Brief: rawhide braiding techniques

A working buckaroo and cowboss will present a free program at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22 at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City.

"From Hide to Hackamore: Rawhide Braiding Techniques and Traditions" will include a slide show on the process of rawhiding as well as tales from the range.

The illustrated talk is offered in conjunction with the "Handed Down: Nevada's Living Folk Arts" exhibit on display in the Changing Gallery.

Speaker Doug Groves is a working buckaroo and the cowboss on the TS Ranch near Battle Mountain and is recognized as one of Nevada's outstanding rawhide workers. His presentation will show how rawhide is prepared and worked step by step and will include tales from Nevada's distinctive buckaroo tradition of ranching.

"Doug Groves is a consummate craftsman in rawhide, creating beautiful and intricate pieces," said Andrea Graham, Folk Arts Program coordinator at the Nevada Arts Council.

"But even more important, he and his work represent a whole culture and way of life, that of the traditional Nevada buckaroo." Graham has conducted extensive fieldwork in rural and urban communities across the state and served as curator for the Handed Down exhibit.

The exhibit begins with a selection of artifacts from the museum's collections, showing the deep roots of the arts in Nevada's indigenous and immigrant communities, then moves on to showcase a number of the living traditional arts in Nevada.

Some artifacts on display include native American beaded baskets and cradleboards, tooled leather, rawhide braiding, Mexican dance costumes, bagpipes, quilts and Ukranian Easter eggs.