2022 ARTISTS
AMY SMITH
“Although I’ve dabbled in braiding for many years, I didn’t take it seriously until about eight years ago. What I think is cool, is that I start with a raw material (often skinning the animal myself) and go through the steps; stretching the hide, cleaning it, scraping the hair, cutting all the various size strings, and braiding them into useful horseback or ornamental objects. I still consider myself an amateur, but I sell a few items and really enjoy improving and creating.”
ANN MINDER
“My name is Ann Minder, I live in Bridgeport, CA with my husband Tim and my three kids, Pawahnee, Tsiidopi & Hugwapi. I was born and raised in Bishop, CA and ended up settling just up the road in Bridgeport, CA.
My Passion is beading. I remember growing up and being taught by my Mom and other family members. It has fascinated me for years. I would bead earrings, hair ties, moccasins, key chains, hat bands, necklaces and anything I could put beads on for my family and friends. I am a busy mother but when I have free time I like to sit a create jewelry. I’m excited to show my work in July and meet other artists. “
ANNA MEYERS
“I was born in California, but spent the majority of my teenage years growing up in Montana in between the Bob Marshall wilderness and the Swan Valley Mountain Range. I have ridden horses since I was a young child, and always had a strong draw to ranching and agriculture. My interest has turned mainly to making headstalls and learning how to make bits and spurs. I set out to make tack that looks traditional and correct for the area it’s being ridden in, with an eclectic twist. My customers have become mostly women who cowboy and I very much enjoy working with them and providing them with tack that they and their horse can take pride in. Functionality is just as important as beauty in the things I create.“
BREANNE CRAIG
Breanne is a commissioned based watercolor portrait artist living in Reno, NV. Her portraits range from horses, dogs and cats to people and everything in between. She feels honored when chosen to create custom wedding invites, clients holiday cards, memorial portraits, retirement gifts, and clients return year after year to add to their families timeless collections of custom portraits. She has donated her time to K9 Partners, paints their retired K9’s and creates custom coloring pages. Connecting with clients through her art and the stories they share is what inspires her.
CATIE KERSHNER
Growing up a rancher’s daughter in rural Southeastern Oregon, Catie Kershner turned her passion for ranching traditions and lifestyle, as well as her creative passions, into a business when she started working with silver over 12 years ago. Primarily focusing on jewelry, Kershner creates pieces with working ranch, rodeo, farm, & agriculture based women in mind. Silver jewelry that’s meant to be worn and withstand the hard work that the women wearing them do daily. Kershner loves to make jewelry that can not only be worn & used, but also stand as a family heirloom & representation of ranching lifestyle in the West. Most importantly, she provides encouragement through social media using real-life experiences about faith in Christ, hope, and perseverance. Kershner’s goals are to use her talents, gifts, and business to encourage other women to pursue Christ and their dreams. She seeks to provide a product and experience that is a reminder to the women purchasing of God’s goodness & grace, as well as, a product that represents their family, heritage, and western lifestyle.
CEILY RAE HIGHBERGER
Ceily Rae Highberger is a working cowgirl from Montana. After graduating from Montana State University with an agricultural degree, she has since worked in the ranching industry all over the Western United States including Wyoming, Oregon, Idaho, California, Utah, and Nevada. What really gets her pumped is being outdoors. Creating art (mainly photography), using the resources she has and fitting it in with the lifestyle she loves is her own personal mission statement. Her brand, C. Rae Photography & Design, is the beginning steps towards facilitating and achieving her dream life.
CLARA SMITH
Clara is a Western Artist and Graphic Designer from Bend, Oregon. She graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Fine Arts. Ever since she was little, Clara was drawing horses and creating. Her love for Western Art and Culture was heavily influenced by her late aunt, Western Artist Joelle Smith, who taught her how to draw and ride horses. Similar to Joelle’s work, Clara strives to document real Western life through her work, documenting culture and traditions of the American Cowboy. The authenticity of her work is very apparent as the subjects are all real people, real horses, set in real places.
DANA + TRACY EKLUND
Tracy and Dana are a two-sister team based out of Bozeman, Montana. After finishing school for Ag Business/Econ and Elementary Education respectively, Big Sky Mohair Cinches was accidentally born after they started making some cinches for horses in the therapy program where they were working. One cinch turned into two and then three and then a few thousand… neither of them thought they’d be eventually doing this full time! They now travel for cinch making classes, are suppliers for other cinch makers, and run a full custom order business. They love opportunities to meet and chat with other makers across industries, and are so excited for the future of “handmade” for all Makers!
HELEN DOUGAL
Helen Dougal is the daughter of the legendary Frankie Dougal; a second-generation mecate maker. Frankie, now in her late 90’s, started making mecates when she was 9-years-old, and learned from her mother Clara Whitby who herself learned the craft from a Spanish gentleman named Jesus in the early 1900’s. Helen has been making mecates since the 60’s, when it took longer and more people. Though since then the equipment has evolved to make it a little easier, it is still a process to make traditional, handmade mecates.
JORDANNE PRUITT
“Jesus lover, momma, and chief She-nanagator at Plum Punchy Purdy’s. I work full time making wild rags and making some silver things. As well as part time at a local feed lot. I enjoy trying new things and learning along the way. I truly love making silver things. Seeing my dreams on metal is amazing. My heart is set on making cowboy gear. I am currently in the process of getting my shop up and running.”
