When the prickly pears get thirsty their paddles start to wrinkle and turn the most gorgeous colors of purple and periwinkle. I'm always in awe of how beautiful they are even when conditions aren't ideal. They keep growing, and changing, adapting, and blooming, even though it's not perfect or easy. It has always been such a great reminder that even though conditions aren't perfect to keep blooming.
This is where I'm going. In July of 2020 I lost my sweet horse Texas and in that same week my horse Bob had a career ending injury. Horses, riding and showing had been the only thing that made me feel comfortable in my own skin, the only way I could cope with the trauma of being abused as a child and all its repercussions. So the loss was earth shattering. I was so lost. That is when I began my leather art journey. My tack had always been the most precious thing I owned besides my horses and so it felt good diving into something that kept me connected to horses. So here I am 6 years later tooling stories into leather and feeling more healed by each piece I create. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of Texas and how he continues to heal me from beyond the stars. So this preview of my collection to come is a tribute to Texas and the desert riding he loved so much.
These buckled spur straps are complete with tooled and painted Hermann Oak leather, hand cut and painted steer skull and prickly pear patch (for a 3-d effect, attached with heavy leather adhesive and hand sewn with heavy wax thread), purple suede straps, and dark purple hair on hide buckle side.
These come in their very own Chasing West dust bag for safekeeping when not collecting trail dust.
When the prickly pears get thirsty their paddles start to wrinkle and turn the most gorgeous colors of purple and periwinkle. I'm always in awe of how beautiful they are even when conditions aren't ideal. They keep growing, and changing, adapting, and blooming, even though it's not perfect or easy. It has always been such a great reminder that even though conditions aren't perfect to keep blooming.
This is where I'm going. In July of 2020 I lost my sweet horse Texas and in that same week my horse Bob had a career ending injury. Horses, riding and showing had been the only thing that made me feel comfortable in my own skin, the only way I could cope with the trauma of being abused as a child and all its repercussions. So the loss was earth shattering. I was so lost. That is when I began my leather art journey. My tack had always been the most precious thing I owned besides my horses and so it felt good diving into something that kept me connected to horses. So here I am 6 years later tooling stories into leather and feeling more healed by each piece I create. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of Texas and how he continues to heal me from beyond the stars. So this preview of my collection to come is a tribute to Texas and the desert riding he loved so much.
These buckled spur straps are complete with tooled and painted Hermann Oak leather, hand cut and painted steer skull and prickly pear patch (for a 3-d effect, attached with heavy leather adhesive and hand sewn with heavy wax thread), purple suede straps, and dark purple hair on hide buckle side.
These come in their very own Chasing West dust bag for safekeeping when not collecting trail dust.
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