An issue of the Society’s newsletter, transcribed from the original. Download as PDF.
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Page 1
[Transcribed from the original 8-page issue. Paragraphs are reflowed from the original setting; spelling, punctuation and wording follow the original, including its own inconsistencies. Editorial notes appear in [square brackets].]
CANADIAN LEATHERCRAFT
VOLUME XLVIII NO. 2 — WINTER 1998-1999 — 0045-5121
2. RED CARPET — SILVA FOX BILL WHITTINGHAM 3. ANNUAL 1999 HOST TORONTO ALLAN FOSS 4. WESTON TROPHY / ANNUAL 2000 DOROTHY MUMA / MADELEINE MITCHELL 5. "T-BANK" MARYANN CRAWFORD 6. & 7. LEATHER AND THE MILLENIUM BILL WHITTINGHAM 8. POINCETTIA PINS MADELEINE MITCHELL
[The contents list prints POINCETTIA; the article on page 8 is headed Poinsettia Pins. The author is Maryann Crawford here and Maryanne Crawford on page 5.]
All material published in Canadian Leathercraft is the property of THE CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR CREATIVE LEATHERCRAFT and may not be reproduced in any form without the permission of the Society
President: Bill Whittingham 42 Robinhood Rd. Islington Ont. M9A 2W8 1st Vice-Pres: Nancy Durham RR #4 Princeton Ont. N0J 1V0 2nd Vice-Pres: Jack Meharg 36 Bailey Cres. Scarborough Ont. M1G 2P3 Treasurer: David Windeyer #507 95 Prince Arthur Ave Toronto Ont. M5R 3P6 Recording Sec: Kevin Armstrong 1377 Hurontario St. Mississauga Ont. L5G 3H5 Corrsp. Sec: David McPherson 574 Cayley Drive London Ont. N6H 3G8 Corrsp. Sec. Dorothy McPherson 574 Cayley Drive London Ont. N6H 3G8 Membership Madeleine Mitchell 17 Light St. Woodstock Ont. N4S 6G7 Editor: Kevin Armstrong 1377 Hurontario St. Mississauga Ont. L5G 3H5 Editor: Don Macleod 2165 Corsair Road Mississauga Ont. L5A 2L7
Page 2
RED CARPET TREATMENT
It gives me immense pleasure to inform you, that the C.S.C.L. has a brand new member.
DRUM ROLL PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am very pleased and honoured to introduce you to Silva Fox who hails from Illinois and has joined the ranks of the Mississauga Society for Creative Leathercraft. This is a dual pleasure for me, because not only is Silva a gifted leather artisan whose work I'm sure will inspire you, but she also represents the first new member generated from my activites on the Internet.
Artwork has been a lifelong desire for Silva, from childhood sketches of wildlife and flowers right through high school where she studied drawing, painting and sculpture. In 1976, she met a most impressionable man, who was the manager of a Tandy Leather store. In Silva's words: "This is the man that influenced my future art pursuits." Soon after, she began a graphic arts/advertising career which continued for 17 years.
As we all know, there are no schools teaching leather artistry, and few master craftsmen teaching techniques, so like the rest of us, she has had to go through the tedious process of developing her own style. The results are stunning. Silva manages to embody exquisite details with intricate, tactile, sculpted images that produce an almost halographic appearance in her art. When viewed from the proper distance, the depth of these images are clearly discernable. If her work is viewed while slowly walking by, there is an illusion of movement, breathing life into the subject matter.
Silva has shared her innovative sculpted work with the blind, allowing them to "see" her images with their fingertips. Her "Laughing Zebras" picture, which can be seen at www.inergy.com/FOXART/wildlife.htm on the Internet, has over 120 plugs in it's construction. Other exquisite work can be seen in this gallery as well.