JOYE LEHEN
“Throughout growing up in the Eastern Sierras, I’ve been encouraged to utilize my culture to create artwork. At the age of eight, I picked up my grandmother’s needle and started making stitches of beadwork. Using my aunties pieces as references, I find myself following a tradition that is my responsibility to carry out onto future generations. I’m still branching out my techniques and patterns yet in every piece, I still honor my family’s craft.”
KAILEY KLEIN
Enamored with the western lifestyle from a young age, Kailey Klein grew up creating art that celebrated her rural life and the equine partners she ran wild with. Years later, while studying Agriculture at Oregon State University, Kailey discovered the craft of leather work. Kailey is now the maker and western artist behind the sought after brand, Magpie West Leather Co. On a remote ranch nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, she spends her days as a western creative, cowboy gal, ranch wife, and mother. She gathers inspiration for her one of a kind pieces from the wildflowers, livestock, cowboy culture, unique lifestyle, and rugged beauty of the west.
KAREN MOTTO
Wire & Wing creates western vintage barbed wire art to display in your most favored place. Founded in 2019 by rangeland forager Karen Motto, Wire & Wing’s creative method is an intuitive process of hand collecting and selectively arranging contrasting remnants and artifacts. Each Wire & Wing begins on a remote trail in search of the rusted, weather-beaten, and forgotten. Every completed Wire & Wing will inspire memories, curiosity, and conjure up tales of the western landscape and the American legacy of ranch and range.
KIM HUNTER STEED
Kim Hunter Steed is a national award winning and published photographer specializing in western photography. She spent her childhood along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada from Owens Valley to Lake Almanor. This is where her love for the mountains and wildlife began. She dabbled in photography in the early 2000’s and poured her heart into it when she moved to Carson Valley, Nevada with her husband in 2018. Her photographs have appeared in Cowboys & Indians magazine, Tahoe Quarterly, Nevada magazine and Birds & Blooms magazine.
LAURA McDANIEL
Having started her creative journey as a child in 4-H, Laura McDaniel has been a maker for a long time. As her 5 children grew and time freed up, Laura began experimenting again with sewing and Second Half Manufacturing was created. Laura is a native Oregonian and a resident of the cowboy town of Prineville. She is surrounded by amazing resources and the creative inspiration of the western culture around her. Laura’s pieces reflect the balance between rugged leather and the beauty of Pendleton wool. “The biggest blessing I have discovered while stepping into this journey has been the people God has introduced into my life.”
MEGAN WIMBERLEY
Megan Wimberley grew up in Texas and Oklahoma on the back of a horse. Her experiences with animals deepend her love for them and solidified her belief in our connection with them. Wimberley’s art seeks to emphasize this connection and explore our shared experiences. Wimberley holds a BA in Fine arts from Wayland Baptist University and an MA in Art Education from Boston University. She currently resides in Yosemite Valley California, painting full time and teaching small group and private art lessons.
RACHEL ALLISON
“As a kid I didn’t question why creating art was a pleasure, it just was. I am a self-taught artist. I had one high school teacher tell me, ‘Rachel you have your own style, don’t let anyone change that. Be yourself and be original.’ Rusty and I lived and worked on ranches. It was a great way to live and raise our two kids. I love the ranch/rural life; the animals, the land and how it all ties together. A simple and humble pencil has always fascinated me. So much can come from this medium. It takes thought and patience when creating a piece of art. Most of the time I’m drawing from my own photography. This way I can remember everything felt… the subject…the surroundings…and myself. My intentions are to convert how a moment felt with no words. The different values that can be made with graphite pencils in a piece of art can say a lot.”
SARAH SMITH
Sarah Smith was raised on a commercial cow/calf operation in the foothills of Bakersfield, CA. Over the years she developed a deep passion for creating a variety of items including jewelry, three piece buckle sets and saddle hardware. Sarah has studied under master engravers Jeremiah Watt and Diane Scalese, as well as others. Each piece Sarah makes is handmade, custom to the individual and one of a kind. Her work can be found around the world. Most recently Sarah has studied with Ernie Marsh.
SIDNE TESKE
Primarily working with soft pastels, Sidne Teske paints on location (en plein aire), depicting landscape with vibrant energy. When weather makes it too difficult to explore the outdoors, Teske turns to her studio easel to create large expressive works. Her work is a reflection of the Great Basin landscape where she lives.
Teske has received many awards and honors. In 2017 she was commissioned by the Nevada Arts Council to make three works to be awarded to the Governor, the Nevada State Assembly and the Nevada State Senate. In 2014 Nevada Humanities commissioned Teske to make 14 pieces to be awarded to individuals. She created the Nevada Governor’s Arts awards, as well as many other awards.
VICTORIA JACKSON
Victoria Jackson is an enrolled member of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of Nevada and Oregon, specializing in capturing realistic Native American and western lifestyles, via photography. Jackson has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Great Basin College, she’s also a journalist, after attending the American Indian Journalism Institute at the Al Neuharth Media Center at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. She’s also a 2-time World Champion Steer Stopper. She has published several books: Cowboys, Indians and Indian Cowboys, Spinster Tips – The Shit Our Mamas Never Warned Us About and Things I Do Everyday (a children’s book with an accompanying video book read in the Shoshone Language.) She has an upcoming book scheduled to be release Labor Day Weekend 2022 which will include photos and interviews with ranchers and buckaroos of the Great Basin and beyond.
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