Cowboy Engravers & Silversmiths Gathering

It is said that thoughts are carried aloft on gentle breezes, drifting softly till they encounter an open mind where they settle to grow roots and flourish into action. As you read this, when you encounter the words “we or us”, be it known that Don and Kitty Butler are my eager participants in the birth of this event. And a hearty thanks to them both for being so generous with time and effort to come. So it is that we have plans for next year, it is the first ever event like this and we are excited to have your input at this time so it may be beneficial to all involved.

The plan is to hold Silversmith & Engravers Show not in conjunction with but during the 2011 Sheridan Leather Show. We feel that the artisans involved in the silver arts have a lot in common with those involved in leather arts. Not just from the artistic aspects of the craft, but also from the aspect of products and customers. It will be held at the former, Custom Cowboy Shop of Don & Kitty Butler down on Main Street, Sheridan Wyoming.

Since this whole concept is only a few months old, we thought that we would include you in the birthing pains right from the beginning rather than at the end. So, with that said, we want YOUR input, your thoughts-ideas and suggestions. We welcome every notion or nuance that you can think of, please note that it may or may not get used in the Shows final format…..but we want to hear it. So take a moment to read this questionnaire over and then fill it in, add ideas, scribble on the back of the page etc………just send it back to us by mail please. The paragraphs below lay out our basic concepts for the Show, as I said none of these are set in stone just yet.

Every show must have a name, and we struggle to give it one worthy of what we anticipate this event will be, so help us out with what you think may be a good moniker.

Proposed Show Names thus far are listed below, try out your own ideas and send it in

Sparkle in the Sage

Western Silver Extravaganza

Cowboy Chrome Exhibition-partially used once in Elko for an exhibit

Bright Cutters Convention

Silversmith’s from the Sagebrush

Bighorn Bright Cutters Congress

Cedar Bluffs and Bright Cuts

Engravers of the Open Range

Silversmiths Branding

Bright cutter Branding

Dust, Sage and shining Silver

Silversmiths Stampede

Suggestions________________________________________________________________

Listed below are thoughts on what we would have in the Show, and some proposed guidelines for participation.

-Up to 3 items per participant

-We will not accept complete saddles, nor full bridle & rien outfits due to showroom constraints. We do consider a full set of saddle silver as one item and will be displayed that way. We consider a belt buckle to be an item, but will not be displayed with a belt attached…….we consider a wine cooler to be an item, and if there is wine in it………….Don and I will drink it. Let it be noted, this is not a bit and spur show, yet we will accept one as an item, this is an exhibit of silversmithing skills and engraving skills . All items submitted must incorporate some of each of those skills

-No two party entries, all work must be done by one person in its entirety

-Work can incorporate other design elements such as stones, leather, wood, Mokume, steel or old bicycle spokes, I don’t care.

-We really do want those who participate to think outside the box, or work past their comfort zone with at least one piece. I fully expect that many will do this anyways, but I still want to openly encourage it.

-Thus far we had no intentions on making this a form of contest etc, should this be kept to an invitational event or an open to all levels type show. I agree with No Contest Format____________, lets do best of show________. Make it a invitational list _________, no let’s make it open to all who want to participate__________________

-I beg you please read this paragraph carefully to understand the full context of what we hope to achieve. Participants should be of the western silver, bit & spur making crowd more so than from the gun & knife engraving crowd. We have no intention of being biased in one direction or style, but the gun & knife crowd have many shows per year at which to show their work. To date, there has never been a show that featured the artistic talents of the many who do western silver. You may be asking does this exclude me if I do a piece with fine single point engraving, NO. But don’t send us a pistol, a knife, dagger or tomahawk etc. And the body of work submitted should not all be super fine single point engraving. Yes, I agree with the concept_________ or do you think it will be exclusionary____________

-We would like to sell work from the show while it is up for the 4 days of the Show. Not all items must be for sale, but certainly at least one item per participant should be for sale. We will charge a flat 20% commission on all sales taken during the show. The rate is too high____________, or is it about right_______________

-Should we have a Show Poster for an event such as this YES_________ NO_______________

We have talked about having ½ day work shops on techniques and skills that maybe others would like to learn. We can’t just stand around and talk about our heel angles all day, surely there is something that can be done to encourage, share and promote the work that all of us do and yet do so differently. Yes, I like the idea of small workshops_________________ No workshops ____________________. Should these be FREE or charged for________________________________

If this event is to be worthwhile, then we will also need your help with a mailing list. When you fill this out and return it to us, be sure to send along the names, address, Ph#, email if possible of every silversmith/engraver that you have ever heard of…………and we do not care if they reside here in USA or in Botswana. Yes we do understand that the list will be redundant, we are hunting for that person that we have not heard of just yet!

I cannot think of much more to add to this event prospectus, so I will close with this. That if this event is going to be fun and worthwhile to all or any of us, we need to reply to this questionnaire with some thoughts of your own. I look forward to working with all of you on this event and to make it a memorable one for sure.

Be well, and be Blessed

Jeremiah Watt

Jeremiah Watt Products

HC1, Box 34 47069 Crump Lane

Coalinga, CA 93210 USA