This September, the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association and The Cowboy celebrate 25 years of holding onto the West together.
The Traditional Cowboy Arts Association (TCAA) returns to the National Cowboy Museum for the 25th annual Traditional Cowboy Arts Association Exhibition & Sale on Saturday, September 28.
Celebrating the finest examples of cowboy craftsmanship in the traditional disciplines of bit and spur making, rawhide braiding, saddlemaking and silversmithing, the TCAA weekend is a full two days of seminars as well as luncheons, dinners and cocktail celebrations. Along with the centerpiece exhibition and sale — which draws collectors and Western art enthusiasts from throughout North America and, indeed, the world, the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association Exhibition & Sale has become a cornerstone of the National Cowboy Museum’s annual schedule and, along with the annual Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition & Sale, one of the signature events for which The Cowboy is known.
Although it may seem preordained when looking back today, the success that the TCAA has achieved over the past 25 years was far from certain during its very first exhibition at the National Cowboy Museum in 1999.
Just a short year before, the idea of forming an association of artists working in the four classic cowboy traditions was merely a fantasy shared by a few established craftsmen.
The older generation of experienced craftsmen was dying away, and with them the cumulative knowledge of centuries of cowboy artisans. Among the novice class of individuals eager to carry on the mantle of the traditional cowboy arts, finding a mentor under which to train had, for many, become close to impossible.
Unless decisive action was taken, the cowboy arts would fade into oblivion, with mass-produced gear the only option for those who once would have proudly owned custom pieces of functional art.
In 1998, the fledgling TCAA was established by a group of 14 original members: rawhide braider Mike Beaver, bit and spur maker Mark Dahl, silversmith Mark Drain, bit and spur maker John C. Ennis, silversmith Scott Hardy, saddlemaker Dale Harwood, bit and spur maker Bill Heisman, saddlemaker Don King, bit and spur maker Ernie Marsh, silversmith Al Pecetti, saddlemaker Cary Schwarz, rawhide braider Bob Stone, saddlemaker Chuck Stormes and bit and spur maker Al Tietjen; plus affiliate members Don Bellamy and J. Kent McCorkle.
From TCAA’s earliest meetings, the members agreed that a trio of issues facing the cowboy arts world must be confronted: an aging core of master craftsmen unable to pass their encyclopedic knowledge onto the next generation due to a shortage of youth entering the cowboy arts; a lack of appreciation and understanding of the highest levels of craftsmanship; and the lack of a venue in which to showcase the finest craftsmanship to both collectors and the public at large.
Soon after the TCAA’s establishment in 1998, the group reached out to the National Cowboy Museum. With the help of the staff at The Cowboy, the inaugural TCAA exhibition and sale was scheduled for the next year, to coincide with the grand opening of a major expansion at the Museum.
In September 1999, the first-annual Traditional Cowboy Arts Association Exhibition & Sale debuted at The Cowboy. That night, the Museum celebrated not only the TCAA exhibition, but also the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new 140,000-square-foot expansion.
For the first time, each of the items meticulously handcrafted by these cowboy craftsmen was displayed in a manner befitting a work of art. In this way, the items created by this group weren’t merely for those looking to outfit a horse; they were for anyone wanting to celebrate the pure artistry one could obtain through the traditional cowboy crafts. And like any work of art, these were worthy of displaying in one’s home.
Over the ensuing 25 years, the TCAA has continued to return annually to the National Cowboy Museum, exhibiting works created specially by each member to reach the pinnacle of artistic form in their chosen discipline. Crowds of patrons, collectors, art lovers and Western enthusiasts, too, continue to return annually to see what the future holds for the traditional cowboy arts, and perhaps own for themselves an example of the West’s original form of art.
Beau Compton – Buckle called “The Stray” Tombstone, Arizona
Beau Compton was born and raised in a rodeo and ranching family. Though he was initially interested in bit and spur making, he started silverwork in 1997 after his father-in-law introduced him to Vic Vasquez, a saddlemaker, silversmith, and bit and spur maker. In 2006, Compton started to pursue silverwork as a full-time business, and in 2015, he was awarded a TCAA fellowship, which — along with the TCAA Emerging Artists Competition — he credits for propelling his work to the level of TCAA membership. Compton currently resides with his wife and two children on his in-laws’ family-owned cow/calf operation. “It is a blessing to raise my children, who are the sixth generation on the ranch, in this environment,” Compton said, “and to perpetuate Western lifestyle and values.”
Sonora
Lorang named this bit Sonora for a variation on the cheek piece style used. A longtime fan of big concha style bits, Lorang wanted to create a piece that would capture a person’s attention from a distance — then, moving closer, the small details begin to appear and form the complete story. Fine silver inlays along with bold engraving accent the soft, French grey finish, creating a beautiful result. Lorang says this bit is influenced by both Ernie Marsh and Wilson Capron, as well as his own experiences in the Western landscape of Montana.
Mehl Lawson – California-Style Hobbles Bonita, California
Mehl Lawson, an heir to the vaquero tradition of old California, is an accomplished horse trainer, sculptor and braider. From his home and studio in Bonita, California, near San Diego, he combines the world of horses with that of fine art and rawhide-braiding artistry. His sculptures are shown annually in the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition & Sale, and he became a TCAA member in 2007. Lawson also received recognition as the 2008 Rawhide Braider of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists.
California-Style Hobbles
Created using natural colored rawhide, Lawson also utilized colored rawhide interweaves when producing these California-style hobbles. Featuring an engraved silver center ring hand-crafted by Ernie Marsh, these hobbles are very typical of the style one would see on the West Coast, Lawson said.
Scott Hardy – Flask Longview, Alberta, Canada
A fifth-generation stockman and Western silversmith for 43 years, Scott Hardy is a founding member of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association who adamantly believes in the TCAA mission to preserve, promote and perpetuate the North American cowboy culture. Raised with the mantra “actions mean more than words,” over the past 25 years Hardy has created 112 personal projects while contributing silver for 61 saddles (25 of those with fellow TCAA member Cary Schwarz) and collaborated on 125 other projects for the annual Traditional Cowboy Arts Association Exhibition & Sale. All of this in addition to completing countless private commissions. Involved in multiple TCAA workshops, Hardy served as a TCAA officer from 2006 – 2013, the Strategic Planning Committee chair from 2013 – 2016 and again as a TCAA officer from 2016 – 2024. Hardy says, “From our first meeting in 1998 to the one we just completed in 2024, although many faces may have changed, the TCAA has remained resolute in its mission. I am extremely thankful to be a part of it!”’
Flask
Looking back over five generations of family cattlemen inspired Hardy to create this palm flask. From the comfortable feel in one’s hand (3 1/2-inches across, 1 1/2-inches deep) to the story told with the 14k yellow gold broncs (different on each side), along with the heavy sterling silver body, abundant scrolls and flowers framing red, yellow and green 14k gold centers, this flask is best accompanied with celebrations and friendship, passing from generation to generation.
2023 TCAA Art Sale.
