowboy Artistry

Last Tuesday was a great day for an excursion into the Nebraska Sandhills, where one companion said she loved to watch the changing seasons.  We joked that the fall color is so evident on all the trees.... (Actually, there are almost no trees in the Sandhills, but the grasses definitely change with the seasons.)  Ten of us from The Art Society of Ogallala took a field trip to Arthur, a small cowboy town in ranch country, north of Ogallala.  Arthur County claims one person per square mile from the 2000 Census, and Arthur is the only town in the county!  The place is famous for the world's smallest courthouse, and the world's only church made from baled straw.  A brochure lists 18 current businesses.  We visited three.

We learned lots about leather working from Dennis Rose at Rose Saddlery, on the main street, "downtown".  He has some amazing industrial sewing machines and demonstrated for us on a beaded horse breast collar, commissioned for a young cowboy's birthday.  Dennis grew up in the Sandhills. He does beautiful leather tooling and has created 267 saddles,  as well as lots of horse equipment, purses, and biker clothing during the last 33 years.  He's designed a special saddle for handicapped riders with a high back support that folds to allow the rider to get into position.  Lots of his equipment was creatively fabricated to fit his needs, like a saddle frame mounted on a barber stool to pump it higher for ease in construction.

On the north edge of town, past the log cabin built by Buffalo Bill and some partners, we were treated to a demonstration of the hatter's craft by Jim Marshall of  Marshall Custom Hats.   I didn't realize the best felt cowboy hats are made from 100% beaver hair.  Varying amounts of rabbit hair are added at different price ranges.  We saw an antique conformeter--a rare contraption used to measure the idiosyncrasies of old British heads.  Custom hats really are made to fit different shapes and sizes of heads.  Jim steams the felt, shaping it on wooden forms, and flange boards,  presses with an ingenious Rhodes ironing machine, then actually sands the felt with sandpaper.   The inside sweatbands are sewn in by hand, and more shaping is done with steam and skilled hands.  In the last 10 years, Jim has created 1,059 special hats for rodeo queens, ranchers, cowboys, and even a birthday presentation hat for Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, who has the biggest head Jim has ever fit.

Fried onion chips, and a drink at The Bunkhouse Bar & Grill rounded out our field trip.  This place also serves as the area's senior meal site!  The food and atmosphere were great:  a table of women playing cards, men coming in for a late afternoon beer...all eye-ing us "tourists."  Hunting trophies and antiques adorn the walls.  Pithy quotations and snapshots of the locals are everywhere.  But, I'll have to go back for more than the food...my one bar photo came out too blurry to include here.  Many apologies. 

A little escape from reality

Ha! I was enjoying a friend's blog where she posts free images for use in altered books and collages.   This image made me laugh and led me to wonder if the couple pictured here went through the same sorts of decisions, fun, frustrations, and stresses experienced in wedding planning of the 2010 variety.  Where did they go from this point in their life?  How many attended the wedding?  Was it a wonderful party?  Wouldn't a picnic in the woods seem appropriate?  Did they ever see those wedding guests again? Was he a military officer?  Did she have a career?  Were they successful...healthy...happy?  How many children did they have?  Did the parents in the background worry about them?  Did all those children gathered round them remember the event?  Whose shoe is the little boy in front hiding?  Did the dog act as ring bearer?  Isn't it interesting to notice the distinct age groups shown?

Three weeks out from my first daughter's wedding, number two just off to college, and number three gone to football practice...life is returning to its somewhat normal routine.  It gives me a chance to think again.  I'm cleaning house, finishing a painting, reading a book (The Fiery Cross by Gabaldon), and may do some filing and sorting...better hurry, because the county fair is next week!  That's always several days of intense distraction.  We'll do the sheep show again, and have a booth with the aerial photography.  The show choir sings and works concessions for the grandstand shows (Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Rodney Atkins).  And school starts in two weeks!   Isn't it fun to escape for a bit with this Victorian painting?

Seasons

I was thrilled this week to present Rosanne with her painting, titled "Seasons" (shown right). Rosanne has futuristic and significance in her top five (Clifton Strengthsfinder). She even authored a book about using strengths in the classroom. She's been living with another painting of mine ("Resurrection", shown below) for a couple months, and wanted something similar, but larger. She also requested a piece of art that would speak to her spiritual connection with the seasons in nature.

This painting, as usual, had a significant evolution. However, inspired by Rosanne's confidence in my ability, and spurred by a previously scheduled trip to Omaha,  the work happened more quickly than usual...almost obsessively! A little over three weeks of work with the painting...that's a record for me, and enough to get me into a habit of painting daily. I am inspired! We hung "Seasons" on Monday in Rosanne's beautiful office overlooking the Missouri River. The watery elements in the painting seemed right at home there.

"Seasons" started in a vertical orientation, with a Gothic arch on the left, a "lilly pad" of hand-painted tissue on the right, and lots of swirly plaster wall texture (I use Behr Interior Texture Paint from Home Depot).  It changed to a horizontal orientation, lost the arch, added the cool tree with roots. (The tree is from a photo my son took of an osage orange tree, growing from a rock in southwest Nebraska. I printed it as an 8x10 black and white, then cut it out with an exacto knife.) It needed more, so plaster and bronze paint (Golden Fluid Acrylics) were added over most of the tree. When Rosanne sent a note expressing her anticipation of the "Four Seasons Artwork,"  I immediately knew how leaves should be added to the tree. Some leaves are collaged with painted tissue paper and some are painted with the Behr texture+acrylic paint. A late touch was the metallic marker line to separate the art from the frame. Finally, I added words unobtrusively, in turquoise, near the center: "There is a time for every purpose under heaven". It was a fun project. The best part was hearing and seeing the response from Rosanne and her friends. They found all kinds of symbols and ideas in the painting...some I hadn't even recognized!  Knowing my work makes a difference in others lives is such a rewarding part of my life as an artist. Thank you, Rosanne!