Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker

I took first place in the 3-D category at Women’s Work (Cowgirl Artists of America) last year and one of the prizes was a free ad in Art of the West magazine. I decided to have some fun with it because I enjoy doing graphic design, so here’s the ad I created.

Checking my paper patterns in an attempt to avoid wasting leather while having zero confidence I’ll be 100% successful — I’m sure there will be a piece or two I’ll need to recut. My designs are sometimes slightly ahead of my abilities but it’s definitely possible and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

When I first started making boots, I dreaded skiving* the bottom of the top liners. I was using the green handled knife on the right; it was difficult and never looked good. Once I switched to the knife on the left, I suddenly became a great skiver and now it’s one of my favorite things to do. It only takes a minute now though.

*Skiving is using a knife to thin the edge of leather at an angle to a paper-thin thickness.

I skived all four panels this morning and then it took me the entire rest of the day to put all the pieces together. Also, I have been singing for about eight hours now. This is good work to be doing while listening to music.

I enjoy making boots and I like doing inlay/overlay work, but I confess I was whining a little by the time I finished all four of these panels with cut-out feathers and birds.

It took me around four hours to create all the patterns pieces and then cut out all the different colors and shapes of leather, and now I have hours of skiving* ahead of me. I’ve been singing along with the Louvin Brothers and plan to continue to allow them to keep me company as I work.

*This is not a complaint.

Colorway for the next pair

I may actually rename this design. The original was designed in honor of my daughter Paige and featured only shades of blue. It was named “Bluebird Let Me Tag Along.” I think I’ll let that pair of boots be reserved for her alone and find another name for the design going forward, especially since these birds won’t be blue.

When people ask about my favorite pair of boots I always say, “The next pair.” Here’s the next pair.

Practice magnolia flower to see if they really look like magnolia flowers. The flower center will be a little different; I was just using scrap leather here.

This is the magnolia design that came to me fully formed in a burst of inspiration while I was at a concert. It is already promising to be one of the most difficult designs I have ever patterned and I am confident there are multiple “Oh shoot! I didn’t think of that!” moments ahead of me. My brain is completely unapologetic and has told me that if I can’t handle the heat, stay away from the live music.