This Thursday, December 3rd, 2009, will mark the 25th year that the National Finals Rodeo {NFR}has been held in Las Vegas, Nevada. For those of you not sure, the NFR is the grand~daddy of all rodeos when the World Champion Cowboys & Cowgirls are crowned for the year.

In addition to stellar rodeo performances there are a zillion concerts, events & SHOPPING venues you wouldn’t believe!!

** Click HERE to read about the different SHOPPING VENUES **
& where we shopped last year!!

If you’re headed out there be sure to visit our friends Andy & Aaron Sanchez at Cowboy Christmas {that’s in the Las Vegas Convention Center}.  This year they are bringing their extraordinary coffee table,“Paseo De Plata”, or The Path of Silver {pictured above} which was originally designed for Cody High Style. The bi-level coffee table is made from reclaimed Redwood burl and displays a colorful abalone shell representing a mountain spring lake. The lake spills over onto the lower level in the form of strung pearls. The pearls flow into another Abalone lake, which in turn spill into a stream of silver.

Don’t miss your chance in Vegas to see Andy & Aaron Sanchez’s work in person, and also to meet them. They are such good, talented people, and they love to share the stories of each peice of furniture that they design.

** Click HERE for more about Andy & Aaron Sanchez **

Also in Vegas for the next ten days is Craig Bergsgaard, a talented sculptor who is also a story teller at heart.  Craig is also going to be  at Cowboy Christmas {Las Vegas Convention Center}.

** Click HERE for more about Craig’s Sculptures **

Oh, how I wish that Vegas was in the cards for me this year but unfortunately it’s just not going to happen. Y’all have so much fun!!! Be safe & enjoy every moment… xo,fancy

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Over the last couple of months I have introduced you to some of the wonderful people I met last December when I visited Cowboy Christmas in Vegas… {see them HERE}  Today I am DELIGHTED to show you another company I crossed paths with in Vegas, Northwest Native Designs, owned by furniture artist, Ernie Apodaca.

Truth be told you have probably met Ernie before, his award-winning furniture and inspirational story has been featured in many periodicals over the last 15 years, including Cowboys & Indians, American Cowboy,
and the Seattle Times.

Ernie’s company, Northwest Native Designs, first began 15 years ago when an arsonist burnt down Ernie’s successful upholstery shop in Seattle.  While the arsonist was playing out his malicious crime streak {9 other businesses were burnt that same day},
Ernie’s life became suddenly CLEAR.  After the fire Ernie submitted himself to alcohol rehabilitation and began to dream of how he should re-build his business.  As he found his true self in the ashes of his business, Ernie knew that he wanted to create something special that HONORED his fellow Native Americans and their brilliant skills… the concept of Northwest Native Designs was born.  Later Ernie learned that his sobriety date coincided with the birth of Miracle, the white buffalo,
a soul-stirring confirmation that his new business was indeed
a part of God’s plan for him.

Northwest Native Designs has become a premiere source of one of a kind upholstered furniture.  More like FUNCTIONAL ART, Northwest Native Designs pools the talent of craftsmen across the country to create custom pieces that cannot be duplicated.

The process usually begins the first time a client meets Ernie at a show or event.  Seeing the exquisite upholstered furniture, the detailed crafting and second-to-none quality, gives the new client a DESIRE for something special from Northwest Native Designs.  Time often passes before the client is ready to begin designing their furniture with Ernie.  These are investment pieces, and are not taken lightly by either the furniture maker, or their owners.

Whether the client is a casino, business, or private individual, once they are ready to begin the design process, Ernie speaks with them personally noting every detail about the space, as well as the client.  From room colors to room measurements, to the height of the client, and what INSPIRES them, Ernie takes meticulous notes and then begins a detailed plan of the new furniture.  It is then that he begins to call on his extensive network of talented artists…

Over the last 15 years Ernie has composed a group of artists, many of them Native Americans, whose talents are exceptional alone, and even more stunning when they are combined.  Ernie’s group of artists includes carvers, several leather toolers, artists specializing in ledger art, tribal art, watercolors, acrylics and many more.  Ernie designs each peice of furniture custom to the client’s requisites, desires, and dreams; he then sends the peices to the artists best suited for the ultimate finish. Once the artist has completed their portion of the furniture, the inspirited pieces are combined to create a breathtaking whole when Ernie takes his hand-crafted alder frames and upholsters them with the pieces of leather art.

