Artist Portfolio

[BearMan]

Hi Everybody,

It's been a Looooong time since I posted any leatherwork. Here is the last project I made in South Carolina. It's an Artist portfolio / drawing notebook. It takes a full size clipboard, that is held in with rare earth magnets. I made the pockets big enough to hold lots of drawings, & other drawing templates & supplies. It has a very unique feature, that I'm not quite ready to reveal yet. Of course I have to make something a bit unusual! The tooling pattern I had lots of help with, adapting one of my old patterns that needed help,,, I'm very happy with the way it came out. The colors are all spirit dyes,,, which take about as long to do as the tooling. The inside color is what I call "BearBlood" it's my own mixture,,,it's not as red as Ox Blood,,, but more red than Cordovan, & a bit darker.

Thanks for looking,,, & please let me know what you think,,, Ed the"BearMan"

P.S. The edges are all done by hand, using Bob Parks proceedure, & one of his burnishing mitts. I have a ways to go, to get them as nice as Bob's,,, but they ain't too bad!! hehehe

[moeg]

That is a great portfolio, the detail is awesome, I wish I could do a basket weave like that.

Moe

[benlilly1]

Very very NICE! Awesome detail and dying!

[BearMan]

Thanks a lot!! I figured I should make something special, for my last project here. The basketweave, is really pretty simple, I didn't do any curves, or anything fancy.

Thanks for looking,,, Ed the"BearMan"

[LNLeather]

Wow! Your Tooling and Design is Awesome and Beautiful, ( as usual! )

Definitely High Quality workmanship to strive for...

.....but I am wondering - in your 7:33 PM post........

what did you mean by "for my last project here."

Did you mean "for my latest project here." ? or have I missed something... ?

Edited September 9, 2011 by LNLeather

[BearMan]

Good morning Cheryl,

First,,, thank you so much for the wonderful compliments! This is the last project I made here in South Carolina. We are moving. I wish we were moving up to Vashon Island,such a beautiful place,, ,, but we're not, we're moving back to Panama City Fl. I hope to be able to be set up & pounding leather again, within the next couple months. And if I'm really lucky,,, I can start making some tools again! I'm kinda going crazy, not being able to create!! Of course everybody that knows me,,, knows I'm right on that crazy edge all the time anyway,,, hehehe Ed the"BearMan" Hmmmm,,, BearMan on Vashon Island,,, might just fit right in!! hehehe

[LNLeather]

Ohhhhhhh. I understand. The important part of that sentence was here,

as in where You are (and not here as in leatherworker.net). Silly me to think you were saying anything else…

Your work is Way too Special not to share… And, if you came to Vashon, well that would be just way too cool for words.

Vashon Bearman! Ooooh Yes, you would fit right in! We would make you feel right at home here! heheheh

Lots of crazy artist's of all kinds here. (plus I would love to take a few lessons from the Esteemed Bearman) Now, hurry up and Move (and get your shop set back up)

Oh, and by the way – I Love using my Bearman Maul!

[BearMan]

Hehehehe,,, Thanks Cheryl!! Maybe one day I'll make it up there,,, I just know I'd love it!!

[DougClaassen]

Ed, what tool do you use to make the pebble looking background?

Great looking portfolio by the way. The edges look really good too.

Doug

[hidepounder]

Beautiful work Ed!!! And the edges looks terrific!!!

Bobby

[BearMan]

Hi Doug,

Thanks!! That background is one, that was supposedly one of the first tools made by Ray Hackbarth,,, so I was told. I really dont know,,, it's all black, with no knurling, & it's all the same diameter right down to the head. It was given to me by Bob Dellis, back in about 1980. The tool itself is similar to a #A102 by craftool,,, except that it is bigger,,, & the center bead is bigger than the surounding ones. It creates a mottled background, that's pleasing to look at. To get into the corners, I made another one, except it's only half a circle. I may be wrong, But,,, I think craftool used to make one also.

Hi Bobby,

Thanks Sooo much!,,, but I still have a ways to go, before I get the true "Bob Park" edges!!

[gtwister09]

Ed,

They did make a half unit as well.. As I said before the work looks great. These pictures show a little more detail than what I originally saw.

Regards,

Ben

[Tina]

Love your work...As usual :-)

[tatehunt]

Really Excellent! The design, finishing, stamping, and carving are all amazing. Was the finish on the weave airbrushed? Love the gradation of color there.

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Hey Bearman!

That is really nice work. I am not normally a proponent of color on leather, however; you did such a nice job on this, that it looks like it is supposed to be in color, and looks natural. An Old Timer I once worked under when I was making muzzle loaders, told me that "when you are done, it should look like it grew that way", he was referring to how everything fit together and how each piece enhanced the surrounding pieces, and together it created a "living" object. In this project you have done just that.

Again, very nice!

Bob