Rawhide Report post Posted January 28, 2008 I just wanted to give everyone an update on how the class with Peter Main went. In a word...super, awesome, fabulous, outstanding, remarkable, etc... (so I can't count) Peter was the nicest guy and gave us valuable information. If anyone has the chance to take a class under Peter, don't hesitate. This guy is well worth the time. We had a fantastic time learning some of his little tricks to great carvings and coloring. I sure hope to take more classes from him. Marlon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted January 28, 2008 Hey Marlon, Sounds like you had a great class. Did you make a project at all or did Peter just demonstrate some of his cool techniques? If you made something, you have to post pictures, there's a rule! I hope someday to take a class from Peter, but it never seems to work out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tina Report post Posted January 28, 2008 Lucky You Marlon, Peters web site was one of the first I found when I started to look for information about this craft. I can say that his work was one of the reasons I started trying it out. I wish he would show up here i Michigan at some point, I'll go:-) Tina Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted January 28, 2008 I will post pictures of my piece. I didn't quite finish it, but I will post it. Also, I have pictures that have him in them and I would like to get his permission before I post them to the net, at least as a courtesy. the class was fabulous. Tina, he'll (Peter) go anywhere. all you have to do is email him and find out what his requirements are for a class. Price will be subject to a number of things I'm sure. You can reach him through his website email. Marlon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
krains Report post Posted January 29, 2008 (edited) Yea it was an awesome class. I had no idea I was going to learn that much! I was NOT disappointed in any way - other than the drive it took to get there It was great meeting you and your wife Marlon. I hope to see you all again. -Kevin p.s. ..... ..... you look meaner in your picture than you do in person hehe Edited January 29, 2008 by krains Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted January 29, 2008 Yea it was an awesome class. I had no idea I was going to learn that much! I was NOT disappointed in any way - other than the drive it took to get there It was great meeting you and your wife Marlon. I hope to see you all again. -Kevin p.s. ..... ..... you look meaner in your picture than you do in person hehe Kevin, It was a pleasure meeting you as well. Even though you gave me a heart attack!! Also, that's not the first time I've heard that I look mean. I don't intend to, but I guess that's my facial structure. I am anything but mean. Hopefully we'll have a chance to meet again. (Maybe at the Peter Main embossing class!!!). Marlon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tina Report post Posted January 30, 2008 Thank You Marlon for the useful info:-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freak Report post Posted January 30, 2008 I sooooooooo freakin wanted to make that class. That's life .. I'm glad you posted , i was wondering how it went. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yaklady Report post Posted January 30, 2008 That was the class I wanted to take, but the time wasn't right, so I took his other class. I learn a lot from Peter no matter what he's teaching. He's so sweet, too. He has given me a couple of the things that he made in the classes I took. The first class I took from him was a few weeks after I broke my arm while barrel racing. I had an extra bend in my arm. I thought I was bionic with steel in my arm after they fixed it, but it sure was hard holding that mallet! He saw that I was having trouble and helped me graciously through the class. I use the technique I learned there, embossed applique, a lot now. If only I could get the color like he does! I would take Peter's class any time. Sorry, Clay, I don't have a picture! I have an x-ray of my arm, care to see that? Kathy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted January 30, 2008 Kathy, It states in the rules that you HAVE to have pictures! Well, it would if we had any rules. Or then again, maybe not, once in awhile it's good that there aren't pictures So you have an X ray of that broken arm. Now wouldn't that make an interesting leather project???? I am thinking embossed applique in the style of Peter Main. You could even use your own x ray to back the leather as you carve! Ok, it's still early and I shouldn't be typing yet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted January 30, 2008 Kathy, It states in the rules that you HAVE to have pictures! Clay, I'm going to post a couple of pictures soon of what we created in Peter's class. Kathy, Peter asked if we would like him to come back ( :wtf: like that's a real question) and do the applique embossing class. He said that it is a really popular class. Hopefully I won't have to wait too long for that to happen. Marlon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted January 30, 2008 Clay, I'm going to post a couple of pictures soon of what we created in Peter's class. Marlon Ya, well you better Marlon cuz otherwise me and this fish here are gonna have to take a road trip :fish: The fish, he says you dont look all that mean in your picture :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