The result is expert craftsmanship using the highest quality leathers and hides, highlighted with leatherwork and artwork, completed by masters in their fields. 

CLICK on READ MORE Below for the rest of the story!!

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from Cowboy Christmas **

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Native American Indian Decor GUIDE **

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Sour in color, deformed in shape, and featuring lethal textures, Cacti are the essence of RAW BEAUTY.
Artist Gary Thompson is so drawn to these complex succulents that he has chosen them to be the muse for his forged metal art work.

I originally met Gary at Cowboy Christmas in Vegas this past December, but it is Dripping Springs, Texas that he calls home.  A 60 acre ranch, surrounded by oak trees, at the head waters of Onion Creek, is the inspirational setting for this veteran sculptor who forges copper and brass to create his original art.

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Gary had an early introduction to working with metal.When he was just five or six years old he would visit his grandfather’s blacksmith shop in Elroy, Texas. There he would run around playing with the hammers and anvils, watching his grandpa weld and sharpen discs for the local farmers. From that early interest in working with his hands, Gary eventually found himself entering ~ and winning ~ art contests in high school.  In the late sixties he began using any kind of scrap metal {including Crisco cans and motor parts} to form sculptures and express his creativity.

Gary found it rewarding to make something people would want to buy.  Back then his sculptures were primarily butterflies and mushrooms, the iconic trends of that era.  Gary noted that in his early days a lot of his friends quit there day jobs, but he never did.  Citing a reserved nature and desire for financial stability, Gary usually attended one show a month throughout the early eighties while working a traditional job Monday through Friday.  Eventually his career responsiblities increased and, while Gary never sold his equipment, he did put his art career on hold.

Throughout the years he had played with his tools and found an attraction to CACTUS.  Gary remembers the first time he drove through Arizona he was “just in awe at the beauty of the cactus… it’s a different look and a different setting. The Joshua Trees fascinated me.”  More recently he picked up a Spanish cactus and is looking forward to re-creating it’s odd-shaped ears.  It is the irregularity of their extensions, and the simple beauty of their forms that makes the cactus so special. 

After 32 years in the dry cleaning business, and a dabble in real estate, Gary and his wife, Nancy, were ready to downsize and enjoy a more peaceful pace. 

When they bought their Texas Hill Country property there was a 68 year old ranch house and an old barn that they began to renovate.  Cherishing the history of old homes, the simple designs and rugged materials, the Thompsons spent three years renovating their property ~ the last project was giving the old dairy barn a second life as a studio and work space for Gary’s art career, which he had also been renovating…

CLICK on READ MORE Below for the rest of the story!!

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While visiting COWBOY Christmas last month in VegasI found it difficult not to stop & chat with sculptor Craig Bergsgaard.  Craig, a silver haired, hippie-turned-cowboy, with warm eyes and an affable smile {and talent to boot!!}, shared with me his passion for sculpting, and the life of an artist. 

The first thing to capture my attention in Craig’s space was an enormous bronze sculpture called ‘Coolin the Dogs’ {BELOW}.  Another edition of this bronze now sits permanently in front of the Town Hall in Fountain Hills, Arizona.  A stickler for accuracy, Craig pointed out a slight imperfection that he saw in ‘Coolin the Dog’s’ horse, but these are indistinct to anyone else.  Instead it is the detail in the cowboy’s worn boots & socks, and the horse’s amiable reach for the watering hole, that makes you feel like this classic scene could come alive at any moment.

It is a passion for the story of life, the survival of the spirited people who navigated the Wild West, that drives Craig and his effort to re-create these stories through his sculptures.

Craig’s Scandinavian heritage is what led him to his first subject, a viking.  He thought that if it didn’t turn out well then at least he would enjoy it in his own home.  Twelve years later he is still sculpting, but now he has added Cowboys & Indians to his repertoire, as well as Wild West Bar Maids, classic nudes, and still the occasional viking.  Living in Windsor, Colorado, and traveling across the United States for art shows and cowboy expos, the grand vistas, and a natural draw to the Western life, have led him to sculpting the Cowboys and Indians of long ago.

