Yeah, that's quite a moon over there.

That's... that's a beauty.

He put you back in the smoke, didn't he?

You know, I've been involved with painting for quite a while.

For me, the only distinction between leather carving and painting is the physical part of it, where it's three dimensional.

Shallow... bas relief.

Shallow relief.

And I'm finding more and more about that as I carve a panel, tool it, and then I paint on it.

So you're dealing with the surface, the illusion of something, and the actual sculpting.

And that's why I like to play with the things I'm working with right now.

And that's the direction I'm following.

Leather carving and tooling, I think that form, there's a simplicity to it.

Even though the patterns are complex, but the means of getting there are very basic, very simple.

There are certain skills you have to have to do really good work.

You have to really understand your material.

Leather, the skin of a cow, whatever.

You have to really know the texture and the feel and how it dries out and all of those things very well.

But it's the repetition over and over and over again and doing that and that's what, you know, guys my age, you know, we've done it for so long.

Well, you have done it for so long too and you've built so many things, all these beautiful things over the years.

You know, I don't know why we work so hard doing it.

I guess it's all of those things.

It's, you know, I don't know where the passion... Where does the passion... Where does the passion for doing it come from, with you?

I mean, what... Umm... probably... very simple.

I like doing it, but I have to make a living.

Yeah, yeah.

And craftsmen cannot get enough wages for what we do.

So, I have to work hard.

And, you know, actually, I might be greedy because I wanted to be famous at first, and I wanted to be recognized by my heroes, who is Don King, you, Chester Hape, Bill Gardner, Don Butler, and many other masters.

And once I become famous, probably it is easier to make a living by leather work.

But... somehow I managed to make a living until now.

For over almost 30 years probably.

And now?

Again, probably, I am greedy because now I think I want to be a legend even if I die.

Don King, Don Butler, Chester Hape, Bill Gardner, they are all gone.

But among leather workers they are legends.

Their... name and their story remains among us.

It's because what they did, not only what they made, but also they were generous.

And they passed their their knowledge, their skill to next generation.

I want to be a legend, like them.

JAMES: Well I, you know.

TAKA: I might be greedy.

JAMES: You know, we never we never know that at this point, especially in our lives because, well, I well, I would disagree with you on that because I think you probably don't realize it, but you have laid an incredible base.

You have a lot of respect over in Japan.

I hear that just from the, you know, the those Japanese carvers and so forth that I've talked with.

They all respect you very, very much.

You know, with the Sheridan carvers that we know so well, it was like a, an art movement or something in Paris where a bunch of guys got together at one point in time, and I don't think they were, you know, trying to create some outstanding... They were just doing their thing.

But they just all happened to be really talented guys and they were playing off one another.

You know, you wonder, well, why do I do this?

This chore, work so hard at it.

But don't you get occasionally just get lost in your work when you're carving late at night there in your little shop there?

I can see you.

I mean, I can visualize you, you know, in your shop by the window there and you're stamping away.

I don't know about you, but I have found myself where you develop a certain rhythm with your work, and you're, you're lost in a world in a different world and everything, all the worries you have, all of those things around you are gone.

They disappear, because your focus is so much on... What I do.

Yeah.

And it's just, you know, for most people, like I say, you're just creating some flowers.

They'll just say, well, you know, they're leather flowers, but it's so much more than that for us.

JAMES: Leather is a functional medium, strong, flexible, made to weather the elements.

It is skin, after all.

Human beings have been carving designs into leather since prehistory.

As soon as we got ahold of animal hides, we began turning functional accessories into art.

Across ages and oceans, these traditions traveled, passed down from one artisan to the next, from hand to hand.

Ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Middle Ages, Renaissance, the Americas.

At the end of the 20th century, in the small town of Sheridan, Wyoming, where I live, a crossroads of American cowboy traditions converged with the vision of a few exceptionally talented craftsmen.

Together, they birthed a new style of leather carving; distinctly American, yet rooted in global traditions.

By the time Sheridan Style emerged, Western movies, magazines, and do-it-yourself leather tooling kits had already made their way into Japan, sparking a fascination with cowboy culture and leather craft.

The Sheridan Style, with its intricate patterns and delicate flow akin to medieval scrollwork, drew these Japanese artisans to Wyoming.

They visited leather shops and shows, forging relationships with local artists.

Then they brought those lessons home, where they made the style their own.

But it's not really theirs, is it?

And it's not ours either, in Wyoming.

Nor is it ancient Babylon's.

It's just human.

From cavemen to cowboys, from functional craft to high art, it's all the same impulse.

To leave a mark for someone else to stumble upon, that tells them: a person was here.

They felt something.

They made beauty.

Call it a craft if you want.

Okay.

This particular panel that was tooled by Taka Otsuka, a very fine carver, tooler... just a wonderful panel that can explain the difference in some of the tooling styles, because what Taka very ingeniously did was he put these three different tooling styles that developed in the western part of the United States.

What we have up in this corner here is the old Visalia Style out of California.

Below it is the Porter Style, that developed a little later in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and that region of the country, and then eventually the Sheridan Style over here, which came out of Sheridan, Wyoming.

Taka, definitely, I'll guarantee he's one of the most passionate leather workers you will ever find.

I mean, his whole life is his leather work.

I'll tell you, I, I really enjoy that intensity in Taka because because you just don't see much of that in a lot of peoples work.

But, but it's not only his intensity and concern about his own work, but he has a group of individuals around him who he's influenced his whole life, and he's had a passion for it.

And that's not only in Japan, but that's over here.

I mean, he understands the history of this tradition.

I mean, he's really a historian of sorts.

That's how deep his passion goes.

It's not enough for him to make leather forms and tool and carve and sell those things in Japan.

He's got to know where it came from, the traditions and so forth.

