Nationally Known Saddlemaker to Hold Clinics in Valley

Bill Gomer in his shop in Leavenworth County, Kansas

by Rex Wager

Leather Artists of America's Bill Gomer will be conducting several saddlemaking seminars during the new year. These classes will be held starting in January and will run through March. Bill's "hands-on" two day workshop will focus on carving, with emphasis on the fine details. Bill will presents his wide array of unique leather carving techniques. One-on-one he works with attendees learning and expanding their own techniques of detailed figure carving.

Bill Gomer is the 1986 recipient of the Al Stohlman Award for Achievement in Leather Craft and is a member of the Leather Artists of America. His is a Master Artist with the Kansas Arts Commission and the Kansas State Historical Society. There he teaches saddle making and leather carving and design for the apprenticeship program.

Bill Gomer grew up in Tampa, Florida where his father operated a saddle shop. It was there that Bill began working with leather. At the age of fifteen, Bill decided to pursue his interest in leatherwork. He moved to Pendleton, Oregon and went to work at Hamley Brothers, a custom saddle company. Later, he returned to Tampa to apprentice under Ray Sullivan, a saddlemaker.

From 1963-65, Bill taught leatherwork and saddlemaking in the Army Arts and Crafts Center at Fort Richardson, Alaska. After his release from the military, he returned to Tampa to work with his father and Mr. Sullivan and soon open up his own shop in a feed store.

About that same time, he also helped start the Arts and Crafts program at University Center, at the University of South Florida. Several years later, Bill left Florida for Tennessee where he worked as a saddle designer for Simco Saddle Company.

Returning to the Army in 1973, Bill taught saddlemaking in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth Kansas. Then orders took him to Alaska until 1983 when he was discharged.

In 1986, Bill was recognized by the Kansas State Historical Society Folks Arts Apprenticeship Program, (funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kansas Arts Commission), as a master saddlemaker and leather artist. Through the program the state funded Bill to apprentice nine people in nine years as saddlemakers. During that period he was honored with the prestigious Al Stohlman Award. This is an award given annually to one or more individuals for lifetime achievement in the area of leathercraft. Recipients are honored for their work in sharing their knowledge with others, as well as their overall achievement in the craft.

In January of 1986, at the request of the Kansas State Historical Society, Bill was asked to give a demonstration in observance of Kansas' 125th birthday. The demonstration was held at the state capitol in Topeka. This is where the "Kansas Saddle" had it's beginning. After this demonstration, Bill went to each of the 105 counties in Kansas to carve and build the saddle, which was entirely built on the road.

Completed it was appraised at $125,000 and was put on display at the Kansas Museum of History for a year.

Currently, Bill operates the Bill Gomer Custom Saddle and Leather Carving School in Leavenworth, Kansas. Bill is a member of the Leather Artists of America, and through the organization has demonstrated at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in Los Angeles and at the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.

Throughout the years, Bill has been instrumental in starting approximately fifteen leather guilds across the United States. He has taught leatherwork overseas, in Mexico and in Canada.

For more information, please contact Todd Hart at (480) 471-3178 or (480) 390-5349.