Craig is particularly proud of his Native American sculptures.  He feels like they are an extension of his free spirit and fierce independence.  Craig has studied the 1876 treaties that were being broken in that time, and the assimilation of the Native people ~ he identifies with their plot in life and sympathizes with their struggles.  With a commitment to historical accuracy, Craig’s compassion and affection for Native Americans is translated to his sculptures through magnificent attention to detail.

A different subject matter for Craig are the women he affectionately call his “Girls”.  Starting as a technical study on the female form, the quartet of Wild West Bar Maids poignantly tells the story of life’s theater through four individual sculptures.  For Craig they represent the journey of an artist, the path that each of us take to get from one stage of our life’s work, to the next stage.  He struggled with self discovery, and why he had chosen bar maids as a subject matter, then he realized that they represent a vignette telling the story of life’s venture.

The first gal, Ten Gallons of Trouble, is a young woman.  She is comfortable with she is, but also a little precocious.  {I relate this to being in our twenties when we fought so hard to be what we thought we wanted to be.}

Everything Nice depicts a time in life that, despite bravado, one begins to feel some melancholy at the recognition of time passing.  Still, attitude prevails.  {Hello thirties??}

High Explosives is completely comfortable with who she is and where she has been.  The road ahead is wide open and she is ready to have some fun on the journey.

The last woman in the series is New Rules Baby and is meant to convey that time in your journey when you no longer make apologies for who you are.  You are comfortable in your own skin and unconcerend with other’s opinions.

 It is these stories that bring out the personalities and life-filled details that make Craig’s work so endearing.

Click on Read MORE below for more about Craig’s work.

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Another DIVINE collection from the trip to VEGAS…

A modern Texas legend, Rocketbuster Boots is a one-of-a-kind business offering one-of-a-kind boots.  Having spent years coveting these boots ~ and hours dreaming of my own design that I will one day commission ~ I cannot think of a better way to wish you a
Christmas full of BLESSINGS.  

May you all have a weekend of YEE-HAW fun,
with some time for PEACEFUL REFLECTION. 
God Bless!!  Love you, Fancy

** When you need a BREAK then take some time to browse **
through the other VEGAS VENDORS from Cowboy Christmas

It is time to wrap up the stories from my COWBOY Christmas trip to VEGAS.  There are so many people that I have yet to share with you, I’ll be writing about other sources that I met in Vegas often over the next few months so STAY TUNED.  Better yet…
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Andy Sanchez was another artist that I had the absolute HONOR to meet while visiting Vegas for the Cowboy Christmas Shopping event.  An award-winning wood worker, Andy’s humble spirit, passion and joy shines through his eyes and makes his stories about each piece of furniture an absolute joy to take in…

Most pieces start with a juniper tree that is often over 1000 years old.  For years Andy has received most of his wood from a couple that lives near his studio in New Mexico.  The husband-wife team has a license to pick the dead juniper from a local National Forest, then with just an ax & ropes, they gather only the dead standing trees.

After the wood has been selected then Andy, with his son Aaron at his side in the studio, {his wife and other children also lend a hand with the family business} begins to picture the finished product and its utilitarian purpose ~ coffee table, dining table, rocker, hutch, or bed…  Once the project is defined the creative process begins to take over. 

In the images {ABOVE & BELOW} you will see turquoise, alabaster, sterling silver and marble accents.  Each of these has been hand picked, then sliced to fit perfectly into the knot holes and secret compartments that are a natural part of the wood.  According to Andy, the goal is to “make everything like they did it on purpose”.   The beauty of rustic furniture is that it doesn’t cover up God’s work ~ He makes all things perfect and rustic furniture amplifies the scars and birthmarks that God gives to trees.  Andy echoes this perfectly when he tells me that his job is to “orchestrate what God has already done to awe the spirit of man.”  It is this ethereal perspective that makes the Sanchez’s furniture so special.