So we're a lot alike that way, and that's probably why we connect so well, because, well, we just have that deeply embedded thing.

And then when we got together, you know, how you have a conversation with someone who has that same sort of passion.

It's a great, it's, it's a good experience.

I really enjoy his friendship and that connection.

TAKA: Jim!

Good to see you.

JAMES: Taka my wonderful friend.

It's been four years.

It's been four... yeah.

Four years.

JAMES: Yeah, it seems like forever.

Are you ready for another adventure?

TAKA: Yes.

Very exciting adventure.

Yeah, it's great to see you.

Yeah.

TAKA: Really nice.

Two of my friends come with big cars.

JAMES: Oh, good.

Because we have way too much stuff.

TAKA: And Naomi is waiting for you at my workshop.

JAMES: Oh.

Oh, good, good.

TAKA: Yes shes very excited.

JAMES: Well, well, I can't wait to see all of these guys.

Im so happy, so happy.

So happy.

NAOMI: [Speaking Japanese] TAKA: My major character is Sheridan Style tooling.

So, the Sheridan part put with a sign of “Thanks,” and thanks means thanks to Japanese people.

And another thanks goes to old masters from Sheridan and the culture and history of Sheridan.

BUCK BRANNAMAN: I did just enough stamping leather as a kid to know how hard those little fine flowers are to do.

That's just.

That's crazy.

If I had to stamp leather, my flowers would be that big and you could do it with an axe.

But that's just the evolution of the art.

It just became more and more sophisticated.

This whole tradition, it's interesting how it migrated.

If you want to get picky about it, some would lead you to believe that the first cowboy in America was documented to be in Texas.

Wrong answer.

85 years prior to that, the first cowboy was documented to be in California.

Yet ironically, the first cowboy, which was called a vaquero, was an Indian.

So it really messes with the whole cowboys and Indians thing.

The tradition followed with them of the type of gear that they used.

Fancy tooled saddles and the beautiful bridle bits and the way they rode their horses.

They basically adapted Spanish dressage to what they needed the horse to do for working cattle.

But in Texas, the people that were making their living horseback were very clear that they didn't want someone to be confused with them being influenced by Mexicans, even though the Mexicans had been doing it for a long time before the white boys had.

Mexican stirrups: very wide, where you can balance on the ball of your foot and you can be on a horse all day long.

The Southwestern style: narrow stirrups.

Mexican bits: silver, ornate, beautiful.

Southwestern style: pounded out of iron, made out of wagon spokes.

To not be confused with having been influenced by someone who's darker than you.

They're not dressing their horses with art.

And that's how I look at all the beautiful gear.

I'm proud of my horses.

It's about honoring the horse for what he does for you, because without the horse, the vaquero was nothing.

And so it's a show of respect for the horse to dress the horse proudly.

This Sheridan area is a melting pot of a lot of different styles of cowboys.

People that have been here for a few generations, some of them their heritage is the Texan style cowboys that came up here with the herds of cattle and then decided to stay.

Some of them, from California and Oregon.

So there is a roots to the vaquero tradition here.

And yet, we've lived in peace and harmony together with the Texans for about a hundred years.

If you want to become an artist with horses, that's where a thing called feel comes into it.

And that transcends just being mechanically good.

And I know that's the same with this kind of work.

It's not just a mechanical experience to do this.

This is Jim's labor of love.

He was kind of blown away to see how much stuff Mary had to put on show and tell today.

I was a city kid.

I was born in Denver, and my father's shop, even though he was a saddle maker, was right downtown in the city.

When I was ten years old, my folks dumped me off on the farm with my grandparents, and it was a life changing experience for me.

Because my grandparents, they spoke Czech.

It was a different language, not only a change in a way of life, but a way of culture.

And then, I go back to Denver and my father moves up to Wyoming.

So here I am in another culture.

I was taken out of the city, off the farm, into the West, and then I went off to college and started traveling.

When you go to a different culture, what happens is your mind realizes those differences and it starts to ask why.

Why is this different from what I do?

What it does is it reshapes your thinking and it lifts your whole experience to a different level.

In my work, what happens is Im constantly looking for differences, but I go to different cultures to feed.

And to me, you know, in this, in our American culture the way it is today, that cultural experience is so important.

When I was given the National Heritage Fellowship, I was sitting on a stage with nine other people from each one a completely different culture, and I had the opportunity to talk with those people.

And that's what we were talking about, is these cultural differences and how important it is to them, in so many ways.

That's what makes this country great is, it is the exchange of ideas that come from around the world in different ways, and there's a growth there that you can't get if you're isolated.

You know, it's so important for artists to stop and take a look at some of the work you've done occasionally, and say okay, who am I?

What, what was this about?

And why is it important to me?

And you start asking those questions and I think your work gets better.

It improves.

TAKA: Sometimes in midnight, when it was very quiet, the sound of the clock stands out.

And when I noticed it, every time I noticed, I feel like as if Don King and other old masters in heaven watch over me if I am doing a good job.

2008, July 28th Don King passed away and I felt I wanted to do something for his death.

I worked on this clock full time for one for one and a half months.

But the title of this clock is Time Goes By, But The Legend Remains Forever.

JAMES: These stories have to continue to be sort of passed on and told because, you know, it makes our work more meaningful in lots of ways.

You know, there's a depth that, that's created there and it shows up in your work.

It's a wonderful piece and you should be extremely proud of it.

Now we're going to talk to Don King, the man who started it all at King Ropes the patriarch of the King family.

Don, did you start your life here in Wyoming?

Ah yes, I was born here.

I was born in Douglas.

But I left there when I was five years old, with my father.

And then we traveled.

He was an old-time cowboy and would stay in one place about two or three months.

Seasonal work mostly.

TAKA: I was very impressed by the way he lived.

By the time of age 12, he was an independent cowboy.

I am a traditionalist.

