This spring, SVMoA issued an open call to Idaho artists for a two-week exhibition on the theme “Idaho Rivers.” Katie Lee-Koven, Executive Director and Chief Curator for the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum at Utah State University, served as juror for the show, which features artwork by thirty-three Idaho artists and artist teams. The exhibition includes a collaboration with Two Toes, a creative studio based in Idaho and New York led by artists and designers Kika MacFarlane and Tala Schlossberg. Two Toes hosts regular retreats, or Idea Camps, for makers of all kinds, and this summer they led a group down the Salmon River. Artwork made by participants on the journey, including a kayak the group painted together, is part of the exhibition.

About the Show

Art is a powerful form of communication, capturing the essence of our history, reflecting our present, and envisioning our future. It has the remarkable ability to shape our perceptions and be shaped by them in return. Notably, Western art holds significant influence in shaping people’s perceptions of the American West. Often those stories represent rugged and resourceful cowboys and Native men, while portraying women as beautiful objects. Women’s Work aims to expand that catalog with more meaningful and nuanced stories of women and their contributions. By expanding the catalog to include more stories from and about women, we can depict our history more accurately and duly celebrate the remarkable women of the West.

To increase the recognition of Western women artists and makers, and women’s role in the West, Women’s Work seeks to connect juried artists with women on working ranches. Juried artists will spend time on their chosen and/or assigned ranch, learn from the women’s connection to family, land, plants, and animals, and create work for the show inspired by the people and places with whom they are connected.  

Women's Work also seeks to provide a platform for Native women to authentically share their own stories. It strives to honor, amplify, and celebrate the traditions, culture, and narratives of Indigenous women, highlighting their unique experiences and deep connections to the land and its history as the original inhabitants. Recognizing the intrinsic connections Indigenous women have with their own tribes, Women's Work strives to provide a supportive space for indigenous women to tell their own stories.

In addition to showcasing the remarkable achievements of women, the art presented in Women's Work aims to foster a reconnection between the viewer and our shared history, the land, and the communities that cultivate our food supplies. It seeks to bridge the growing gap between urban dwellers and the people and places deeply rooted in agricultural practices, reminding us of the vital connections between our lives and the land that sustains us.
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By fostering an environment of respect and collaboration, we aim to celebrate and uplift the rich heritage and contributions of western women, ensuring their voices are heard and their contributions recognized.

Presented by Old Salt Co-op, the 2nd annual Old Salt Festival is a food & music celebration of Montana land stewardship held June 21-23rd, 2024. We’re bringing together wood-fired cooking, Americana musicians, Montana ranchers, and Western makers to celebrate in high Montana style on the Mannix Family Ranch in Helmville, Montana.

Morgan Buckert Custom Boots will be taking orders for custom cowboy boots and shining cowboy boots to keep them going.

Please join us for Art of the Cowgirl in Queen Creek, Arizona, as we celebrate, gather, and connect Western women around horses and Western art.

As the Boot Making Fellow, I will be giving a presentation on Saturday, January 20, at 10:00 a.m., participating in the Fellowship Panel on Friday, January 19, at 3:00 p.m., having lively conversation in my booth in the Masters’ Tent, and supporting fellow women in the Western Arts.

Please view the full schedule on the Art of the Cowgirl website.

A retrospective look at the Western Folklife Center’s Permanent Gear Collection (est. 1992) through the words and work of its contributors. Featuring pieces from the Collection paired with some by up-and-coming artists, this exhibit showcases the ever-changing work of western gearmakers and why this work matters. 

Established with the help of artist William Matthews, this collection comprises 30 years of high-quality, utilitarian craftsmanship across the western United States and beyond. With more than 100 unique pieces from more than 15 states, the Collection represents a renaissance of functional artistry that it—not coincidentally—played a significant role in igniting. While holding close to tradition, the Collection has inspired change, development, and a flood of creativity. 

Highlights of the Collection include the last fancy saddle by Jeremiah Watt; a hitched horsehair quirt constituting the combined work of 10 makers across the West; matching bits and spurs from Ernie Marsh; and a twisted rawhide reata of longtime National Cowboy Poetry Gathering instructor Doug Groves. Over the years, Hal Cannon, Griff Durham, Meg Glaser, Waddie Mitchell, Charlie Seemann, Andy Stevens, Jeremiah Watt, and others have all served as advisers to the Collection, which includes high-quality exemplars of everyday, and not-so-everyday, rawhide braiding, bit and spur making, saddlemaking, leatherwork, horsehair hitching, and much, much more. 