krains Report post Posted January 30, 2008 oh yea, don't forget we had the pleasure of seeing the world's largest horse there also. 19 hands, 2400lbs. radar i think his name was. simply astounding! didn't you get some pics of that marlon? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yaklady Report post Posted January 30, 2008 Kathy, It states in the rules that you HAVE to have pictures! Well, it would if we had any rules. Or then again, maybe not, once in awhile it's good that there aren't pictures :blush:So you have an X ray of that broken arm. Now wouldn't that make an interesting leather project???? I am thinking embossed applique in the style of Peter Main. You could even use your own x ray to back the leather as you carve! Ok, it's still early and I shouldn't be typing yet.Actually, I think Pete Gorrell's concave method of carving would do great for an x-ray. I'll get right on it! Clay, I'm going to post a couple of pictures soon of what we created in Peter's class. Kathy, Peter asked if we would like him to come back ( :wtf: like that's a real question) and do the applique embossing class. He said that it is a really popular class. Hopefully I won't have to wait too long for that to happen.MarlonDefinitely get in on that one, Marlon. Adsk him is he can applique some broken bones!Kathy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCOUTER Report post Posted January 31, 2008 (edited) Marlon, Thanks very much for all your helpful posts, I had no idea who Peter Main was so I went to his website and was blown away! You are so lucky to be able to take a class given by him! I'm envious! Thanks again! Edited January 31, 2008 by SCOUTER Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted January 31, 2008 Marlon, Thanks very much for all your helpful posts, I had no idea who Peter Main was so I went to his website and was blown away! You are so lucky to be able to take a class given by him! I'm envious! Thanks again! you know Scouter, I had no idea who he REALLY was until I got to this forum. I had one of his books already, but it was patterns designed by Al Stohlman. Once on LW.net, someone posted his website and I took a gander and WOW. I do feel fortunate to have taken a class under him. Shoot, I'm almost envious of myself, if that's even possible. Marlon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted January 31, 2008 Marlon, That reminds me of the first time I had seen Peter's work. We were coming back from a family vacation to Yellowstone and I wanted to stop and King's museum in Sheridan to see the Al Stholman exhibit they had set up there. Everything I knew to that point had come from Al and Ann's books. While I was there, I noticed a table that had some leather pictures on it, looked like they were packing them up in boxes. I got to looking, and was just blown away. I had never seen anything like this stuff before. His buffalo picture and his bear picture that you can see on his site are what inspired me to take my work in a completely different direction. Not too long after that, I had a lady from New York contact me and ask her if I could make her a notebook with a golden retriever and german shepard dog on the front. This was something out of my comfort zone, but I told her I would try if she wasn't in any hurry. I worked on trying to carve dog faces for weeks and just kept getting more and more frustrated. Then I found a Yahoo group called Pictorial Carvers that was for leather carvers that did figure carving. There weren't a lot of members but there were some of the real masters. Peter, Silva, Billy 2 Shews. I finally sent pictures of my failed attempts to that group, and Peter asked for copy of the pattern I was using. A few days later, I get a package in the mail and Peter had taken my pattern and drawn over it, fixing all the mistakes. The new pattern made all the difference in the world. Silva and Billy were just as helpful. Silva did a carving and coloring lesson for me that are up on her website Later that year I had a chance to go to Sheridan for my fist big leather show. First thing I did when I got there was find a pay phone to call home. While I was talking to my wife, here comes Peter walking down the hall and into the bar. When I got off the phone, I went in and saw him sititing with a group of other Australians. I just sat at the bar for a while, had a couple drinks, and worked up some courage. When he came to the bar to get a round, I went up and introduced myself to him. He invited me to come sit at his table with his friends. Me, a nobody from ND and him, one of the finest leather artists in the world and his friends. WOW! Next day, I took my first real leather class other than a beginner class at Tandy years ago from Bob Beard. That was a whole nother experience! Then, after the class I am walking donw the hallway and meet up with Peter again and he acts like we have been friends for life. I tell him I heard some interesting stories about him in the class with Bob, so Peter sits me down on a bench and spends the next half hour or so telling his side of the stories. I've never gotten the chance to take a class from Peter, but he sure is a great guy, fun to be around, and has helped me out when I needed it. I understand what you mean about being envious of yourself! