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"Introduction to Leather Sculpture"
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Author: Teresa_M._Turner, Contributing Editor

Introduction

Although leather has been around for centuries, today it is used primarily for utilitarian items such as belts, purses, shoes, and sofas. This was not always the case! Historically, leather was used in much more creative and interesting ways. During the Middle Ages, for example, leather was crafted into elaborate animal and plant shapes, which served as heraldic crests on helmets. Leather was also heavily decorated when used for book bindings before the invention of the printing press, when books were valuable commodities that had to be painstakingly created by hand. Examples of pieces that use the techniques outlined in this article may still be found in European museums today.

Types of leather

First, the type of leather you use is important. There are different tanning processes that are used to turn the hide of an animal into leather. Basically, these fall into three categories- oil tanning, mineral tanning, and vegetable tanning. Oil tanned leathers are soft and supple, these are the classic "buckskinner" type leathers, and the type that the Native Americans used to produce when they tanned deer hide.

Mineral tanned leathers involve the use of chemicals, most often chromium salts. These are the most commonly seen type of leather; if you buy a leather jacket or leather sofa, chances are it was produced using this method. These leathers are generally brightly colored, and often have a surface texture applied to the leather. The third type, vegetable tanned leathers, are what we will be dealing with here. These involve the use of plant materials that are high in tannins, such as oak bark and oak galls, to preserve the leather. This type is often called "oak tanned", and is pinkish-tan in color. When leather is used for tooling, such as on classic hand-tooled saddlery, this is the type that is used.

Leather is sold in different thicknesses, different grades, and is produced using the hide of different animals (most commonly cattlehide). The leather from different animals has different working properties. For the demonstration in this article, I will be using cattlehide, but I will talk about working with other types later. As for the thickness, leather is referred to in this manner by "ounces". The higher the number, the thicker the leather. Sole leather, for example, might be 15 oz. leather, whereas a wallet might be 1 or 2 oz. leather. For this example, I will be using 2-3 oz leather, which is as thin as one can generally buy cattlehide. Pigskin may be available in about a 2 oz weight, but generally not thinner. These leathers are made thinner by splitting, which is done by large machines in the tanneries. This involves removing the top layer of the leather, which is the strongest part. This leather from the top layer is known as "top grain", and is the most expensive and highest quality leather. The remaining leather may be turned into suede, or may have an artificial finish applied by the tannery to make it look like top grain leather.

Getting Started

In this example, I will be using 2-3 oz weight cowhide to make a maple leaf. First, using a real leaf as a pattern, I make a template out of paper and cut the leather in that shape using leather shears. I have placed the leaf in my scanner to show what it looks like (see image, right).

At this point it doesn't look anything like a real leaf. It is flat with no detail, and is much too thick (about 2mm or 1/16 of an inch thick). The next step, therefore, is to shave the leather down (called "skiving") to make it much thinner, by removing the back portion and leaving only the top layer, which is the strongest part. To do this, I use a very sharp knife with a curved blade. When working on a piece such as this which has an irregular outline with many small points, it is difficult to skive down the leather without cutting off any of the points. In such an instance, I must cut out a new piece and start over.

Skiving

Because the leather is too thick, the next thing I must do is shave it down to make it thinner so I can achieve a more realistic appearance. However, when creating large abstract pieces, reducing the thickness of 2oz leather may not be necessary.

Here is a picture of me skiving (shaving down) the leaf. Normally, I would be holding the leaf still with my other hand, but it is holding the webcam.

This step requires a VERY sharp blade. A curved blade works better here, but in some cases a straight blade is more effective. Only experimentation will tell you which works better for you. When working with small pieces, like the stamens of a flower that can be the size of a pencil lead, it is very difficult to hold the piece steady and cut the leather while not cutting yourself. This process is also messy, resulting in a lot of little fuzzy shavings. Working on a cutting board and wearing an apron help keep the mess to a minimum.
Once this step is finished, the leather is much thinner- about 1/2 mm, or the thickness of a couple of sheets of paper. I have scanned the leaf from the back, where I removed much of the leather. You can see that the texture is much different from the front (more like suede). You may also notice that there are a lot of little fuzzy bits around the edges. Using a sharp straight-sided knife, these must be carefully removed.

The next step involves reducing the amount of texture on the back. In order to do this, the leather must be dampened. This piece is so small; I can just dip it in some warm water for a couple of seconds. With a larger or thicker piece, it might be necessary to actually soak the leather. Then I must wait till the leather is partially dry before continuing.
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