In addition to numerous awards and Best of Shows to her credit south of the border, Silva was also the Al Stohlman Award winner for 1997, and she is a most deserving recipient of that honour. In the last issue of the bulletin, I did a small review of her website. Since then she has added some new informative pages to the site. First of all, Silva won the Best of Show for the 1998 IFLG convention in the United States, and that stunning, carved dry flower vase is now available for you to see in every delicious detail. You will find that under the Miscellaneous Leatherwork header. Secondly, she has added a few pages of information about airbrushing, complete with an answer and question page, and another that compares regular brushwork to airbrush work. This simple comparison is worth the price of admission alone folks. For those of you considering adding an airbrush to your repertoire, there is information about the brush Silva uses specifically, to help in that important decision.
Silva has already made a contribution to our guild. She has very kindly donated six Doodle Pages that she designed, to our Archives, and I am in the process of getting them laminated, then copied for each library box. These are valuable teaching tools for the future, and I thank Silva for her kindness in making them available to us. She has also asked me for more information about our leather quilt, and I suspect a small "treasure" from her hands is in the offing, to be added to our "history".
Silva is a kind, caring and giving person, and a joy to communicate with. We are indeed fortunate to have her in our midst, and I would like all of you to join me in giving her a big Canadian welcome to the C.S.C.L.
Respectfully submitted, William H.G. Whittingham F.C.S.C.L.
Page 3
1999 ANNUAL MEETING HOSTED BY TORONTO GROUP
Location -- The Best Western Beacon Harbourside Resort and Complex Center, 2793 Beacon Blvd., Jordan Harbour, Vineland, Ontario
Registration will be $22.00. Saturday Night Banquet $33.00 including all taxes and gratuities.
Breakfast and all Lunches are on your own locally in the New Dinning Room overlooking the new Marina Harbour.
Early registration is requested since we have to advise our caterer on the numbers we will require in advance. Early registrations will be eligible for the Early Bird Draw.
Please send your cheque payable to "C.S.C.L. TORONTO" and send your registration form and cheque to:
Jim Edwards 1804 Queen Street West Toronto, Ont., M4L 1G8
For your rooms at our special rate call The Beacon at toll free 1-888-823-2266 before March 23, 1999. We have reserved a Special Block of rooms on the Meeting level, $59.00 Single or double, Triple or Quad add $10.00. Tell them you are with the Leathercraft Group for the Special Group Rate and Location.
After March, Rate, Location, and Availability are subject to Regular Rates. So make your reservations early and save.
A full program is being planned by Toronto Group.
Set up Individual Club tables between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday April 16. Judging of displays and tables starts at 8 p.m.
Annual Meeting ----- Sat. April 17 at 10.00 am.
Breakfast and Lunch are on your own, in the coffee shop or dinning room.
Bring your own good Draw table items, a deck of cards for an off hour game.
There will be demonstrations and hands-on workshops.
Special competitions and awards are available to our members as have been outlined in the "Bulletin's" information on prizes, too numerous to be mentioned here. Remember all Workshop, monthly group instruction ideas each can be addressed as prize winners.
We do encourage you to enter into the spirit of showing your work, so all who attend will go home with a full stock of new ideas to perfect. In this vein recent Annuals have seen more work from our Members-at-Large, which tend to vary considerably from our regular groups that attend the group meetings. They are often more creative, and being on their own tend to be more perfectionate in their work, and its final finishing.
So send off your name and register. The name of the game is participation.
See you all there.
Al Foss -- C.S.C.L. TORONTO GROUP -- President
<--- SEE INSERT REGISTRATION FORM
Page 4
1999 Weston Trophy
The Council of Fellows is pleased to announce that the judging for the Weston Trophy, Associate and Fellow standing in the guild will be held Thursday April 1 at 10.00 a.m.
We would like it known that originally we had planned the judging for March 6 1999, but a special request was made to delay that date so we could have another entery in the Associate catagory. We adjusted our schedules spacifically to accomodate that request and it is our hope the additional 4 weeks preparation time will prove more enteries, in the Weston Trophy judging competition as well as Associate and Fellow status.
Once again we urge all Associates to consider trying for their Fellow standing.
The C.S.C.L. needs you to address the challenge now more than ever. Entries can be given to Bill Whittingham Friday March 26 1999 at the Executive Meeting for delivery to my home by 9.00 a.m. Thursday April 1 1999.
