Cultural Community: Cowboy
Artform: Western Saddlemaking
Residence: Southwestern Idaho

Bio: Gary grew up on the ranch that has belonged to the Keithley family since 1872. As a child, he helped his grandfather with daily chores and the care of livestock. While in high school, he began making leather items such as belts, chaps, headstalls, repairing spur straps and other tack. As a rancher’s son, he used and wore out the tools of the trade, which gave him the knowledge of how things should be built. While he attended the Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Oregon, Gary visited Jack Fisher’s saddle shop, observed how he worked, and was taught the first steps in building his own saddle. In 1988, interested in learning production saddlemaking, he apprenticed with Billy Cook. He worked intermittently on ranches and on gear making until the late 1980s. In 1992, at the late Elmer Miller’s Bit and Spur School, he apprenticed to Gary Weber. A family friend, Kenneth Queen, taught him how to overlay steel with sterling silver. Gary is also an accomplished silversmith known for the quality and beauty of his bits, spurs and, occasionally, jewelry.

Honors/Awards:
2005, Master, Idaho Commission on the Arts Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program
2008, Governor’s Arts Awards for Excellence in Folk and Traditional Arts

For Services Offered, Availability, and Costs, please contact the artist.

Glossary Terms: occupational culture, cowboy traditional arts

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