With a willingness to allow God’s work to radiate, Andy and Aaron Sanchez build each piece of furniture and in doing so the rest of the story begins to unfold.  The tables BELOW were two of the pieces that Sanchez brought to Cowboy Christmas in Vegas.  Click on the thumbnails ~ these tables can do the storytelling better than I can…

Finally there is the question of care.  These tables are so exquisite, the craftsmanship perfection, according to Andy many people are afraid that they can’t put a glass down on the table or it may be ruined.  This, however is NOT the case.  The Sanchez’s spend hours sanding, waxing and oiling the finish on the tables.  This is an integral part of their process because it is what carries on their craftsmanship for a lifetime.  Once they have finished the furniture all that is left to it’s owner is cleaning the surface with Liquid Gold.  You really can’t hurt this furniture, just spray the Liquid Gold, and clean it regularly.  Any small scratches will blend into the wood and add your own family’s story to Andy and Aaron’s furniture art.

I believe with all of my heart that a hundred years from now the Sanchez furniture will be a prized possession of families, and also recognized as an enormous contribution to the Rustic * Western furniture market in the 21st Century.  These tables are beautiful, functional, and an investment that will be a part of your family for generations to come.  Andy and Cheryl, thank you for your time.

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from Cowboy Christmas **

** Read more about Andy & Aaron Sanchez HERE **

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This morning I posted a story about the MURAL MOSAIC horse, Le Cadeau Du Cheval. Now on to another horse that I came across in Vegas ~ this is an altogether different equine subject, but equally commanding…

Based in Southern California, Cynthia Andersen uses her Fine Arts background, including a 12 year stint at painting billboards, as the foundation of her creative expedition.  The result of these creative efforts, a paleolithic horse that is applied to pottery, dishware, tiles and now furniture, have brought Cynthia to the place that she feels she has always been headed.

Despite health issues, Cynthia has spent the last 5 years developing her own raised glaze pottery technique which has been compared to raku, but is really a personal process that has taken a great deal self-teaching, and LOTS of trial & error.  Cynthia’s lead-free glazes are both microwave and dishwasher safe.  This unique originality, along with their versatility, makes her pottery ideal for a collection.  

Cynthia’s horse {which surprisingly has no name} is her own copy-righted design.  She teases that she has drawn him so much that she can do it with her eyes closed.  She has always had a passion for horses and all they represent ~ beauty, power and wealth.   The paleolithic horse that inspires Cynthia also represents all that the horse has meant to man, even when we lived in caves the horse was our transportation, our ability to work, and our partner in crime.

From Cynthia’s marketing materials comes a further explanation of the reliance our ancestors had on horses: “The absolute priority of early man was food, survival for what he knew as his entire world, his people.  So important was this dangerous hunt that he prepared emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  Even then man was aware of greater powers than the mere physical world.  Drawing evoked the spirits of the beast into his realm where he could master the power of the wild, insuring his success.” ~ Artist, Cynthia Andersen

Cynthia has taken her horse to all mediums.  From furniture to dinnerware, tiles & bathroom sinks.  All of these can be created.  In fact any custom work is accepted and the result is always exceptional.  Each piece is made by hand and no two pieces are ever the same.  The bathrooms and sinks are my favorite, wouldn’t it be wonderful to design an entire bathroom on this creative energy??  And the hand made knobs are also a delightful way to add just a pinch of color in a space!!

In addition to her original palette of turquoise and brown, new colors are being explored.  Red was the featured color at this, Cynthia’s fourth year at the Vegas Cowboy Christmas Show, look out next year for HOT PINK!!  I can’t wait…  In the meantime you can purchase Cynthia’s pottery online at Crème de la Crème, or at the gallery near her hometown, the Tehachapi Valley Arts Association.  OR email her business partner, Donna HERE.

Staye tuned, also, for Cynthia’s website which will show her line in more detail.  I’ll post it just as soon as I have the info!!  Thank you to Cynthia and Donna!!

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RUSTIC * WESTERN * VINTAGE Artists**

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It has been a bit hectic rounding up all of the brilliant people I met in Vegas…  I do have a few more for you this week before we head out for the holidays. Enjoy!!

When visiting COWBOY Christmas in Las Vegas I was so pleased to run across the space laid out for the Le Cadeau Du Cheval – The Horse Gift.  This is a magnificent compilation of 238 paintings of horses ~ when all of these paintings are put together they create a masterpiece work with a running horse as the celebrated subject.