We all look forward to seeing your work, and judging your pieces.
Dorothy Muma F.C.S.C.L.
ANNUAL 2000
Next year the annual will be hosted by Woodstock — they are working on it now to celebrate the 50th year of C.S.C.L. Remember they are asking for another 6" square from everyone, your own design, carved, modeled, appliqué, you name it - you do it. Also put your name on it so everyone in the future knows who did the work. Be inventive and colourful, make your piece and bring it to the Annual 1999 and give it personally to Madeleine Mitchell or to one of the Woodstock Branch members so it can be added before 2000. Madeleine tells me she has already received a piece from one of our newest members, Joseph Czink from Renfrew. That's the type of response we like, almost instant.
Page 5
"THE TEE-BANK"
BY MARYANNE CRAWFORD
A Carrier for extra Golf Tees. Slides on to a belt, and carries a pencil.
You need Leather of your choice, Needles, and Waxed Thread.
Cut Leather according to pattern. Smooth fiber side with bone folder while damp. Decorative design, dye colour, as well as any other identification are the choice of the maker.
When project is complete finish the edges with your bone folder, and apply protective leather coating of your choice.
Insert Pencil and Golf Tees.
Good luck and I hope you Win!!
[A full-size pattern accompanies the article, labelled: Fold line; Cutting line for pencil; Personal area for initials or design; Stitching line for belt fold over flap.]
Page 6
LEATHERCRAFT AND THE MILLENIUM
This installment of the series is going to be dedicated to some of the historical roots of our craft, and I hope that those of you that are able to do a little surfing will enjoy the trip through time.
The first site of interest is called, "A Leather Bibliography by Kendra Hollyoak" and as the title suggests, it is just a book listing of titles, BUT, all the books listed pertain to leathercraft of the middle ages. This site can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/5923/leather/bibl.html
The information is divided into "General Leather", "Leather, General Finds From Excavations", "Manufacturers", "Knife Sheaths", "Shoes", "Parchment", "Books, Boxes, and Book Boxes", "Saddlery" and "Miscellaneous Leather".
Some of the books contained in this list date back to the 18th century, and there are many obscure references to rare books, which I found very intriguing. Even the elusive Oliver Baker book on Blackjacks and Leather Bottells is mentioned, which proves to me this lady has done her homework.
The second site is an Australian Leather site that focuses mainly on braiding, plaiting and, you guessed it, kangaroo leather. To find the site, go to: http://www.mhw.com.au/
Once you're connected to the site, click either "whips", "plaited belts", "hat bands", "leather hides" or "lace" at the top of the page. Once you have read the desired material on that page, scroll down to the bottom, and there is an index of all the other pages within the site that you can roam around in. You can view plaiting projects, learn how to make your own whip and there is a listing of leathercraft books.
There are some pages that are still under construction, most notably one for the married ladies in the group on "How To Crack A Whip".
The third site I'd like to share with you is part of a buckskinner website. Go to:
http://members.tripod.com/~shoot7/index.html
...then, click where they say "we've moved our campsite"...
...then scroll down to Mad Monk's Horn Dyeing Page and click again.
This page is for the historians out there that may never dye a cow horn, but always wanted to know the process involved. I have to admit, I was very surprised at how scientific the process really is, and there is much more to dyeing a horn than I had ever imagined. The authour almost has you believing he is a chemist, right up to the part when he tells you he uses a plastic jug his dog's food comes in. (laughs) A very informative and succint little site for anyone interested in that medium.
The last site I stumbled on, was a fun experience. It is sponsored by the Denis Gouey Bookbinding Studio, and can be found at:
[The URL for this last site does not appear in the scan at any magnification — the line where it would sit is blank.]
Once you are connected to the site, click "Introduction"... ...then click the Stained Glass window.
The picture of the window will be enlarged and there are four individual tools in the picture that you can click, and an explanation of each tool will come up on your screen. After you have viewed the information on the four tools in the picture, scroll down the page and you will find a dictionary. This is WONDERFUL! Click a letter of the alphabet and the screen is filled with definitions of exotic leathers, rare tools, lost leather techniques etc. A veritable wealth of information at your fingertips.
