New Mexico Roadrunner Leather Artisans Guild NMRLAG NEWS Volume 2007, Issue 4 Inside this issue: Crowner demonstration 2 Pattern of the Month & June Contest Winners 2-3 Treasurer s Report 2 Sheridan Leather Show 4 Tip of the Month 4 Upcoming Events 5 About NMRLAG 6 June Guild Meeting The June 2, 2007, meeting was called to order by President Brinegar at 4 p.m. at the Tandy Store with 15 members present along with one guest, Bob Montalvo. The free issues for new subscribers to the Leather Crafter s & Saddlers Journal (LC&SJ) were again discussed, as well as reminding current subscribers to be sure and list their affiliation with the NMRLAG so the Guild will receive the $6 payment from the LC&SJ for each year of the renewed subscription. Details of the June 30 July 1 leather frame workshop were given out. Supplies needed are: inexpensive 5 X 7 wooden frame (available from Michael s or Hobby Lobby), 3-4 oz. piece of leather the size of the frame, bone folder, tools for carving if a design is to be put on the leather. Workshop will be at 1 p.m. on both days at the Tandy store and there is no charge to attend. June, 2007 Billy Wootres prepares for his crowner demo for the June Guild meeting Dates were given for the End of Trail SASS show, which will take place June 15 24. Paul B. and Doc will man the Tandy booth, which will be in operation the last weekend of the show. All members are encouraged to check it out. Paul B. has been paying for the patterns that have been made available for the monthly Guild meetings. A motion was made by Paul Z and seconded by Hugh J. to reimburse Paul B. for past expenses and to purchase a Kinko s card for Guild use. The vote was unanimous in favor of motion. Pat Lynch announced he would pay for a subscription to Shop Talk and make it available for all members of the Guild. The issues will be held by Paul B. Hoorays all around for the announcement of the arrival of Vern Yerkes computer. There was discussion of the Sheridan Show from members who had attended the festivities. Members discussed the U.S. Map project done by the Pikes Peak Pounders; a suggestion was made that we could do the same here. Suggestions were made to do a historic time line of important events or to do a New Mexico state map depicting the different counties if we wanted to do something different. The decision was made to discuss the project in more detail at the next meeting, scheduled for July 7, 2007, at 4 p.m. at Tandy. Completed June pattern by Billy Wootres. See more pages 2 and 3. Message from the Guild President Many thanks to Tim Odle for volunteering to edit and compile the newsletter. With the help of a professional newsletter writer (Tim s wife Teresa) we will end up with the best newsletter in the business. Don t forget that the State Fair is coming up. The info is online at www.exponm.com. Think about when you can help. The signup sheet is behind the counter at Tandy. I will need your names and dates by the first of August so I can get the passes. We always have lots of kids watching us work. Last year there were lines as kids (and parents) waited to get a piece of leather with an initial or a 3D stamp. Tandy will have a booth at the End of Trail out in Edgewood. Doc and Paul B. will be manning that. And again, thanks to Tim for working the newsletter
PAGE 2 NMRLAG NEWS VOLUME 2007, ISSUE 4 Billy s Crowner Demonstration Billy s Crowner demo was a hit. By using crowners you can eliminate some of the tight twists and turns that are difficult for some of us to negotiate. Just outline the flower or leaf with a broken line, pick the right size crowner and stamp away following the outline of the pattern. After you have the shape stamped you can do your thumbprinting (pearshading), beveling and finish cuts. Example of leaf Billy made using the crowner tool The Pattern of the Month on page 3 is the pattern that Billy brought in for his demo and he had copies to hand out to everybody. As the directions on the pattern state, you will cut the dark lines with your swivel knife and then use the Crowner tool to stamp around the shape of the broken lines. I think we can all agree that Billy makes it look easy. Oh well, what is it that Billy always says? Practice, practice, practice. Billy also demonstrated what he calls the Chewiwi tool. This is a very narrow, lined tool that you can use to make very distinctive flower petals. Alvin Chewiwi helped Billy design this tool. Treasurer s Report Beginning Balance 05-05-07: $962.78 Income: $0.00 Expenses: $0.00 Ending Balance 06-07-07: $962.78 Flower made using the Chewiwi tool June Contest Winners Every month, we ve been displaying works created by our members at the Tandy Leather Factory based on our Pattern of the Month and presenting a PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD. These patterns are created by our own members, taken off of the Tandy Leather Factory website or patterns contributed by Jim Linnell. The public votes on their favorite and the member who gets the most votes receives a $10 Tandy gift certificate. The June PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD voting results were: 1st Place Paul Brinegar 2nd Place Lindsay Gilpin 3rd Place Stephan Whitcomb
VOLUME 2007, ISSUE 4 NMRLAG NEWS New Pattern of the Month PAGE 3 When tracing the design onto the leather, the solid lines can be traced HEAVY because they will be cut with your swivel knife. The broken lines will vanish when stamped with the crown stamp.