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted January 31, 2008 Clay, That is an amazing story. Now I envy you!! My story is I emailed him after finding some of his work, specifically the tool box he used to use to carry his tools in, and surprisingly he emailed back. I didn't really expect it I guess. Anyway when I heard he was giving a class, I immediately signed up. On the night before the class he was to arrive in Fort Worth. I waited at the Tandy store with the manager so she wouldn't be alone, until he arrived. Well the directions got screwed up and he got lost. The manager is really just getting to know the area, so she couldn't give him really great directions, so she asked if I would. ME? Talk to Peter Main on the phone? So, I get the phone, and he tells me where he is. I tell him to turn around and come back the way he came....THEN HIS PHONE DIES! Ahh! "PETER MAIN IS LOST AND I CAN'T TELL HIM HOW TO GET TO US!!" We spend the next half hour trying to call him back. Finally he pulls up in front of the store, and explains that his phone died. The store manager introduces us and he shakes my hand. Right away I asked "Can I call you Uncle Peter?" He laughs and hugs me. ME, PETER MAIN HUGS ME, an nobody from nowhere. Anyway we help him unload his class materials into the store, and we spend another hour talking and laughing. What a great gentleman he is. He told me that the best thing that happened to him that night was that I told him to turn around, and he did the rest. After the class, he signed my copy of his coloring technique book, gave my wife the carving he did in the class and signed it as well. I called him Uncle Peter through the whole class. I said that most people have an uncle that they would like to be more like and he fits the bill, so from now on he's Uncle to me. I'm sure he won't forget that. I also noticed, that just about every piece of work he created, had a story behind it. He is a master artisan and I feel ever so blessed to have even been in his presence. He is truly one of a kind. Marlon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted January 31, 2008 That's a great story too Marlon. One thing that you will find out is that most of the masters in this craft are just like that. I met Bob Beard, Verlane Desgrange, Jan Schoonover, Geroge Hurst, Bill Gomer, Pete Gorrell, Al Gould that same trip and every one of the treats you the same way. Tony Laier and Jim Linnell I met later but they are also the same. Most of them Stohlman award winners and a couple future winners I would bet, are just great people and we are all pretty lucky that they are willing to share so much with those of us that are wanting to learn. There are lots of folks here on this forum that are trying to follow the example they set for us. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted February 1, 2008 Ok ClayB, Here's the picture you've been yammering about. It's not finished, but I will attempt to finish it. Marlon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
william Report post Posted February 1, 2008 Nice work Marlon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted February 1, 2008 Ok ClayB, Here's the picture you've been yammering about.It's not finished, but I will attempt to finish it. Marlon Hey Marlon, That looks really good, carving and coloring. The shading is coming along great! Looks like Uncle Pete even taught you to carve your name tiny like he does. It's too small for me to tell if you added the '08 after it, that would be a real challenge. I hope you will post another picture when it all finished. I wont quit "yammering" until you do Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted February 1, 2008 Hey Marlon,That looks really good, carving and coloring. The shading is coming along great! Looks like Uncle Pete even taught you to carve your name tiny like he does. It's too small for me to tell if you added the '08 after it, that would be a real challenge. I hope you will post another picture when it all finished. I wont quit "yammering" until you do Actually Clay, Peter carved my name himself. It's amazing to watch him carve that. Thanks for the compliments. I still have a long way to go, but I'm going to keep at it.MarlonNice work Marlon.Thanks William. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClayB Report post Posted February 1, 2008 NO FAIR, That's cheating!!!! Now you gotta start all over!!!! You should have at least got him to sign it Uncle Pete. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rawhide Report post Posted February 1, 2008 NO FAIR, That's cheating!!!! Now you gotta start all over!!!! You should have at least got him to sign it Uncle Pete. That's funny!! What page is that in the Rule book? Nevermind, I don't have one!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