Page 7
[A reprinted MUTTS comic strip occupies the head of the page, captioned LEATHERCRAFTER DOING YARDWORK. The strip's own lettering does not resolve.]
LEATHER AND THE MILLENIUM (CONTINUED)
Go back to the main page and click "Portfolio" for some stunning examples of bookbinding. Once you are finished drooling over this man's work, go back to the main page and click "19th Century Bookbinding Studio" and a woodblock plate will appear on your screen which depicts an old bookbinding shop.
When you click on the individuals in the picture, an explanation of each stage of the bookbinding process is provided. Very entertaining, and very informative.
For anyone interested in old books, there is also a page for "Bookbinder's Labels" in which several antique examples are pictured. This site is a must for leather history buffs, or for anyone even remotely interested in bookbinding. In my opinion, this site gets a gold star.
** I'm not sure how many of you are on the Internet, but for those of you who are, your assistance in finding more sites would be greatly welcomed. If you find a site that interests you, either write up a description and send it to Don Macleod, or send the URL to me at: [email protected] and I'll make sure it appears in the "Bulletin" along with my thanks to you for finding it.
Until next time, keep surfin'. Leathercraft is alive and well on the Internet.
Respectfully submitted, William H.G. Whittingham F.C.S.C.L.
Editor's Note:--
We often get told about spelling errors, but using the spell checker on the computer can lead you up the garden path, American v.s. Canadian spelling can get you in trouble, and we get told about it. Now I really goofed on the front page and not a word from anyone. The Fall 1998 issue was listed as VOLUME XLIVIII NO.1 — looks good, but means nothing, it should have read
VOLUME XLVIII NO 1 (48)
NOT ONE WORD THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE. So we are correcting it this time, maybe our critics will object now.
[This is the editors' own correction of the Fall 1998 masthead, and confirms the volume as XLVIII.]
Page 8
Poinsettia Pins
by Madeleine Mitchell
An easy to assemble and elegant pin for the Christmas season. I've forgotten the C.S.C.L. member who first introduced me to the pattern, but I've adapted it for 2 different sized pins. (editor note: reduce the size again, for matching ear-rings, clamp or pierced type)
You will need:-
Cowhide - at least 3-4 oz. Scrap of deerskin (dyed yellow) or yellow coloured cowhide 1-2 oz. Garnet Dyes:- Red and Green, and Polish Coat Pin (Locking type is the best) Contact Cement, cutting knife, Swivel knife, a round punch (at least 1/8")
NOTE:- Smaller Flower Pin:--- use #1 and #2 dyed red, and #3 dyed green. Larger Flower Pin:--- use #2 and #3 dyed red and #4 dyed green.
METHOD:
1. Trace and cut pattern pieces out of Cowhide.
2. Dampen the leather and use Swivel Knife to make decorative cuts in each petal or leaf.
3. While still damp, shape the petals and leaves to add contours and demention. Note that the smaller pieces will fit one inside the other. Align as you wish and punch the centre holes through the 2 top pieces. Do not punch a hole through the bottom (3rd.) piece. Allow to dry thoroughly.
4. Dye 2 pieces red and the 3rd larger piece green. Reshape as necessary, smooth edges and apply Polish Coat.
5. The centre of the pin is made by cutting a fringe and rolling and gluing. Note the rolled fringe should fit snugly into the 2 centre holes of the 2 red pieces. Glue the centre piece and the 2 red pieces together. Trim the centre piece flush with the bottom of the large red piece.
6. Now attach with glue the outer green leaves behind the red parts. Open the yellow fringed centre.
7. Attach the pin to the back.
[Four numbered pattern pieces accompany the article, with the note: Smaller Flower use 1,2 (red), and 3 (green); Larger Flower use 2,3 (red), and 4 (green).]
[The materials list specifies Garnet Dyes — the brand owned by the Society's own president, as stated in Winter 1997.]