gtwister09 Report post Posted February 11, 2009 Late Christmas Eve I passed on the disheartening news of the sudden passing of Larry Huston. A few weeks ago, Jim Lewis and I were privileged to attend a 'celebration of Larry's Life', sort of a memorial to our mutual friend. I was very impressed, not only with the size of the crowd, but that so many young folks gave up a beautiful Sunday Afternoon to show their respect for Larry. Many young folks, late teens and twenty's were there to honor their 'Dad'. Young Cowboys and Cowgirls, some kids with funny haircuts and strange-looking piercings, from all ends of the spectrum. All kids that Larry and Kathleen had mentored and befriended over the years. Many have learned Leathercraft from Larry. Larry often spoke with me about his "adopted family", but I never realized just how extensive his 'adopted family' was. He was, and remains, a respected member of his community, and of this guild - for he, unselfishly, shared his passion for Leathercraft with many, many folks. I was, indeed, deeply honored when Larry's wife, Kathleen, and oldest son, Michael asked me to make a tooled Leather Urn for Larry's Internment. I will send a follow-up with some pics and descriptions of the leather, dye, and lacing that I used for this very unusual, and emotional project. It was truly an honor to make this for my friend. This is compilation .jpg of the Leather Urn. It was meant to pay tribute to Larry. The top is reflective of Larry's Christian beliefs, with 2 Doves for Larry and Kathleen, and four smaller crosses for each of their children. I framed it with a simple whirl border. The front shows Larry's name with two scrolls, the top showing his date of birth, the lower showing the day he passed. Framed with some typical Stohlman-styled acanthus. Larry was a huge fan of Al Stohlman, I would bet he could probably quote every book written by the Stohlmans'. Larry was a Leather Artist, and I had seen a couple of silhouette carvings he had done in the past, they were two of his favorites. I have never done silhouette stamping before, so I hope the sides will be a fitting tribute to Larry. I framed the Praying Cowboy with some basketweave, and the End of the Trail with an Arrow Basket stamping. The back was just a floral design I drew up for Larry, using his makers stamp in the center. After Larry's ashes are interred, the Urn will be sealed, and I stamped out some leather to cover the bottom, using another of Larry's maker stamps, along with my own. I used 5/6oz English Cowhide, had a nice, clean side over the bench. Since this leather is very light colored, I first sprayed a 'natural' fiebings dye. Mixture is 5 parts of Denatured Alcohol, and 1 part of Fiebings Lt Brn Pro-Oil Dye. Then I oiled with 'Golden Oak Oil', an 8 to 1 mixture of Bee Natural Saddle Oil with Fiebings Golden Oak Stain. After allowing the colored oil to set overnight, I 'highlighted' a bit with a dry rub of straight Golden Oak Stain. The Antique was also a mix of Fiebings Antique: 2 parts neutral, 2 parts Medium Brown, 4 parts of Light Brown, with some Tan Kote to taste. We dyed some Kangaroo dark brown and cut some 5/32" lace, about 30 yards, to finish it off. This is a 'Swiss Braid' - I have no idea why it is called this, but I learned it about 20 years ago from another Leatherworker I met at a Craft Show. He called it a 'Swiss Braid'. It appears very similar to the 'double stairstep' shown in the Bruce Grant Book. I thought I had made nearly everything you could make over the last 40 years, but this was a first for me. -vaya con Dios, Larry May God Bless. -Phil LeDuc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kowboyboots Report post Posted February 11, 2009 Wonderful, both in thought & craftsmanship. Thank you for sharing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2MadJacks Report post Posted February 11, 2009 Wow, I have to say that this is one of the most amazing things I have seen on this site yet. Between the honor of making the urn and the friendship it sounds like this world could use more people like Larry Huston and Phil LeDuc. Just amazing!! Thanks for sharing, James Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billy P Report post Posted February 11, 2009 Larry was a dear friend of mine and my mentor in leather working. Sometimes I feel lost without him to critque my work. I want to thank Phil for what he did for our friend and for the Twister for posting it here. Yes James you are right, we and the world could use a lot more people like Phil and Larry. I've found Larry and Phil, both to be really unselfish in their willingness to help others with leather work. I gotta go for now, but again thanks Phil and James for putting this on the forum. Billy P Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