I like tradition.

I like history and I admire old timers.

Don King, after he established his business part, then he made anything he wanted to make.

That is ideal, to make living.

But I don't have the ability for business part.

That's why I have to keep making things that... that sells more easily.

I don't think what I make is creative at all.

I am not an artist.

I am only a craftsman.

If I was an artist or I was just a teacher, I don't have to worry about how to sell it, but I have to think about how to sell it very seriously.

DON KING: I had always worked with horses.

Horses was my main, main thing.

The leather work was a sideline.

I havent always thought myself as a craftsman, but I'd worked for enough shops that I, I... I had a goal.

And I knew, or I thought I knew anyway, what the cowboys wanted and I thought like them.

You know, theyre a strange, strange breed.

The old-timers were.

GEOFF O GARA: Do you think that these skills that this, this handwork, this ability to tool leather and saddles is going to survive?

Mmhmm.

I think they're going to get better.

They are now.

But its just happened within the last ten years that they're starting to... what's happened is that uhh... they've turned the saddle making and the bit and spur making and the silver work into an art... thing and they're starting to to show at more galleries, and they're having special shows on this type of work.

BRUCE KING: I never heard the tooling come in as an art form, until... probably Jim brought it up.

Because it is an art form, but it wasnt ever thought of as that.

A cowboy from Birney, Montana comes in and orders a saddle he doesn't say I want a tooled saddle ‘cause I like the art.

I mean, he liked the look, but it wasn't necessarily an art form in their mind, because... what are cowboys?

Theyre just, they love the land and love the scenery, but they don't know what to call it.

JAMES: I was raised in a saddle shop but I went off to art school, and that transition just really made me aware of those differences and how people perceived art.

They would always say, well, leather craft is just a craft.

And Don called himself a craftsman.

But, you know, guys like Chester Hape came along and he said, yeah, we're craftsmen, but we're... more than that.

Because we're trying to take it to a different level so that these pieces we work on, theyre things that people consider as holding a culture in them.

In the last 20, 30 years, the traditional arts, people have come to recognize them more because of organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts.

Suddenly, there's this recognition.

And of course, Don was given that award and he was thinking, well, all I did was build a good saddle.

If you look at a lot of the traditional arts, they're not any different from what they call high art, really.

And actually, in some ways, I almost think traditional arts tie into our culture in a much more meaningful way.

[Speaking Japanese] JAMES: The small flowers and the very tight tooling.

I mean, this is very beautifully carved typical Sheridan Style carving with beautiful flow through there.

That's repeated, but the small flowers are much more difficult.

NAOMI: [Speaking Japanese] AKIKO OKADA: [Speaking Japanese] JAMES: I will tell you a secret.

TAKA: Secret?

JAMES: Yes.

Occasionally, when I'm carving and tooling, and the layout is just really nice I will get up and sort of dance around, and I get a feeling it's like a composer getting up in front of all of the musicians in a, you know, in a symphony.

And suddenly, for some reason, all of them are playing exactly how they should be.

And it's really something that is powerful.

And at that moment, sometimes I just feel so good I get up and I kind of just dance and say, because, because I live by myself and nobody's looking at me and saying what a foolish guy.

I do that in my kitchen every once in a while, and I look out the window and my neighbor's watching me.

You're a really good friend and even though we're on the other side of the world from each other, when we get together, we have a way of communicating.

And those are the kinds of relationships with other people that I enjoy.

You know, you reach an age.

I'm 73 now.

My life is pretty simple.

You know, I've gone through a couple of marriages, and... and all kinds of things, especially early in my life.

And I've come to a point I don't need to make my life more complex than it is, because I look at my work as being sort of my mistress, or my, you know, that's where my passion is.

And I know I only have so much longer, probably to live.

You know, where I can function at a pretty high level and produce work that's really good.

And you can see where my focus is.

It's, that's what it is.

I've managed to find a trade and an, and an art form that is giving a lot... not only am I giving to it, it's giving back to me.

TAKA: It's hard to express my feelings about my life.

I always feel lonely.

But on the other hand, I am happy enough and I understand I've been so lucky.

Even though I'm not very rich, I have made a living at leather work and although I'm divorced, I'm only 55 years old.

My daughter is still going to college for a nurse, so I have to earn enough money to make my living, and to help my daughter.

PAUL VAN DYKE: My boy, my oldest boy is... a real gearhead.

He's always dragging four wheelers and lawnmowers, and... I didn't have a four wheeler when I got this.

I just use this one to ride up and down to the barn, and... just so I didn't have to walk, so... JAMES: If you're fortunate enough to get up in the morning and love what you're doing, that's that's the best world.

Not everybody, most people don't have that opportunity.

PAUL VAN DYKE: Yeah.

JAMES: So, anyway... PAUL VAN DYKE: It was funny, you know, this whole journey of you know, you become a craftsman, artisan, whatever you want to call it, and then you've got to figure out a way to monetize it.

You know, and so, you know, these students come through and I always learn something from people because I'm always asking questions and I'm interested in people and their stories and stuff.

So I had this guy, this kid come in hes from New York originally.

So he's got this kind of funny accent.

So he's talking about Instagram and stuff, and he's of course substantially younger than me and so I'm asking him because I don't understand how any of that works.

But I understand that it's very important.

You know, if you want to create some curiosity out there about your stuff.

And he's like... Paul, Paul, I looked at your Instagram, and it just sucks.

And he goes, he says to me, you have such an amazing life!

You know?

And... and I do.

You know, I've got a great life.

I get, I wake up and I have zero problems getting out of bed.

You know, I'm looking forward to it.

And I come to the shop and then I try to work till 2 or 3, and then I go make horses, and my kids come home and we ride.

And, you know, it's just, it's an awesome way to live.

So.

Yeah.

