At the Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, not all the exhibits are static.

While they feature paintings and sculptures, in a small building on the museum grounds, master craftsman James Jackson of Sheridan, Wyoming, displays his leathermaking craft to museum visitors.

Jackson, a recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship award in 2019, can be found on his workbench, his head bowed over the leather as a flower comes to life with each move of his hand-crafted tool.

“It's just shallow relief sculpting,” Jackson told Cowboy State Daily as he switched tools and made another mark on the leather.

He held the piece up so his small audience could see the flower that was beginning to take on exquisite detail.

“They call it ball relief,” he said. “I'm just using cowhide instead of woo

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