In addition to pieces from the Collection and portraits by William Matthews, the exhibit includes work by next generation gearmakers and leatherworkers Morgan Buckert, Dana and Tracy Eklund, Amanda Fraker, Chaz Mitchell, Justine Nelson-Graham, Ashley Radz, Natalie Teichert, and Bryce Williams.  

Every piece tells a story, and every story contributes to the meaning of the West. 

Leather is a living material that with care and repair can last forever.  Create your own bag and accessories in a no waste class with cowboy boot maker Morgan Buckert. Build your own accessories that will last a lifetime out of Horween American-tanned leather seconds. This leather with small blemishes has been rejected by larger companies, but can be manipulated to create the highest quality products that you will be proud to carry, reducing waste and consumption.

This class takes place Sat & Sun, July 31 and August 1, from 10am–4pm.

At Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Hailey: $210 members/$260 non-members

You’ll be able to say “I made them myself!” with every compliment for your new leather sandals.  Create your own custom-fitted sandals in this beginner class. Choose your materials and create a pair of sandals to last a lifetime with techniques you can recreate at home.  All materials will be provided with additional findings available for purchase. No shoemaking experience required, but craft/design experience useful.

Morgan has moved far from her home on a ranch in South Texas, but is influenced by traditional Western themes in her leather work. Morgan builds custom cowboy boots, shoes, sandals, and leather goods in her Hailey, Idaho workshop. 

Cancellation reimbursement deadline is August 1, 2019.

About The Market

The Market is a gathering to celebrate summer in Ketchum | Sun Valley, Idaho, with friends and family, music and food, and unique handcrafted & vintage goods. We are thrilled to be hosted by our friends at Hotel Ketchum, the newest hotel in Ketchum | Sun Valley, located on Main Street in the middle of all the action. The Market will kickoff on Summer Solstice (Friday) evening with a “sneak peek” of makers, tunes spun all weekend by a local DJ, food and libations available. The main focus throughout the weekend is you the maker or seller of vintage goods. Our aim to bring together some of the best Independent Makers, vintage collectors and customers from Idaho and all over the US for a fun and successful weekend.

Event Organizers

The event is organized by two makers Diane Stewart-Heiner of Whytecloud Mountain Gems, and Morgan Buckert ofMorgan Buckert Custom Boots, and two shopkeepers Susan & Mark Nieves of Independent Goods. All are locals to the community of Ketchum, Sun Valley, and Hailey, Idaho, and who all share a passion for celebrating artists and collectors.

The Idaho Commission on the Arts and The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho will present an Idaho women gearmakers showcase and demonstration on April 6, 2019 from 1-5 pm at The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho in Idaho Falls. A range of traditional and contemporary art forms will be featured in this showcase including hat making, boot making, saddle making, woven saddle blankets, silver engraving and jewelry, oil and watercolor painting, and a wide assortment of leather craft like chaps, chinks, headstalls, and other tack. Artists will be on hand to discuss their work and answer questions about technique, method, and inspiration. This is a rare opportunity to meet and greet with both established and up-and-coming artists and witness some of the best cowboy arts Idaho has to offer.

Free and open to the public.

The artist showcase and demonstration culminates the inaugural Idaho Cowgirl Congress. The showcase will spotlight the work of Congress participants either as recent completed projects or as in-process demonstrations.

The Sun Valley, Idaho area is home to an abundantly diverse collective of visual artists. Brilliantly illuminating the creative talent in the Sun Valley region, the sixth annual Wood River Valley Studio Tour opens the doors of professional artists’ studios to the general public Saturday, August 18th and Sunday, 19th.

Visitors from near and far travel by car, bicycle or on foot on self-guided adventures, exploring artists’ working sanctuaries throughout the Wood River Valley. Extending from Bellevue in the south end of the valley to Ketchum in the north and all parts in between, visitors enjoy the rare experience of being in the environments where art is created while getting acquainted with the makers and gaining a close-up view of the materials and media artists employ.

ALL EVENTS – FREE ADMISSION

Mosaic Project Online Auction:              8am MDT Friday, August 10th to                       7pm MDT Sunday, August 19th

Group & Mosaic Project Exhibition:         August 15th – 19th, 11am – 5pm Daily,
Ketchum Conference & Event Center

Reception with the Artists:                   Friday,  August 17th, 5 – 8pm,
Ketchum Conference & Event Center

Tour Studios: Saturday, August 18th & Sunday, August 19th, 10am – 5pm