I guess were all sort of searching PAUL VAN DYKE: Yeah.

for that.

I don't like to give advice to anybody about their personal lives and things, but, you know, I'm an old guy now so I've been through a lot of stuff.

And I know if you become isolated, it changes your outlook on the world and you, you quit, you quit soaking it up in a different way, and you become obsessed.

You know, your work is sort of all this focus.

But that's not always, you know, it can't be the only focus.

In those later years at Kings, I'd work all day.

And when I started, there it was like six days a week, you know, I'd go home and I'd go into the studio to paint.

And pretty soon I realized I did, I had no social life.

And, and not that And, and not that you have to have a lot of that, but you just need to connect with some people PAUL VAN DYKE: Yeah.

Right.

JAMES: once in a while and so, that's important for your work too.

PAUL VAN DYKE: Yeah.

JAMES: Taka, you know he's got his hes sort of in the same position as I am.

And I know he's a workaholic, just like just like me and... and you know, you kind of have to be if you're going to do really good work and you have to put that time in, yet, yet, you know, I reached a point where I I got up one morning you know, and I was thinking, you know, I haven't been fishing like in ten years.

PAUL VAN DYKE: Yeah.

JAMES: So what what's going on here?

And so I started thinking about that.

I can see how it has... it's changed my personality a little bit and its shaped me.

But you can become an old curmudgeon or something.

And as you get older, you know, you're, you're you don't have the same energies.

It's, it's good to make sure that you don't put yourself in a place where it's so self-absorbed and so everything is about you know, particular things.

You want to open yourself up to the world.

Like these trips I take to Japan.

That's, that's, it's like walking into a beautiful garden suddenly, of ideas.

So I'm fortunate.

I'm very fortunate.

I've worked hard.

And now by gosh I'm going to do some things.

TAKA: I'm touching a horse for the first time in 27 years.

27 years.

FILMMAKER: How does it feel?

TAKA: Umm... I... I don't know how to express in English but it feels very good.

FILMMAKER: Try Japanese.

TAKA: In Japanese?

FILMMAKER: Just a line.

TAKA: Actually, in Japanese... [Speaking Japanese] TAKA: When I first visit Sheridan I was all by myself, traveling around by Greyhound bus with a huge backpack and huge suitcase and I looked dirty.

I arrived at the bus depot at midnight and I stayed until morning.

I dragged suitcase and backpack.

I must have looked just the strangest traveler, but all the staff in Kings Saddlery welcomed me.

The first one was Bob King.

So excited.

He introduced me to Jim.

This place is exactly the same.

And Jim was the first one in my life who encouraged me to accomplish my dream.

He was the very first one in Sheridan who said, okay, you have to come back to show me how you have improved the next time.

And after I left Kings, the next stop was Mr.

Butlers And Mr.

Butler was the second one in Sheridan who said, okay, you have to come back to Sheridan.

But as I, as I told you, American government put a ban on me because I mistakenly did an illegal thing.

Just only three days of overstay.

Yeah.

So while I couldn't get in the United States Don King, Don Butler, Chester Hape, they are all gone.

Before... before I am recognized by them.

Jim is the only one.

Yeah.

I couldn't express my thankfulness for Mr.

Butler's encouragement.

I would like to express my thankfulness to you instead of Mr.

Butler because you were the only apprentice, right?

PAUL VAN DYKE: Yep.

90S FILMMAKER: You might want to come over here and look at this to give you an idea.

I guess maybe you don't like... DON BUTLER: Oh, I do, I do like tourists.

Umm... it was interesting.

You know, we had a gal working for us... PAUL VAN DYKE: Butler was not only a saddler, but he was a flower stamper and really well accomplished.

He was really at the top of his game there in the 80s and in the 90s when I got to work for him.

I came at the, the end really so to speak, the twilight of the shops and there was still a really significant emphasis on the culture of the leather stamper and flower stamping and there was a lot of guys still active at that time, and that just really promoted this really unique environment and I just absorbed it.

I'm an example of really an unbroken line back as far back as you can go of saddle makers, and... that's really a special thing.

There's not a lot of people today particularly that can say that, and that's something that I'm really proud of.

I'm glad that I'm part of that legacy.

From cowboying, to horse related stuff, agriculture, The West, the saddle is the key point for all of it.

It's not just a piece of equipment that we strap on.

There's so much history and lore that's a part of it.

A good looking horse that's well-trained, performing its job with a good saddle, with a good hand, and it's just, it feels pristine.

How you express yourself or what you value is now found maybe through a phone in which you do electronically.

Maybe your identity might be found there as opposed to, you know, this thing of substance, which, of course, I mean, that's the way I feel, this is my life-- is that this saddle is a an expression of its owner and it also expresses what you are doing.

You know, the American dream is a wonderful thing and yet within it there are certain fallacies.

You know, that if you you get the babe and you get the billfold, you got it made.

And that's not accurate.

There's a lot more money to be made out there than, than what I'm doing.

And yet, you know, the satisfaction, the independence, the expression of self in what you're doing is... I couldn't think of any other way to do it.

I've met I don't know how many people, you know, they finally start making some money in their late 40s and 50s or 60s, and by then, you know, the ship has sailed.

They, they can buy certain things, but they can't be certain things.

And for me, it is about being.

Somebodyll ask me, they'll say, well, what are you doing today?

And I say, well, I got this poor dead cow bent over and I'm trying to make something out of her.

And, you know, and for me, it's, you know, it's all tied to one another, you know?

So I'm horseback, you know, five months out of the year, and Im cowboying and you're dealing with the cow, right?

You're keeping her alive.

You're raising the baby calf.

You're doing whatever it takes to take care of the ground, make sure the grass is right, the waters right, all for the cow, and then you're making money because you're selling the calves or whatever.

