2025 ARTISTS
Stop by and shop our fantastic vendors! From Western art, silver, beaded work, leather, and more, there’s something for everyone! Here’s a peak at who will be showcasing their work this year:
- Saturday FREE Public Shopping -
The Trade Show will be free and open to the public from 10am - 3pm on Saturday July 26th!
Regular ticketed shopping will be 4pm - 6pm on Friday and Saturday
AMANDA ARATA
“I founded Arata Leather and Silver with the idea that precious things should be used for everyday life. Some days are gentle, most are not, but at the darkest something shiny and made with love can be a small reminder that it will all be okay and if we allow it, God will make it incredible.
I’ve always loved shiny things, I enjoy making them, I enjoying wearing them and I enjoy catching them.”
ANDREA MURPHY
Andrea Murphy is an illustrator and award winning Western artist who uses oils and acrylics to paint the spirit of the West. She lives in Stephenville, Texas, where she draws inspiration for her work and is home educating her two boys in the Cowboy Capital of the World. She has created two decks of playing cards with a variety of Western paintings on each card, and illustrated the children’s book 'Sasha the Kamikaze Cow Dog'. While she’s still on her way up, she’s blessed to show and auction her work among some of the best Western artists alive today, and she’s delighted and honored to bring her work to The Rodear 2025.
ANN MINDER
“I live in Bridgeport, Ca with my husband Tim and my three kids, Pawahnee, Tsiidopi & Hugwapi. I was born and raised in Bishop, CA.
My passion is beading. I remember growing up and being taught by my Mom and other family members. It has fascinated me for years. It is an honor to introduce this year, my Mother, Elizabeth Manuelito, who will be joining me with all her beading ideas. She comes from Bishop, CA. She is a descendent of Bishop Paiute Tribal Member, Jessie Manuelito (mother) and Navajo Member, Johnny Manuelito (father). We are very excited to share our beading creations this year.”
CEILY RAE HIGHBERGER
Ceily Rae Highberger is a working cowgirl from Montana. After graduating from Montana State University with an agricultural degree, she has since worked in the ranching industry all over the Western United States including Wyoming, Oregon, Idaho, California, Utah, and Nevada. What really gets her pumped is being outdoors. Creating art (mainly photography), using the resources she has and fitting it in with the lifestyle she loves is her own personal mission statement. Her brand, C. Rae Photography & Design, is the beginning steps towards facilitating and achieving her dream life.
CHEYENNE BARNES
“I grew up on a farm/ranch and loved it! As I’ve developed as an artist I am always drawn to things that reflect my appreciation for the Western Cowboy lifestyle. I have a Bachelors in Fine Arts and love to paint and draw, but when I started leatherwork, it became a passion. It’s so exciting that I can make something beautiful and functional! I am a wife and the mother to a very active family of 4 boys and one girl. I live in Star Valley Wyoming next to the Bridger Teton National Forest. God and family come first in my life. As a family, we work hard and play hard and spend any extra time on horseback, motorcycle or hiking in the mountains we love so much. I am so grateful to The Rodear for providing the opportunity to learn from and work with one of my favorite leather artists! I look forward to progressing in my trade and becoming a part of this community of inspiring and unique Western artists.”
CHLOE MAE PALMER
“As a child I always had a drive to create. When I wasn’t making things, I loved working with my hands in the dirt. I was fascinated by the cowboy lifestyle I read about and the western black and white films I grew up watching. In college I met the man who would become my husband and he introduced me to cattle, horses, riding, roping, etc.. I’ve grown to love riding and working cattle. As a new mom I’m figuring out what that looks like with a little one tagging along. The longer I’m a part of this community the more respect I have for the history and traditions at the heart of it. I’ve dabbled in many medias but in the past few years bead weaving has become my focus. At first it was a way of supplementing income, but it’s grown into an area of expression where I can push myself to mature as an artist. I’ve worked hard to make my work my own and find unique methods and fresh inspirations within a heavily saturated art form. I have a lot to learn but I think that that’s the beautiful part of creating. It’s true that there isn’t anything new under the sun, but the individual perspective that each person has to offer is what makes this world so beautiful, and embracing that diversity is what makes an artist. I’m so excited to be a part of this community that is celebrating that!”
CLARA SMITH
Clara is a Western Artist and Graphic Designer from Bend, Oregon. She graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Fine Arts. Ever since she was little, Clara was drawing horses and creating. Her love for Western Art and Culture was heavily influenced by her late aunt, Western Artist Joelle Smith, who taught her how to draw and ride horses. Similar to Joelle’s work, Clara strives to document real Western life through her work, documenting culture and traditions of the American Cowboy. The authenticity of her work is very apparent as the subjects are all real people, real horses, set in real places.
