Leather Experiments
Leather-especially vegetable tanned leather- is a fascinating material: food safe, ultra tough and long lasting *and* compostable, moldable with water, ability to go from super flexible to very hard with heat hardening, easily made water-resistant (even water proof), portable, ability to shrink and to grow, I love it. I started with laser cutting experiments to make the very laborious hole punching a thing of the past, and moved on from there. I've learned dozens of techniques and complementary materials, all about oils, pitches and rosins, the chemistry of collagens, and way more. Still learning. Some projects include a small wallet for Pier 9 artists, luggage tags, wrapping found skulls and bones in leather, and a traditional leather 'black jack' tankard; sealed with 50/50 beeswax and pine rosin.