PAGE 4 NMRLAG NEWS VOLUME 2007, ISSUE 4 Trip to Sheridan, Wyo. Paul Z., Brian G., and Paul B. drove to Colorado Springs to meet up with Clay Miller and Art Moore to go to Sheridan, Wyoming for the 14th Rocky Mountain Leather Trade Show. Clay and Art are members of the leather guild in Colorado Springs. Of course Clay is also a member of NMRLAG and the PSLAC. We spent Wednesday night with Clay, Debbie, and the kids. Clay and Debbie cooked us a wonderful meal of chicken fried ELK steak. Thursday morning we headed off to Sheridan and arrived in time for the Annual King Western Museum barbeque featuring the 7th Cavalry Drunk and Stumble Corps. The highlight of the evening is, of course, the upstairs Al and Ann Stohlman Tribute. Friday and Saturday Paul Z. and Brian took several classes while Paul B. prowled the vendors and Clay slept off spending the previous evening at Barry King s house. Saturday also, Paul B. and Clay assisted the Jim Linnell leather class for first-time leather carvers. There were more than 30 kids there and this year we had enough instructors to have just about two per table. Saturday night Clay and Paul Z. went to the banquet while Paul B., Brian and Art went to the Chop House. Jim Linnell s beginner class Pete Gorrell was honored with the Al Stohlman award for 2007. Sunday we had to wait until Clay could retrieve his entry in the World Leather Debut before we headed out for the return trip about 11a.m. We dropped Clay and Art off in Colorado Springs and headed on to Albuquerque, arriving about 1 a.m. Monday morning. All in all, it was the usual good time meeting other leather crafters and spending way too much money. More Sheridan photos Al and Ann Stohlman s workbench displayed at the King Museum in Sheridan Tip of the Month An example of changing styles at the King Museum in Sheridan Whenever the snap on a belt or wallet does not hold, lay the snap on a flat surface and gently hit the head with a hammer two or three times. This will flatten the head just a little and you will probably find that after this it will work properly.
VOLUME 2007, ISSUE 4 NMRLAG NEWS PAGE 5 JUNE 2007 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Schedule of Events June 15th-24th SASS End of Trail at Founders Ranch, Edgewood June 30th-July 1st Leather frame workshop at Tandy Store; 1PM both days July 7th Guild meeting: Sharpening your swivel knife demo scheduled September 7th-23rd New Mexico State Fair October 12th-14th Cowboy Symposium, Ruidoso, NM Upcoming Events Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) is holding its annual End of Trail at the Founder s Ranch in Edgewood from June 15-24. Paul B. and Doc will be manning the Tandy booth the last weekend of the show; June 22-24. The leather-covered frame workshop will be held June 30 - July 1 at the Tandy Store beginning at 1 p.m. each day. Supplies you will need to bring are: an inexpensive frame designed for a 5 X 7 print, a piece of 4-5 oz. leather (enough to cover the front and back of the frame), a bone folder, sharp knife and a pattern and the appropriate tools if you want to put a design on the frame. The next Guild meeting is scheduled for July 7, 2007. We will be honing our swivel knife sharpening skills so bring all of your dull blades, your sharpening stones and a willingness to learn this critical skill. The 2007 New Mexico State Fair runs from September 7 through September 23. Entry dates for your projects are: August 30 and August 31 from 8am to 6pm; September 1 from 8am to 5pm. Section, class and rule information already is online at www.exponm.com. Jim Linnell will judge the Fair entries this year and he will also hold a two-day workshop while in town. Stay tuned for details on dates, time, place and cost as they become available. Make plans now to attend the Cowboy Symposium in Ruidoso in October. We did not have any representatives attend last year and we were told that people were asking where we were. The main purpose for us being involved in the symposium is to demonstrate the skills of leathercrafting to the general public. Please keep in mind that any sales are incidental and not the main reason for our participation. Leather-covered frame by Paul Brinegar
NEW MEXICO ROADRUNNER LEATHER ARTISANS GUILD Tandy Leather Factory #110 8252 Menaul Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87110 Phone: 505-296-3255 New Mexico Roadrunner Leather Guild meets at 4:00 pm on the first Saturday of the month at Tandy Leather Factory #110, 8252 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110. For more information please contact any of the following: Ruben Saiz, Manager Tandy Leather Factory: 505-296-3255 Paul Brinegar: 505-254-0337, paule49@msn.com Pat Lynch: 505-862-7504, houseslash2@hotmail.com New Mexico Roadrunner Leather Artisans Guild Leather artistry...yesterday, today, and tomorrow.. William (Doc) Hayes: 505-281-4233 dochayes@naturesw.net Please contact Tim Odle to contribute articles to the newsletter at 505-265-1494 or todle54@yahoo.com. New Mexico Roadrunner Leather Artisans Guild The New Mexico Roadrunner Leather Artisans Guild is dedicated to promoting the art of leather craft in New Mexico and adjoining states. Our members are interested in all aspects of leather craft. We have members who work on saddles, horse gear, embossed pictures, figure carving, traditional Western style and Sheridan style carving, exotic skins and repair work. We hold workshops and show and tell demonstrations during our monthly meetings. Membership is open to everyone from beginner to professional leather crafters. We believe the interaction of individuals at all craft skill levels results in all of us learning from each other.