And then, you know, the cow comes back through the shop in this leather form, and then you get to put it on a saddle, and it gets to be part of the whole thing again.

You know, it's just it's a really cool thing.

It's just a neat way to live.

And so, yeah.

FILMMAKER: Circle of Life.

Yeah, right.

Yeah.

TAKA: I don't think you remember that but in 2004, you were the first one who introduced me to Don King.

I was just a beginner.

I dreamed that Mr.

King would recognize me in the future after I got skilled.

But only three years later, he passed away.

So.

My dream didnt realize.

But, you know, he asked me about you several times, you know.

Yeah, yeah, well, he was interested in the Japanese connection in his own way.

He had a genuine interest in the fact that it was coming from a different culture, a curiosity.

He was a very curious person.

He was willing to accept, in a lot of different ways, how people lived their lives.

So he absorbed all of these things over the years from many different directions.

It made him grow constantly.

And I think a lot of that had to do with his upbringing.

BRUCE KING: He was born in Douglas, Wyoming, to Archie and his mother, who separated at about four years old, is what I heard.

DON KING: I went with him and he was an... old-time cowboy and bronc rider.

He would stay about two months on every job.

Grass was always greener on the other side.

And I was raised in, you know, bunkhouses.

BRUCE KING: He had a real hard time during the Depression.

There was times that, this was a story from Dad, that his dad would go out on... out on the pasture and put Dad in the in the pack bags on a mule, and take him out and tie him to a tree, go out and do his cow work, come back and get Dad and take him back to the bunkhouse.

DON KING: In the bunkhouse at night you didnt, uh... We worked places where you didn't go to town.

Every night, you stayed there all the time.

Like in Glacier Park I worked for the Parks Saddlers company and I was in there for three months and never got out of there for three months.

And we were sleeping in tents and I was stamping on a on an old wooden crate, with a little piece of marble and cutting out my belts with a hunting knife, I mean.

BILL KING: Theyd come up here in the summertime, Montana or Wyoming, and then they might be in Arizona one winter and they might be in California another winter.

You know, I mean, it just depends on where Granddad wanted to go and who he thought might be hiring.

Whenever they had to go to town for groceries or whatever, my granddad would park my dad in the saddle shop.

He'd sit there and watch them.

He was exposed to a lot of styles Porters in Arizona being pretty important.

And then if they went to California, then they had a different style: Visalia, or Bolin.

Dad was one of those guys that created his own look and then people kind of followed along.

You know, hed go into those old shops and those guys wouldn't tell him anything.

So he tried to make it a point that if anybody ever asked him a question and he thought he could help them at all, he would do it.

You know, just going against the grain.

BRUCE KING: Dads shops always been open to people to come through and watch.

You treat somebody else like you want to be treated.

I think he lived by those those terms.

And being nomadic like that probably helped, seeing different stages of what people were like.

BILL KING: I'd run across somebody from somewhere else.

Anyway, it doesn't make any difference.

And I said, god, these guys are copying our patterns.

And I said, boy, that really makes me mad.

And Dad said, no.

He said, there's nothing to... you know, nothing you can do about it.

And he says, no reason to get mad.

He said to just take it as a compliment that somebody else likes your work well enough to where they, you know, want to try to do as good or better.

So... I never, I never worried about it after that, except I made sure that, you know, it it had the Kings Saddlery stamp you know on it.

JAMES: You know Taka sent me an email the other day saying your dad's 100th birthday was on the 26th.

And they were over there celebrating in Japan.

Really?

JAMES: Your dad's birthday.

So I. No matter that I celebrated it.

JAMES: Well, the thing, the thing is, see, what's happened is this business has had a major influence on a bunch of leather workers over in Japan.

You know, a lot of those guys know more about the history of tooling in Sheridan, Wyoming than most people around.

BRUCE KING: Yeah, probably.

JAMES: Taka Otsuka had a lot to do with that.

[Speaking Mandarin] Two days of private lessons.

His first experience.

JAMES: 20 years.

TAKA: Nuh-uh.

His first experience.

TAKA: You remember Seiichi.

JAMES: Ah, Seiichi.

Good to see you again.

TAKA: And the president Mr.

Tokonami.

JAMES: Mr.

Tokonami.

Hello Cai, hey, good to see you.

CAI HONGHAO: Good to see you.

Oh, this is, this is amazing.

TAKA: Hes so honored.

JAMES: Well, my honor.

TAKA: He became a teacher when he was 25.

Hes now 72 years old.

He's my very first mentor.

He has taught probably over a thousand students over 45 years.

JAMES: Cai, I recognize this piece.

CAI HONGHAO: You open this and here is the ring.

Inside is the brain.

JAMES: It's really an interesting piece That show in Sheridan you had people surrounding it, wondering what in the world is that?

TAKA: Hes also a fantastic Sheridan Style tooler.

JAMES: Yeah, yeah.

CLINT FAY: I don't know what Sheridan Style is.

I don't know how to explain it.

I know it when I see it.

To try to explain it, I would say that it consists more of circles and sine waves.

JAMES: This is beautifully done.

I mean, it's, it's... You know creating these circles with 3 or 4 flowers is something that was not done in Sheridan Style for many years.

CLINT FAY: Youll notice that it develops a flow with circles all flowing into this sine wave mode, as I call it.

The work here in Sheridan tends to be a little bit finer, a little smaller, a little tighter.

Doesn't mean that it's better its its just a different style.

That's real important for people to know, that no style is better than another style.

It's, it's really a matter of personal preference.

Compare it to people in the art world.

I mean, who's the better artist, Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci?

You know, it's, it's a personal thing.

So it's real important for people to look, I think, at a lot of different styles of work.

JAMES: I didn't know whether this was just on display and you were loaning it to Cai, but... so you purchased it?

TAKA: Yes.

He helped my financial problem.

I also appreciated his offer to put my project in this gallery.

