One of the gems of the Western Folklife Center is our permanent contemporary gear collection. And it just got even better! We’re beyond thrilled with the most recent acquisition to the collection, a custom Jeremiah Watt saddle.
Detail of custom Jeremiah Watt saddle made for the Western Folklife Center’s permanent contemporary gear collection. The close up shows the back of the cantle adorned with a custom silver piece engraved with the Folklife Center’s logo, as well as the surrounding, intricate gold leaf, floral carvings, leather braiding, and silverwork.
Photo by Meg Glaser, September 13, 2021.
An internationally-recognized master saddlemaker (…and silverworker… and bitmaker… and spurmaker…), Watt designed and created every detail of this custom saddle in his Coalinga, California, shop, right down to building the Taylor-style saddle tree and even the tools he used to make the saddle.
Commissioned in 1993, the saddle made its way from Watt’s workshop to the Western Folklife Center this September. Using skills and expertise (and inspiration) that came to fruition over the years, Watt has made a truly one-of-a-kind museum piece that exemplifies the artistry of Western gearmaking. Western Folklife Center Artistic Director, Meg Glaser, says, “Jeremiah used the form of a historic California saddle as his palette and through stamped leather artistry, gold leaf highlights, and engraved metal work has made a contemporary masterpiece.”
The 28 years of life that Watt put into the saddle since its commission give it an added je ne sais quoi… or as we like to say, seasoning.
Jeremiah Watt chats with Waddie Mitchell about the process of making his saddle in the G Three Bar Theater on the day he delivered it to the Western Folklife Center.
As Watt puts it, “I think you have to run into those places in life where you’re exposed to those different things. [This saddle] wouldn’t have happened prior to that… I’m going to go out on a limb and tell you, I don’t think this saddle could come from any other shop in America except for mine”
Well, Jeremiah, we concur! And, we’re going to go out on a limb and say we’re barely getting any work done around here because we can’t stop staring at it. But, we think absorbing all the details of this masterpiece counts as necessary staff enrichment… don’t you? To keep it in tip-top shape (and keep us on task), it’s going in the vault until we unveil it for public viewing at the next Gathering. Trust us, you’re going to want to see this one.
Master saddlemaker Jeremiah Watt (right), of Coalinga, California, with Meg Glaser (left), Western Folklife Center Artistic Director, in Elko, Nevada, on Monday, September 13, 2021.
Photo by Ian Hallagan, September 13, 2021.
