|
Curious about the craft, and eager
to learn, Heisman received pointers from saddlemakers
and master bit & spur makers who lived in Tucson.
In 1970, he built his first saddle. He also fashioned
his first pair of rodeo spurs, and in the following
years, he did leather work and made rodeo equipment
as a sideline while in the air-conditioning and sheet
metal field.
In 1978, he and his wife, Jeanne, opened J & B
Saddlery in Portales, New Mexico, later calling it
Bill Heisman Custom Saddles. In this establishment,
he built custom saddles and made a few Texas style
bits and spurs. He sold the saddle shop in 1987.
In 1989, they also sold their home and returned to
Tucson, where Heisman decided to follow a lifelong
desire and improve his bit and spur making skills.
"Elmer Miller agreed to let me attend his school
for two weeks," he says now. "That's where things
finally came together for me. After attending Miller's
school, I went to the Trinidad Junior College in
Trinidad, Colorado for an engraving course. There,
I learned to make and use gravers, the various cutting
or shaving tools used in engraving, and I developed
the engraving style I now use."
In 1990, Heisman set up shop, making California
style bits and spurs, in the fashion of the early
Vaqueros. He also made miniature saddle sets, and
did leather and silver work as well as engraving.
Heisman has exhibited at Trappings of the West,
Flagstaff, Arizona and the Sun Valley Center for
the Arts, Sun Valley, Idaho. In 1996, the Autry Museum
of Western Heritage in Los Angeles bought a pair
of his spurs for display. In January of that same
year, he won the engraving competition at the Elko
Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. His work
also was displayed at the Dry Creek Arts Fellowship
exhibitions in Sedona, Arizona, in 1997, 1998, and
2000. His work was included in the 1998 Trappings
of the Cowboy Exhibit in the Tohono Chul Park Gallery
in Tucson, Arizona. Bill was chosen as the 2001 Academy
of Western Artists Spur Maker of the Year award.
top | back | home |