I always make what is scheduled to be sold.

I don't make leather pieces to exhibit.

The influence came from your 90s patterns.

JAMES: Oh yeah, yeah.

This center point, I tried to combine yours and mine.

I don't, I don't know, I don't know if I did good work, but I tried.

Anyway.

So.

Oh, Taka.

It's absolutely incredible.

I look at his work all the time.

So I guess we're exchanging ideas.

I guess all artists do that.

Cai, thank you for doing this because it's really important.

He's an important guy in Japan.

And we talked about leather carving, becoming artwork, an art form.

This is purely fine art.

JAMES: Craftsmanship and artistry.

They're very hard to differentiate.

You know.

TAKA: Distinguish?

Distinguish, yeah, one from the other.

But the thing is that in all of your work and all of my work, you know, we can't help but put some of our self in there.

We're all using the same material, the same tools, the same instruments, but our character always... comes out.

That's all we have to pass on after we die.

I mean, our work is out there, and that's us.

And if the work is strong, your legacy is going to continue.

And it will keep continuing, just through the fascination and the observation of others.

JAMES: Kubo!

Kubo-san.

TAKAHIRO KUBO: Oh!

Welcome to Osaka.

[Speaking Japanese] [Speaking Japanese] JAMES: Very unusual with the lacing around it.

Crocodile?

Alligator?

Crocodile.

TAKAHIRO KUBO: [Speaking Japanese] TAKA: I think it was 1989, when I was 20 years old.

I had a girlfriend whose hometown was in Osaka.

She took me to this store.

Exactly this store, 34 years ago.

And I got to see hand-tooled leather items for the first time.

It was done by Japanese, by Atsuhi Kubota.

Takahiros former boss.

I was so impressed I had a strong passion to get a job related to the Western world.

This store gave me a great opportunity.

This, this is a very old piece of Mr.

Kubota Um... A lot of craftsmen graduated from our factory but still they are helping us.

I think the Japanese really, really love to see the details, precision, and they appreciate it.

There is a lot of different styles of carving, but Sheridan Style is more the details, you know, so that makes a difference.

Yeah, I think so.

Every time we find something good, real, real pieces, we see the good lines and we absorb it and we try to share it with the craftsmen and try to understand what's the difference.

We use good quality materials, the real thing.

The company itself started with my father 54 years ago.

Yep.

It's been a long time.

Probably the first one importing Native American jewelry and cowboy boots and hats and belts and buckles and many things.

It was a big, a big trend.

Fashion is come and go, right?

For like 50 years of business.

You know, we have up and down, up and down.

But luckily we have repeat customers.

You know, some some customers have been coming to our store more than 40 years and still coming every week.

Beauty is beyond culture.

The value never fade out.

That's our basic concept.

JAMES: It's such a wonderful bend to history.

This comes from a little town in Wyoming, Sheridan, Wyoming, and it's come to Japan now, and it's blossomed.

You've taken this style of carving to a level that is just incredible.

And you two guys are the ones that have done this.

So I appreciate I appreciate your friendship and being able to connect with you.

What a joy to have you as friends in this... in this trade where were, we're family in a way, because we're connected through our work.

TAKAHIRO KUBO: [Speaking Japanese] TAKA: Yeah.

Same, same.

We have the same thoughts.

It's such an honor.

It's such an honor to be a friend of yours.

RAY POHJA: Now, I've been doing leather work for 61 years.

Still, still love it and still do it.

Hope to do it for a long time to come.

It's great work.

It's a lot of fun.

There's never no end to it.

There's always something interesting.

I just hope that everything goes well with me, that I keep getting my orders.

So I can keep doing these things and help others too.

Saddle makers are the nicest people in the world, I believe, because they are a lot of fun and they joke and they really enjoy and they really appreciate what you help them with and show them and it's been great for me to, to meet these people.

And I uh, that's helped me a lot because they help me.

Believe it or not, youd never learn everything there is to do with leather.

There's always something.

You think you know it all but you, you don't know it all.

There's other people that come up with the most unusual suggestions that youve never even thought of, which helps me, and I can help them too with whatever I know.

So theyre fixed leathers.

Oh, Jesus.

Oh, yeah.

So basically how he's got it set up is that it just comes underneath of the tree and he's got a little metal guide.

Oh geez.

Holy cow.

That you'd pull out that that connects to the tree.

It's super weird.

Yeah, yeah.

But hey, whatever.

It must be from the Dakotas, I guess.

But see these swells here?

I mean, those guys, the horses they rode, in the old days.

That's all that kept you in the saddle.

TAKA: In mid 1990s, material was very hard to get in Japan.

So at Kings Saddlery, in 1993, I took many photos.

And I found that, regarding the tooling itself, my favorite was Chester Hape.

After that, I tried to draw my pattern looking at photos of his work next to my paper.

A few years later, I felt okay, my drawing and my tooling is coming too close to Chester's, but my leather friends said that it is obvious that your tooling is heavily influenced, but it is Takas style.

It's different from Chesters.

That is the point I realized the personality and character shows up.

JAMES: Yes.

Yeah, yeah.

Isn't it just amazing that just in a piece of carved leather, a masters work will speak to you?

It's like a living organism, almost, to me.

I hope I'm not just imagining that, because all the work I've done all my life, all the work you've done all your life, you want those long, hard hours and this human experience that we're living through, you want it to be meaningful.

That's why I love to go to the trade show that we have every year.

There are young artists that are coming up.

To me they are all these sort of living organisms, and it's so wonderful to meet those individuals and look at the work and it's amazing how much you can comprehend.

This is a little bandsaw, and I do a lot of my fine sawing for cutting the... TOM BALDING: Well I was having a real hard time selling any of my bits and spurs, and Don Butler suggested I needed to go to horse shows and set up a booth, and that worked.

