Interview with Kara Ginther
Leather is one of the most pliable and durable material out there, so it should come as no surprise that it has been used for practical and aesthetic purposes. Kara Ginther is a leather carver who creates custom carved saddles for your bike and much more. While there are many different grades and types of leather, only vegetable tanned, full grain leather can be carved. Kara Ginther focuses on combining the current with the past in all of her pieces. We here at Pieces are excited to offer this exclusive interview.
What initially attracted you to leather as an artistic medium?
I began working with leather when I was a textile design student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I was interested in the human body and how people choose to embellish their skin - tattoos, piercings, cosmetics - and leather was an obvious surface upon which to experiment. I tried beading, embroidering, even screen printing, but it wasn't until I began scratching at the leather with a lino tool that I felt truly inspired.
Where do you draw your inspiration for some of your designs? Are most of the saddles commission or your own original ideas?
Up to this point, the majority of my saddles have been my own design, although this is changing with the recent influx of commissions. My most obvious sources of inspiration are floor and wall tile designs from the Islamic world. At least once a day I find myself paging through my book on Alhambra, visualizing the tile designs on leather. I cannot get enough of rooms that are covered floor to ceiling with intense pattern and color. I rarely get excited about just one pattern, but when it is nuzzled up against another pattern and then another and another...it just feels so satisfying. Other inspirations are perhaps less obvious but are at the core of my inspiration: simple, utilitarian design as seen in Quaker, Shaker and Amish lifestyles, unpretentious mid-west ideals of hard work and living off the land, nomadic people and mobile lifestyles, and an honest exchange of artisanal goods and services.
While many people embellish their shoes, belts and jackets, not many people add/design anything for their bike saddles. What gave you this idea and have you found your custom saddles to be successful? Why or why not?
It's all very simple: I see something leather, I want to carve it! I have, in fact, carved shoes, belts and jackets, as well as purses, wallets and luggage! So it was natural that once I set eyes on the smooth leather surface of a saddle, my fingers began itching. The opportunity arose when my friend Maggie and I launched the Mobile Museum of Material Culture (MMoMC). The museum exists in a trailer that is pulled behind a tandem bicycle. We spent hours and hours building and decorating the ornate trailer and wanted to find a unique way to embellish the bicycle too. Carving saddles was the obvious solution and thanks to the wonder that is the internet, the rest is history.
The carved saddles have proven to be successful for a number of reasons that I am only just beginning to realize. First and most apparent, not many people are designing custom bicycle seats. There simply isn't that much competition. Second, my work appeals to a wide range of people, spanning sex, age, and geographical location. It doesn't matter whether someone builds bikes, is a serious commuter or only a casual weekend rider. A custom carved bike saddle is just another way to express unique personality and an excuse to own something beautiful. Last, my work is functional. This is key in our current day and age. We don't just want to look at beauty, we want to touch it, experience it. My work allows for this direct interaction between people and objects. It is my gift to the world and it gives me great joy to know that people will sit on my art!
What is the hardest part about working with leather? Most enjoyable?
The hardest part of working with leather is definitely the precision and concentration the medium demands. For most of my designs, I simply cannot afford to slip up even once. I have to be careful to not let my mind wander or overwork my hand. It is a process that cannot be rushed. I am learning the utmost importance of sketching, planning, sampling, and testing. It is essential that I am 100% sure of my design before I make the first cut.
The most enjoyable aspect of working with leather is the sheer satisfaction of running a sharp blade through the soft surface. Sure, I enjoy developing designs, mixing colors, experimenting with line and repeat patterns, but when it comes down to it, these are all just excuses to watch the leather shavings curl around my blade. I think it is good for my soul.
One of the interesting things about your work is that it is a combination of old and new. What message are you trying to convey with each of your pieces?
I'm so glad you asked this because combining old and new is really important to me. I am really interested in material culture and how the scrapes and scratches on an object tell so much about its history. Leather is amazing at holding all kinds of marks, not to mention curling, warping and changing color through time. Leather is rife with history! I view my work as simply adding to this natural collection of marks in a slightly more obvious and literal way. What I want more than anything is to create objects that people can truly value. I want to create objects that will be around long enough to collect a history of scrapes and scratches. I want them to be tucked into boxes in the attic, discovered in antique stores, and passed down through generations. I want to make things that get more beautiful with time. Most of all, I want to be part of a larger conversation about the relationship between human beings and their material world.
How has your work progressed throughout the years, how has your style and outlook on your art changed?
I feel a tad too young and inexperienced to be able to make any grand sweeping conclusions quite yet! However, with each baby step I learn more and more about what it means to be a creative woman. My style hasn't changed as much as it has become increasingly concrete. Every day I learn a little more about what I want and what epitomizes my personality and aesthetic. I have begun to care less and less about what is happening in the art and design worlds around me, instead focusing solely on what satisfies my personal need to create. Of course, it is important to converse about your work and be aware of what others are creating. Ultimately, however, we are each creating for ourselves. I am thrilled about being able to work through my own ideas with my own hands at my own pace.
Anything else you wish to add?
I would like to add that I really appreciate what you are doing with Pieces. There are so many materials that we take for granted in our lives. It can only benefit us to really study the origins of materials as well as their historical and contemporary uses. I innately feel that it is of utmost importance that we return to the natural origins of materials while simultaneously celebrating the innovation of mankind. So thank you for this!
All images copyright Kara Ginther