In memory of Verlane

[ClayB]

I have been thinking a lot about Verlane this past week. I was really shocked and saddened to hear of her death. Verlane seemed to know everything there was to know about anything to do with leather. She also freely shared everything she knew with anyone that asked. I feel really fortunate for all the conversations we had, whether they were in a parking lot in Sheridan or by email. Drawing patterns has always been difficult for me but every once in awhile I give it a try. Whenever I would share one of them with Verlane, she usually sent me several pages of instructions on how to improve them. I thought I would share this one with you all. I was trying to come up with a pattern for a scent article for dog competition and drew up a floral pattern that I thought was pretty good. Verlane re-drew it and explained pattern flow in a way that I could really understand. I still don't draw patterns very often, or very well, but at least I have a pretty good idea of how it's supposed to look.

Here is how I drew the original pattern.

And here is how it should have been done.

I'm gonna miss you Verlane!

[Randy Cornelius]

I also have some things that she sent me, Is it OK to post those things that were her's? I don't want to get into trouble.

Randy

[Mike Craw]

I'm not an attorney (and I don't play one on TV) but I'd guess that if she sent them to you they were for your use, and sharing them with others for non-commercial purposes doesn't violate the spirit of any laws that I know about.

Mike

[David Genadek]

Hey you guys,

I never met Verlane in person but we spent a lot of time on the phone. Our conversations were often about the state of the craft, teaching and the attitudes of students. These were not light conversations and frankly I will really miss them. But I can say in certain terms that she wanted people sharing and talking and helping each other get better. It was a huge frustration of hers that she would do all this work and it wouldn't get used. One example would be the work she did on evaluating peoples work. It is really excellent and could be an outline for so many things from classes to judging competitions. I can't speak to what the position of her estate will be but I can say the best way to honor her life is to share everything she shared with you. Take it and run with it, add to it and make it your own.

David Genadek

[ClayB]

This page that Verlane did was sent directly to me in response to a pattern I had posted to the IILG. She told me it was my decision if I wanted to share it with anyone. There is no copyright on the copy I have. I have several other pages that she did for her classes in Spokane that do have copyrights on them and I wouldn't feel right about posting them. She had told me that she was hoping to write at least one book on pattern drawing as she felt it hadn't been covered very well. For the past several years she was trying to get a lot of information into digital form on her computer. She said she could only get a few pages done a day. I hope that her family (or whoever is in charge of her estate) realizes that the data stored on her old Mac is priceless to the leatherworking community. I hope that someday it is made available in some form as I know she wouldn't want her knowledge lost.

[CitizenKate]

I remember when you first posted that, Clay. I can do some pretty respectable ornamental design from various periods and cultures, but floral scrolls have been my bane. I still have a ways to go in that area, but that little tutorial you and she engaged in was a major "aha!" for me.

I've never met Verlane personally, although we exchanged email on some occasions... I was also very saddened by her sudden passing, but she gave us so much, and that is worth celebrating and preserving. Everything we all remember about her has suddenly become much more vivid, and I think that's our way of keeping her with us. As long as we preserve what she gave us, she will always be with us.

Kate

[ClayB]

Since the original attachments to this posts were lost in the crash, and didn't come back when the post was restored, I'm re-posting them here.

You've not been forgotten Verlane!

patterndrawing_ClayB_Verlane.pdf

patterndrawing_ClayB_Verlane.pdf

[Bree]

This page that Verlane did was sent directly to me in response to a pattern I had posted to the IILG. She told me it was my decision if I wanted to share it with anyone. There is no copyright on the copy I have. I have several other pages that she did for her classes in Spokane that do have copyrights on them and I wouldn't feel right about posting them. She had told me that she was hoping to write at least one book on pattern drawing as she felt it hadn't been covered very well. For the past several years she was trying to get a lot of information into digital form on her computer. She said she could only get a few pages done a day. I hope that her family (or whoever is in charge of her estate) realizes that the data stored on her old Mac is priceless to the leatherworking community. I hope that someday it is made available in some form as I know she wouldn't want her knowledge lost.

The absence of a mark saying Copyright doesn't mean anything. For works created after 1978 the copyright begins on the date creation is fixed. It requires no registration. If you created it, you own the rights. If you die, here is the law:

§ 302. Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1, 1978⁴

(a) In General. — Copyright in a work created on or after January 1, 1978, subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the following subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and 70 years after the author's death.

Unless she transferred her rights to you, the copyrights would be held by her heirs. And if she told you (and you can prove it) that you can share these with anyone else, then you should be good to go as she would granted you that right.

Thanks for sharing as was her wish.

[ketchum]

back in the 50s when my mother said to my father , cliff ketchum , that he should copie right his patterns , he said all someone has to do is change one little flower or change stamps for a pattern ,,, as it did happen when one other saddle maker whom worked for my father at the san fernando valley saddlery ,, at least some of his work is in a hand full of leather craft books ,, when my father past away in sept of 1984 , alot of his things disapeared , tools etc , verlane studied under my father for at least a year ,,,, a few years back i was thinking of taking time off to visit with verlane , would have been nice to have known her ,, if anyone here knew of my father , cliff ketchum , drop me a note etc , patrick ketchum

[Bree]

back in the 50s when my mother said to my father , cliff ketchum , that he should copie right his patterns , he said all someone has to do is change one little flower or change stamps for a pattern ,,, as it did happen when one other saddle maker whom worked for my father at the san fernando valley saddlery ,, at least some of his work is in a hand full of leather craft books ,, when my father past away in sept of 1984 , alot of his things disapeared , tools etc , verlane studied under my father for at least a year ,,,, a few years back i was thinking of taking time off to visit with verlane , would have been nice to have known her ,, if anyone here knew of my father , cliff ketchum , drop me a note etc , patrick ketchum

Pat...

Your dad was an outstanding leather artist! That is a gorgeous saddle. I love it. Do you have any other PIX of his work to share??

[gtwister09]

The early Leather Craftsmen had several articles from Cliff as well as history of the San Fernando Valley Saddlery. They also had articles about his acting in cowboy pictures as well in various issues.

Regards,

Ben

[ClayB]

Hi Pat,

Verlane always gave Cliff Ketchum credit for being her mentor. She mentioned him a lot in her conversations. It's too bad you never got the chance to meet her. I bet you'd have had some great conversations. If you have some pictures of your father's work, I hope you'll consider posting them in the leather history section, along with any stories you'd care to share. I'm sure there are a lot of us that would love to hear more about him.