And Chester Hape, at that time, needed work.

So I thought, oh, I'll take some of his work and see if I can hand out some of his business cards.

And it kind of added to my display.

The very first show I went to, I took one of his saddles and set it in the aisle, and there was thousands of people walking past it, and days would go by when nobody would stop and look at it.

Two booths down, theres these saddles with this gaudy silver on it and tassels and whatever, and it's getting all the oohs and aahs and attention.

And I'm like, you know, what about this?

You know, and then I just realized people don't get it.

WAYNE HAPE: I think Dad always looked at it as an art form from the time he was a kid.

That's what he thought.

He thought it was beautiful and wanted to make it, you know, really cool.

JAMES: Well, the quality of your fathers saddles was so exceptional.

Yeah.

It went from a craft to being something that was so refined you can't just call it a craft.

TOM BALDING: I heard somebody, I turn, and I see this cowboy, and he's focused on this saddle that I'd set in the aisle, Chesters saddle.

And he just, like, staggered up to it, went down on his knees, and looked up and had tears in his eyes and he said, I've heard about this guy and I get to see and touch it.

So somebody got it but it was a hard sell.

Anytime you have an artist of the stature of someone like Don King, you know, you go into the shop and there he is sitting in his chair and you say, hi, Don.

You walk by and you get your cup of coffee or whatever, and then you go on with your day.

You don't think about it.

I think all over the world you have individuals who are parts of communities like that where theyre such a part of the community, you just accept them easily.

But you don't, you know, it's not until after they pass away and suddenly theyre missed and their work is realized.

When it's picked up by another culture, then the community through the eyes of another culture, can actually see the value of that individual.

Vincent van Gogh lived an entire lifetime masterfully communicating his art form, and never got to realize the importance of that work.

JAMES: This evening, before we get going with the raffle, what we're going to do is something a little bit different.

We've got two items here.

One is a wallet by Taka Otsuka.

He's my very good friend from Japan and a master carver.

He is the reason, in my mind, that Sheridan Style carving is now all over Japan, and we're honored to have him here.

He hasn't been here for 20 years.

So, please, if you get a chance to say hi to Taka, please do.

TAKA: I have to appreciate what I have now but on the other hand, I feel like kind of I am retired.

I am living alone.

My house and my workshop is in the same building, and I am kind of a type of indoor person.

Friends visit me to see me, but it is very rare I go out to see my friends.

JAMES: Takas work is exceptional.

He's one of the finest carvers in the world, really.

He is extremely well respected in the leather industry in Japan, and for a really good reason.

It's because of his exceptional nature, and his ability to connect people.

He's a guy like Don King who has freely given his talents and his time and and his energy.

It's what I work for and live for, to have connections like that with people, that give you a step up in life and make your life more meaningful.

And that's what Taka is about.

His dedication to the industry is... you just can't understand how much he has done for all of those people.

ANNOUNCER: I think Jim's going to say something again.

This is all hand-stitched.

Thank you Vanna.

ANNOUNCER: All right.

Who's going to start it up?

$600 and gone.

Its 600, 600, 600, 600, $600 Okay.

If you haven't been to an auction.

875 850 875 850 here looking for 875 what did you say?

875... last chance.

850 875... Is he putting up his hand?

CROWD: Yeah!

900.

JAMES: Artists learn from borrow and build upon each other's styles across cultures and history.

That exchange has been an essential driver of innovation and creativity throughout the human story, resulting in richer, more refined forms of expression turning the pursuit of excellence, which is so often solitary, into a shared journey.

JAMES: We have a special event.

And we want you to join us.

So, you just follow us out there.

And this is a special gathering so let's all go out.

I like your tie.

It's nice.

JAMES: Do ya?

Would you like one?

Where have you seen this tie before?

Yeah, right.

Right now.

No.

Where have you seen it before?

Before?

Here.

Oh, oh!

And where have you seen it before?

TAKA: Oh, I didnt notice.

Yeah.

JAMES: Well, come with us.

We've got, we've got some things to show you.

Okay.

Come on.

JAMES: Okay.

Oh, you have to call the meeting to order, Gerald.

GERALD SHIPPEN: Okay.

JAMES: Let's do it officially.

GERALD SHIPPEN: Yes.

I'm here today the, the grand poobah of the buffalo lizard society.

JAMES: Well, it's marvelous to have you here, Gerald.

GERALD SHIPPEN: Isn't it amazing that I'm here?

JAMES: Yes.

So, what I'm gonna do if I'm allowed Grand Poobah?

GERALD SHIPPEN: You're, you're allowed.

Okay.

JAMES: Taka, I'm giving you this this day because we would like to induct you into the buffalo lizard society.

Buffalo lizard society?

JAMES: Yes.

Okay.

And I will tell you what the meaning of of this is.

The buffalo... Yes?

part of it Is emblematic, representing the highly skilled craftsman.

Steadfast, determined, with an intense focus on processes and methods constantly acquiring skills that enable clear intention and precise design in all the forms that he creates.

That's a craftsman.

The lizard is emblematic, representing the artist always seeking a vision, free to imagine all possibilities of expression, and then creating work, or metaphors, that embody those ideals.

So that's an artist.

That's the part of the artist.

But the turquoise moon represents the artisans constant drive and passion to comprehend the interplay between perceived reality and our spiritual awareness.

TAKA: Yeah.

JAMES: Focusing and digging deep into the soul attempting to find meaning in each moment.

Ichi-go ichi-e.

One lifetime.

One meaning.

Making the most of the moment.

And so when you pick this tie up, it's a very sacred thing to us.

So our society is very happy to invite you, and this is the gift of the sacred bolo.

Wear it with pride and distinction, and we're looking forward to many years of companionship with the society and you're one of the brothers now.

Thank you.

GERALD SHIPPEN: Buffalo brothers.

