The “Calavera Erótica” Mask was created for a client in Texas.  It was modeled by the lovely Darling Nikki in a photoshoot we did at my art gallery in Downtown Phoenix, Galeria de los Muertos.

Marcelino Jauregui is a genius. And then he started making knives. Hand made custom carbon steel knives.

I had to do a custom leather sheath for one. So I told Marce to send me a sexy knife so that I could work my magic and he sent me the most beautiful knife I’d ever seen him produce! I immediately called him up and asked him what the knife’s name was (Marce and his business partner Danny always give their knives a lady’s name). But when he said he didn’t know – that they couldn’t figure out just who she was – I knew I had to take some drastic action. After all, how could I tool a custom leather knife sheath with the knife’s name and skeleton self in it if the knife’s name was unknown?

Enter Heathyr Hoffman, ghost hunter, medium and all-around awesome beauty. “So, what’s the knife’s name?”, I ask.

“I don’t know that it can be spoken in any human language”, Heathyr said.

“Is there something in English she would like to be called?”

“Layla”, she said and handed me the knife.

And thus Layla was named and I created the first of many sheaths for Diamond J Knives (Marce and Danny’s custom knife company). The sheath includes a rare earth magnet stitched into the back that keeps Layla secure and safe from falling out, while also allowing the whole package to be stuck to the roof of your truck for easy transportation!

To contact Diamond J Knives about your own custom carbon steel knife, reach Marce and Danny at the info below!

Diamond J Knives Website
619.209.0520

The Libre Tooled Leather Motorcycle Seat is the first motorcycle seat I created. It was commissioned by the incredible metal fabricator Gavin Kober, who was building an amazing custom chopper for himself. He had previously commissioned the St. Muerto Tooled Leather Motorcycle Tool Pouch and wanted a seat to match.

I am currently in the works making Gavin a second tooled motorcycle seat in a monochromatic color scheme for everyday riding!

I created “The Lady in Calavera” fine art leather painting in October of 2009 to be in the Dia de los Muertos exhibit at the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe, Arizona. I wanted to pay homage to el Dia de los Muertos while also commenting on the role that religion plays in the culture of the Southwestern United States where I live.

The painting is based off of the traditional Lady of Guadalupe image which has become an iconic symbol for Mexico, as well as one of the most recognized Catholic symbols in the American Southwest. My version of the Lady of Guadalupe varies from the traditional most notably because the Lady is a skeleton, but also in more subtle and subversive ways. I would list them, but I do prefer for the viewer to look carefully at the work and make his/her own discoveries, assumptions and analysis.

“The Lady in Calavera” fine art leather painting will soon be featured in the art exhibit titled Converging Trajectories in Phoenix, Arizona. The show information is:

Who: 40 artist from Brazil, Arizona, Buenos Aires, Charlotte, Chicago, Mexico City, New York and San Fransisco
What: Converging Trajectories: Crossing Borders to Build Bridges (curated by Ted G. Decker)
Where: Modified Arts
407 East Roosevelt
Phoenix, AZ 85004-1918
When: Opening Reception: Friday, August 20th, 6-9pm
Show will run from August 20th thru Sept 11, 2010
Gallery Hours: Friday & Saturday 1-5pm,
First Friday 6-9pm, and by appointment

The concept for the “Only You Can Save Yourself” paintings original started as a tattoo design for myself. I wanted to remind myself that, when you really look at it, you are the one holding the gun to your head and you are the only one who can decide to put it down. Each of us is in charge of our own destiny. There is no knight in shining armor coming to save you and you cannot be that knight for someone else.

I couldn’t decide if I should paint it in sepia or in full color, so I did two paintings, one in sepia and cream, one in full color. They are painted on 20”x30” wooden frame boards.

The Sin Boldly Purse was the very first purse I created. It was a small hand purse with a skeleton angel and a banner that says “Sin Boldly”.

The Muertos Leather Painting was the first fine art leather piece I created. It features the St. Muertos skeleton with two skeleton mermaids. I’d tell you what it’s all about, but I think that would ruin the experience. It was hand tooled and hand dyed and painted from my original design.

There’s no question that Maegan Machine is one bad mamma-jamma. But captured through the wondrously vicious lens of photographer Destroy Inc, every drop of her kick-ass persona shows through in splendidly gritty detail! For this shoot I outfitted Maegan with the “Freedom or Death” Chaps, the “Lovers” Bracers, “Skeleton Cowboy” Pasties and the Evil Dave’s “Freedom or Death” Motorcycle RidingMask.

The “Freedom or Death” Chaps are hand-tooled, hand-colored leather chap hips with zippered black leather chap legs. The hips feature a skeleton cowboy and skeleton cowgirl against a desert night scene with banners beneath that read “Freedom…” and “…or Death”.

The “Lovers” Bracers are hand-tooled, hand-colored leather cuffs with three buckles apiece. They feature skeleton rockabilly boy and girl, each holding a weapon behind their back, with bat hearts flying all around.

The “Skeleton Cowboy” Pasties are hand-tooled, hand-colored leather nipple armor! One is a skeleton cowboy head wearing a cowboy hat with crossed bones and fire behind and the other is a skeleton cowgirl head wearing a cowgirl hat with crossed bones and fire behind her. They are both grinning, and wouldn’t you be too if you were laying across Maegan’s nipples?

Evil Dave’s “Freedom or Death” mask is a hand-tooled, hand-colored leather mask with the slogan “Freedom or Death” tooled in western font along the bottom jaw line. Evil Dave was awesome enough to lend it to Maegan for the shoot.

To contact Maegan for modeling, visit Maegan Machine’s Model Mayhem.

To contact Destroy Inc about his amazing photography or to see more of his kick-ass work, visit Jesse Bodas (Destroy Inc) Photography

The “Canik” guitar strap was commissioned as a Christmas gift in 2008. It features tooled and painted skull and crossbones with stars arching above. Between them is the guitarist’s name, “Canik”, in a bold western font. “VM” and a scorpion silhouette are tooled into the back, which was the signature carving I was using at the time. The strap is 2″ wide, adjustable and fully padded and lined. The adjustment is achieved through the use of a locking buckle, which has a loop at the end of the buckle tine. When the strap is buckled into the correct length, a small padlock is placed through the loop of the tine, keeping the buckle from coming loose. This protects against unbuckling during wild and unruly acts of rock and/or roll.

I first talked to Sarah Blackwood, aka Sarah Sin of the Canadian psychobilly band The Creepshow, about creating a custom leather guitar strap for her at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood back in 2007. We talked about it at every show I saw her at after but, due to both of our inabilities to not lose the other’s contact info, it never happened. Until 2010 when The Creepshow played Glendale, Arizona and I made it a point NOT to get drunk so I could make sure this happened.

The result is the “Sarah Blackwood” custom leather guitar strap.