randyandclaudia

Claudia and I have used this technique before. Your execution is excellent! Quality is never an accident. It's always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives. john ruskin

Your son is going to love it. Very cool.

Hello Johanna, I first wanted to say thanks for creating a very cool place. This forum is calming to those of us who have been bitten by this crazy leather makin bug. I really enjoy seeing so much cool work in such a wide variety of styles and techniques. And such a diverse group of people. Very cool! I'm looking forward to posting more and more as time goes on. When does this forum have a party? You sure do make a great host. It's been an absolutely incredible roller coaster ride these past eighteen years. I'm so glad Claudia likes to ride roller coasters. We have been gathering leather, tools, machines, and knowledge for our entire adult lifes together and couldn't be more ready than now for the world to know we exist. The last big hill for me was the learning curve to build our website. I went through Godaddy after giving up on my Dreamweaver software. Built randyandclaudia.com but I still have a long way to go. We sure could use your help in launching our site and getting it ready for sales. Thank you so much for considering. Hope this finds you having a great day. Looking forward to your reply. Randy

very nice Alex. Very clean. Awesome stitchin' . . . no matter what type of light you are using. Randy

Thanks everyone. You sure do know how to make us feel good. The sizes are as follows: Chief Sitting Bull - 27" x 30" , Strummin' Still - 30" x 36", White Tiger - 10" x 15". The machine we use is a Pfaff 463 flatbed. We've had it for about 17 years now. Can't tell you exactly how long each one took to make. I timed a piece we call "Broken Dreams" a long time ago and it took 209 hours after the drawing was completed. Please find it below.

Thanks again. Hope this reply finds you having a great day. I'm still working on our site, but please check it out. randyandclaudia.com return often, as we are working on putting up a bunch of photos in the different sections of pieces that we have already sold. We are also going to be adding all of our newest creations as we complete them. Chief Sitting Bull is 27" x 30" - 137 pieces, White Tiger - 10" x 15" - 196 pieces, Strummin Still" (Dwight Yoakam) - 30" x 36" - 475 pieces

Dwight Yoakam portrait - Strummin' Still - 475 pieces

Thanks everyone for all of your kind words. The process . . . Design, Draw, Patterns, Trace, Cut, Skive, Glue & Stitch. Of course there are lots of subchapters under each heading when it comes to the Art of Inlay / Overlay. There is no wrong way to create. Our medium is leather so in order to make things with it you have to understand it. How it reacts, moves, etc. Wether you are working with harness leathers, shoe leathers, or very soft leathers. I like to put zoom lenses on my eyeballs and focus on the small stuff. Sure there's alot of stuff out there that looks awesome from a few feet away. Zoom in. I remember sitting on the floor one day, while I was at the MET in Manhattan, trying to understand the craftsperson / artist that created the suit of armor I was staring at. It was made for King Henry II and it absolutely blew me away. The more I zoomed in the more detail I noticed. Even the pinky finger had 7 reticulating scales, each scale adorned. Every square quarter inch was the best the maker was able to do. Do your best in each step of what you make. This is art. Create. Skills are earned through passion and repetition. Positively . . . Randy

Hi. Happy Holidays. We are very excited to formally join this circle of fellow leather artists. Claudia and I are self-taught non-traditional leather artists who have been creating wearable and non-wearable art together for almost eighteen years. Our passion has taken us on an awesome roller coaster ride as I'm sure a lot of you are on as well. It's the reason we joined the forum. Thanks for creating it! Thought I would add a couple of photos of one of our latest portraits, Chief Sitting Bull. Positively . . . Randy