MURAL MOSAIC, the company behind the mural, is the brain child of Lewis Lavoie and Phil Alain who created the organization in an effort to take current artists, celebrate their unique styles, then propel them to international exposure by combining their talents into one definable work. Lavoie first created a MOSAIC when he, himself, painted hundreds of individual paintings to make up the face of Michelangelo’s DAVID. Several years later Lavoie’s mosaic concept, along with 70 artists from Phil Alains’ Night of Artist group, painted live in a 24 hour marathon to create the HERITAGE FIDDLER. The successful event led MURAL MOSAIC to be officially formed. Since then several more Mosaics have been assembled, each with a different subject matter, and with methods other than the 24 hour nail-biting marathon.

The Le Cadeau Du Cheval – The Horse Gift started as the simple idea of a horse. With the horse’s international appeal to a broad range of devotees, as well as the historical significance, strength and power that makes horses so special, this was a subject that could easily touch hearts.Lavoie and Alain then set about contacting artists who, although they had diverse backgrounds, all had a passion for horses. The chosen artists were then sent a master image for their individual panel. These panels, designed by Lavoie, contained color guidelines and simple shapes.

Click on Read More below to read the rest of the story!!

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RUSTIC * WESTERN * VINTAGE Artists**

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Designing landscapes for the Western * Rustic home can prove challenging to those of us who live north of Zone 8.   The classic succulents used in arid climates don’t have a chance here in the Mid West and Northern regions.  A workable solution for myself and my Western * Rustic Decorating clients is native grasses, stonework and simple flowers.  Another solution, whether you live in Zone 10 ~ or Zone 1, is Desert Steel… their sculptures will add a whole new dimension to the quest for Western * Rustic landscaping.

It seems strange to be talking about landscaping as I sit here staring at our snow covered front yard, but perhaps this vendor from my trip to Vegas will remind us of warmer days to come ~ in just a few months we’ll be in the yard again, mowing grass and planting flowers.  
That said, Desert Steel’s sculptures definitely aren’t limited to the outdoors, you can see what a statement this one makes in the interior image BELOW.

I plan to travel to Desert Steel’s manufacturing facility after the first of the year to learn more about their history, and the process of these sculptures.  In the meantime, as you begin making your spring budget, consider exploring Desert Steel and all they have to offer.  Just one or two of their pieces will add soaring drama and a distinctive vibe to your landscape.  Stay tuned for more from these folks in the next few months!!  In the meantime you can see the quality and detail of the sculptures in person at any of these upcoming events:

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from Cowboy Christmas **

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Rustic * Western * Vintage OUTDOORS **

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One of the talented merchants that I met last week in Vegas included Joel West, owner of Four Winds West, an enterprise dedicated to making hand-made leather bags, accessories, and belts using ancient traditions, and superior craftsmanship.

Every year Joel West travels to Morocco {a country on the Northwest tip of Africa, and just south of Spain} for the business of creating leather goods for the American Western market.  It was a wonderful history lesson to learn from Joel the rich history of the Moroccan influence on the American West. 

The Four Winds website offers this concise narration of our connections to Moroccan history… “Through the arts and culture of the American West runs a deep Moorish influence.  Along with the horse, the conquistadors brought a legacy from seven centuries of Moorish Spain.  The techniques and motifs used in their finely worked tack, weapons and saddle blankets are the roots of cowboy gear as well as much Native American jewelry and weaving.  Four Winds brings this history full circle.  At our workshops in the ancient Moorish city of Marrakech, Morocco, master craftsmen still pursue that tradition of excellence in leather and metal, reflecting a heritage share with us in the American West.”

For over 25 years Joel, and wife, Sindie, have been creating these exquisite handbags and accessories.  Joel designs each bag himself.  He also picks each piece of turquoise, choosing only the best stones.  From the workshops in Morocco come all of the buckles, conchos and metal work.  Each piece of metal is handcrafted and must pass the highest standards in order to make it onto a bag.  With the finest, full grain cowhides each bag and accessory is put together.  

Once the bags have been assembled, Joel finishes each piece and inspects it for quality.  No sewing or machine work is used to construct the leather work, it is all hand crafted.  The beauty and art of these superior techniques shines through earning Four Winds West a place in King Ranch catalog and also in the Arizona Highways Catalog.  Joel’s passion for his craft is evident in each piece.  Love it…  Thank you, Joel.

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