SigMT

SIGNATURE MONTANA | 19 roughout Montana and the West, the influences — and the myriad forms the art takes — are as varied as the land itself. Shane Hughes grew up outside Missoula and became both an outdoorsman and a woodworker at a young age; it's no wonder his designs are directly inspired by nature, such as a door with carved caails and inlaid river rocks. In Kalispell, Steve Henneford makes graceful, elegant hardwood chairs, rockers, and music stands with contemporary lines and a timeless aesthetic. In contrast, Jerry Van Vleet, who lives near Flathead Lake, builds traditional, whimsical, and upcycled functional art from cast-off items found in the field or the barnyard. He loves repurposing old materials like metal, barn wood, stone, and glass, making the old new again. It has been thirty years since a handful of fiercely independent artisans banded together to proceed with an exhibition of functional Western and rustic art. In 1998, before his untimely death, Mike Patrick, one of the group's founders, won the coveted Switchback Ranch Purchase Award for his Anti-Gravity Table, a slender live-edge juniper slab cantilevered out over a gnarled and twisted juniper base. It was uerly modern yet thoroughly of the West. It was fiing that Patrick won the award for a contemporary piece, rather than one more tied to Cody's historic ranch-furniture tradition. "My vision for this show has always been that we push leading-edge design to move the whole industry forward," he said. "My hope is that people will take inspiration from what they see to synthesize original new creations." rough its professionally curated museum and by nurturing talented artisan and legacy members for three decades, By Western Hands has continued to do just that. Its museum presents an overview of the history of Western decorative arts. Its gallery offers a survey of rustic and Western cra today, from traditional to contemporary. Its workshop provides a venue for the skills to be passed on. To mark the 30th anniversary, a new book, By Western Hands: Functional Art om the Heart of the West, chronicles the history of western and rustic design in the West and showcases the work of fiy of the region's top artisans. Best of all, the work of By Western Hands is housed behind one artisan- carved door in Cody, Wyoming, and is open to the public year-round and free of charge. From furniture to beadwork, metalwork to leather arts, carving, knife making, weaving, basketmaking, and more, the artistry of By Western Hands artisans is as unbridled as the Western landscape that inspires it. Chase Reynolds Ewald is a chronicler of the West and the author of 16 books and hundreds of magazine articles. Follow her @chasereynoldsewald or visit her website at www. chasereynoldsewald.com. "By Western Hands: Functional Art om the Heart of the West" is available om www.bywesternhands.org and on Amazon. Or call 307-586-1755 to order a signed copy and support the mission to preserve an important art form born of the West. A recent project by Glenn Gilmore was inspired by ancient rock art in the Four Corners region. The Ancient Wisdom lamp is made of forged and textured steel and topped with a shade, handpainted by Native American artist Rose Briseno. S MT Buckaroo chaps made by Marge Taylor of Leather Legends in Stevensville, Montana. Red and black leather and angora are decorated with hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds with hand-painted artwork by Patsy Taylor and hand-laced edges.

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