TAKA: I really appreciate it.

Thanks.

Thank you.

GERALD SHIPPEN: David's got to show us the rest.

DAVID MCDOUGALL: Here is the buffalo sign.

Buffalo lizard, Buffalo horn and flame for the lizard.

JAMES: Okay.

So when you greet, you go: They're all unique.

Yeah.

There you go.

Put that there and that comes, this kind of comes up there, and this goes there.

JAMES: Oh, man, it looks good on you.

GERALD SHIPPEN: And there you go.

JAMES: All right.

TAKA: Maybe I concentrate in leather work so much because that is something to help me forget I am lonely.

JAMES: Yeah, yeah.

I really understand what you're saying, Taka.

And, well, that's why I think our friendship is very good.

We're doing things like this film, that are outside our expertise.

You know, you and I are talking right now, talking about our ideas and so forth, and hoping that we can pass something on to younger generations.

RYAN KING: My grandfather, he was definitely an artist.

I mean, hes undeniable.

Now, me, I consider myself more of a craftsman.

I might call myself an artist one day, but it... I'm not there yet.

You know, you got such big shoes to fill here at Kings Saddlery.

I was just trying to do something a little different.

Do my own thing you know.

It's hard to recognize that you've done a good job sometimes.

Or maybe that's the way we were just grown up.

That's what keeps the drive alive for me knowing I could do better and still trying to do that and not really being satisfied I guess at the end of the day, almost to a fault, basically.

You may not see your friends as much.

You may lose friends over saying no all the time, but at the end of the day, you know, we're trying to answer to something.

JAMES: Well, life is only so long.

You know.

It is.

JAMES: And uh... you reach a point where you just say, okay, you know, I've got to give something back to people.

BRUCE KING: You can't go through life mad.

I mean, that doesnt do anybody any good.

JAMES: No, no.

That's for sure.

And if you can help somebody, more power to you.

PAUL VAN DYKE: My father, in his 70s, is different than what he was in his 30s.

Life has a way of softening in us, right?

You see accidents.

You live through accidents.

You see people you love hurt, die.

And you understand that life is fragile, right.

And this is something that you care about and you want to see it passed on to somebody else.

JAMES: I think we've been fortunate in this area because ideas were pretty freely exchanged.

All the individuals that I've worked with in the Sheridan area were interested in helping you with your trade.

And so anytime I would ask Chester and Don or any of those guys about, you know, how do you do this and what kind of tools you use, they were always wide open.

So I think when the Japanese came over and sort of experienced that, and they would go to the leather shops and look at the work in there and I think that openness was just part of what the culture offered them.

That has allowed them a point to jump off of with their own work and really make something that's substantial.

And now it's blossomed into their own individualism and their own directions and it's an art form.

It's just really a beautiful thing that's happened.

SEIICHI KOYASHIKI: [Speaking Japanese] PAUL VAN DYKE: I'm very optimistic.

I get a tremendous amount of young people calling me.

They want to come go through the school.

They want to be, you know learn how to be saddle makers and and tool leather, and they love it.

Well, there's, I get a lot of them.

JAMES: Yeah.

I had bus loads that came into Kings there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Every year.

And some of those guys are saddle makers now, you know.

I see them in the grocery store and they say, hey, Mr.

Jackson and I'm looking up at this guy.

And he said yeah, I'm building some saddles down in Kansas now.

I think as long as there's horses around, theres going to be somebody dumb enough or smart enough to ride them.

TOM BALDING: Tough enough.

Yeah.

FILMMAKER: Tough enough, yeah.

Youre gonna have saddles, you know.

There's a place for the human element.

It's human hands, are making leather, or music, anything and it shows, you know.

JAMES: It is hard to be an artist.

It is hard to be a human being.

We need not do either alone.

If you're dealing with this thing, striving and wanting to constantly create, that wears on you.

It's just hard.

And that's why a lot of artists go off the end.

TAKA: I understand.

I understand being creative always is very hard.

When I was a student, a very famous fashion designer in Japan committed suicide and everybody was so surprised because she was so famous and she was so successful.

No one could understand why.

Later on, I understand.

I wanted to be a kind of leather artist, but it is very hard to be creative always.

So I thought, okay, I'll become a traditionalist.

JAMES: Again, Taka, my feeling is that... TAKA: Different?

JAMES: Uh, it's a little different in the sense... TAKA: Oh really?

JAMES: in the sense that I think that I look at your work TAKA: Yes?

JAMES: and I can feel your passion for the work, when I look at it.

You feel like, you know, your work is not creative but to others, like me, I see a lot of creativity in your work.

I just, it always bothers me that you can't for some reason, I don't know if you see that.

You know, maybe it's just because you're it's like you're too close to it or something, you know?

And, uh... you know, as time goes on I think you might realize just how important some of your work is and how it's influenced other people.

And... you don't influence other people by doing bad work.

There are so many guys in the leather industry that would love to build work like you do.

So I want to encourage you not to worry about that.

And, and... I mean, there are many things you do that I wish I could do, in some way.

Because you do them very fluently.

You know, I think guys like Billy Gardner he's a good example.

He was basically interested in just producing something, something that people would accept and I don't think he considered himself an artist, but we do.

I look at your work the way... the same way, the same way.

INTERVIEWER: How long have you been at it?

About 50 years, off and on.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have any competition?

DON KING: Oh, yes.

Yes, yes.

Lots of young ones coming up.

INTERVIEWER: Well, it's useful for us duffers to look at a beautiful piece of work like that and learn something about how complicated we... the things we think of as everyday actually are.

That is not an everyday saddle you've got there, and you're not an everyday man.

And we all want to thank you for the extraordinary, beautiful leather work you've given to the West and to the world.

TAKA: To wish for our eternal friendship.

[Chant in Japanese]