A John Deere Publication

Closeup of intricately carved brown leather in floral pattern

Leather work is an ever-evolving and ever-migrating art. From Africa to Europe, the American West to post-World War II Japan, it continues to travel and transform with each culture and generation.

Specialty/Niche December 01, 2024

Leather Master

Taking full grain to fine art.

by Martha Mintz

A muted plunk sounds as Jim Jackson drops the heft of a leather working tool into its designated slot. It joins hundreds of others in the master craftsman's workbench drawer at the Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming.

"They all have their place. It's kind of like a typewriter," he says.

Each also has a story. The metal surfaces burnished to a high shine reflect thousands of impressions made while in the hands of Jackson, his father, and industry legends like Don King.

King was the tooler and saddle maker credited with merging and personalizing existing leather carving styles to develop his well-known Sheridan style.

A quick gander around Jackson's studio reveals he's also a craftsman willing to blend styles, mediums, and cultures to create something uniquely his own.

His creations masterfully blend fine art painting with leather carving. Color and texture intertwine on leather canvases delivering bold, unexpected, often whimsical works.

In one piece, orange and white koi circle lazily over a pond bottom of carved flowers. The swirling, looping stems add texture and bring a Western vibe to an Eastern subject.

"My father always taught me to not get rid of the Western part of [my art], because there's a connection there to our culture," Jackson says.

In another piece, tooled leather designs emanate from a cellist's instrument, flowing as the imagined sound the visual brings to mind.

"I've always enjoyed the interplay between a three-dimensional surface and the illusion of a three-dimensional surface," Jackson says. He wields both to extract energy and movement from the flat surface of his medium.

"Every piece I work on I try to push the envelope a little bit," he says.

Constant nudging took Jackson from a boy catching a nap in the leather bins of his father's saddle shop to a master. His work is now displayed alongside Western icons like Remington, Russell, and his leather working mentor, Don King.

Decades of leather working laid the foundation for the 73-year-old's fine art creations. He started carving and tooling at just 10 years old. Working in his father's shop held more draw than sports and other after-school activities.

"By the time I went to college I'd already learned a trade," he says.

He earned a master's degree in fine arts and curated the University of Wyoming Art Museum. Through college he would stamp belts for four different companies into the wee hours of the night.

By 23, his paintings were featured in the Brinton Museum where he's now the resident master leather artist. This position—and lovely sunny studio—was earned after decades spent creating custom pieces at King's Saddlery and leather art in his home studio.

Museum tours include a stop at his studio where Jackson will pause to do a carving demonstration and answer questions.

Watching his hands fly across the leather carving, beveling, and shading a flower into existence is a marvel to visitors young and old. It's pure magic to anyone who ever carefully hammered their way through a 4-H leather project.

Above. Jackson’s tool drawer includes many tools more than 100 years old and countless he made himself in pursuit of the perfect shape to achieve his stunning designs. Best appreciated in person, Jackson’s fine art creations meld leather carving and painting to deliver stunning texture and depth. The Eastern influence in some of his work reflects the modern evolution of a long and rich tradition of cultural exchange in leather work.

Making history. Jackson's mind holds a hoard of leather working history. He explains how the 8th century Moorish invasion of Europe led to the Spanish and Portuguese adopting the intricate designs of their invaders' saddles. It wasn't the only migration of the style.

In the Americas, the Spanish moved from Cuba to Mexico to California. As a result, their ornate saddle carvings moved from West to East across America.

"When traders and trackers [traveled] East they rode plain saddles," Jackson says. After they encountered vaqueros with their highly ornamented tack, they adopted floral carvings on their own gear. "It was a status symbol."

After World War II and the Westernization of Japan, leather working style pushed East yet again.

Jackson has actively participated in the cultural exchange. He's traveled extensively to Japan to teach and give seminars.

He's curated cross-cultural exhibits and taken a film crew to document Japanese leather work.

The connection goes both ways, which explains koi popping up in Jackson's current work. It's an ongoing evolution.

"I learn as much from them when I go to Japan as they do from me," Jackson says. "Every brush stroke, every turn of the carving knife is a new possibility. You're always growing." ‡