Just saying hi

[BillB]

Rusty,

When I started all I had was Tandy Kits and Patterns. I carved mostly in the Sheridan style. Today I do Native American Totems following the North West Art Style. You can find some of my work in the Specialty Leatherwork Board, Other Specialties, Art. The Thread is NA Totems and Totem Poles in Leather.

I am still working all all the techniques that will follow the Art Style that has been documented from the Master Carvers. I have also used some pictures of beading patterns used by the Upper Great Lakes Indians (Ojibwa, Winnebago, etc) work very well on leather and provide a running flower pattern. You may also want to look at Creating Nature Designs on Leather by Tandy The copy I have is dated 1973 so I am not sure if it is in print anymore. You may also want to look at some of F.O. Baird's books such at Leather Art. It is very informative on technique. I am also using books containing pictures of Wild flowers to develop my own templates.

I would encourage you to explore all possible styles until you find the one you like or want to use as a base to forge a new style. You will find lots of different styles on Leatherworker.net. Since I can only speak for myself, I put examples of my work on this site so others can use them to learn and explore their techniques with. If you would like the original template I used, I am more than happy to provide it. That is one way we pass on our knowledge.

Remember to have fun.

[rdb]

If that's what you can do with only a years experience, we're all in trouble....

I would trust my cue in that, with 10/11 oz, that's as good as a hard case.

Welcome to the Forum, you have found a home.

[RustyMelton]

Bill your work is great. I really like the the tribal birds. The 2nd one down and the 5th one down are my favorites. I will would like to give something in this style a try. Thanks for the idea!

rdb, it is kind of like a hard case, its got pvc tubes in it with cordura material in them. It's pretty protective, or at least I hope.

Thanks for the nice words everyone.

Edited July 30, 2008 by RustyMelton

[BillB]

Rusty,

The first one you picked out is a Thunderbird Dancer. The Native Americans believed that at one time Humans and Animals good exchange shapes and is why the totem appears to have hands and feet. It is called two dimensional art and would have been painted following some basic rules. The Black areas are called primary lines and would have been Black. The white areas are called voids or negative space and would either be white or natural since most paintings were done on wood. The grey areas are secondary or tertiary shapes. Red is the most common color for these shapes but blues, greens and a few other colors can be found.

The second picture you picked is a Thunderbird done by an unknown Kwagiutl Tribal Artisan. The Thunderbird is the mythical animal that Ruled the Sky even over the Eagle. It was believed that a Thunderbird could pickup a whale in its talons and eat it.

In this art form Birds of Prey such as the Thunderbird and Eagle have down turned beaks while Hawks have recurve beaks. The noted difference between the Thunderbird and the Eagle Totem is the Ear structure. Thunderbirds have the curled horn like ear while eagles have a flat topped ear. Do to file size I was only able to upload one picture.

You will note that I have made changes from the original to try and effectively use the leather and the tools we use.

[Don101]

Hi Rusty welcome to the forum, that is sure some nice carving you have done, Don

[RustyMelton]

Thanks Don I apreciate the compliment and the welcome, I've got a long way to go. Bill, thank you for the info and the pattern. Now I know what to call them, instead of the birds . I'm going to give one of them a shot, I think they pretty cool.

Rusty