DIANE MYERS
My roots are grounded off the Coastal Range of Monterey County, California where I was raised on a wheat and cattle producing ranch. As a youth, I was influenced by the Californio Horsemanship Traditions. As a young adult and mother of four, my appreciation grew for custom horse gear and western art. Through the years I have developed skills as a leathersmith and silversmith, but it is my three decade experience as a Pulled Wool Saddle Pad Maker that excites me the most! It is something about literally creating "contact" between horse and rider; it is my personal contribution to add balance in the "horse to human" experience. All custom tack creates artistic labor and practical application in a lasting combination of both function and art.
I approach pad making differently than many makers today with emphasis on utilitarian, functionality and practicality takes precedence over aesthetics. My pads are known for less bulk - more compressed for better contact, and sized appropriately for ideal wear. "Less is more" for my pads.
JALIN NELSON
“Coming from a small town with not much to do opens up the imagination and leaves a lot of room for creativity. I picked up a pencil at a young age and haven’t put it down since. Growing up on the back of a horse and being surrounded by old school cowboys left me no choice but to pick up the western style art. I’m very passionate about the western way of living and wildlife conservation and I believe that reflects strongly in my work.”
JOSEY CARTER NATE
“I grew up in southeast Idaho working and playing on my family’s ranch. Consequently, I love to be outside whenever I can, riding my horse, learning new horsemanship skills and roping. I have a bachelors degree in accounting and currently work for an Ag Lender in Southeast Idaho. I’m not sure how my interest in silver began, but after years in school I had the desire to use my creative and artistic side. I had been wanting to learn a western trade and when I heard about Nevada Miller’s “Fundamentals of Silversmithing” course I signed up, bought tools, and have been all-in ever since! I have had some great opportunities to learn from experienced artists, each of them going above and beyond to help me succeed. What I have loved most about silver is having the option to make beautiful and elaborate items such as jewelry, and also functional items like cowboy gear. I am so glad to have found this way to express my creativity and am excited to continue learning the silversmith trade.”
JULIA HANSON
“Growing up, I was constantly drawing and making art of one kind or another. Looking back, I was also slowly falling in love with the western lifestyle and agriculture through books, stories, and school. I had wanted to try my hand at leatherwork for years before finally making the dive my sophomore year of college. What started out as making things for myself and friends, turned into custom pieces for friends of friends and then for people I had never met. So J Bar Leather was born.
These days I still take some custom orders, but also love to let my creativity flow and make whatever I can think up. I pull inspiration from the high desert around where we live as well as from silver engraving and traditional scroll work. I’m constantly tweaking my designs to accomplish a combination of functionality and beauty.”
KAILEY KLEIN
Enamored with the western lifestyle from a young age, Kailey Klein grew up creating art that celebrated her rural life and the equine partners she ran wild with. Years later, while studying Agriculture at Oregon State University, Kailey discovered the craft of leather work. Kailey is now the maker and western artist behind the sought after brand, Magpie West Leather Co. On a remote ranch nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, she spends her days as a western creative, cowboy gal, ranch wife, and mother. She gathers inspiration for her one of a kind pieces from the wildflowers, livestock, cowboy culture, unique lifestyle, and rugged beauty of the west.
KILEE SOFICH
Kilee Sofich is a recent full time western silversmith who currently resides in Prineville, Oregon. Her appreciation for the industry was found through growing up around livestock and her involvement in the rodeo community. After graduating with a Bachelors in Elementary Education from Colorado Mesa University, earning a Masters in Trauma Informed Education, and teaching in Colorado and Oregon, Kilee decided to pursue a creative outlet. She says, “I’ve always had an appreciation for hand crafted things, it’s something my mom and I share,” and claims that silversmithing just felt natural to her. She recently decided to pursue silversmithing full time and step away from her career in education. Kilee explained, “God was asking me to take a leap of faith and where He guides, He provides.” While passionate about all aspects of her projects, her favorite part is being able to design and create one of a kind pieces that will be passed down for generations. Very excited for the scholarship opportunity, she will be adding engraving to her current skill set. She said that she is very grateful for the opportunity and knows how special it is.
KIM HUNTER STEED
Kim Hunter Steed is a national award winning and published photographer specializing in western photography. She spent her childhood along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada from Owens Valley to Lake Almanor. This is where her love for the mountains and wildlife began. She dabbled in photography in the early 2000’s and poured her heart into it when she moved to Carson Valley, Nevada with her husband in 2018. Her photographs have appeared in Cowboys & Indians magazine, Tahoe Quarterly, Nevada magazine and Birds & Blooms magazine.
LAURA McDANIEL
Having started her creative journey as a child in 4-H, Laura McDaniel has been a maker for a long time. As her 5 children grew and time freed up, Laura began experimenting again with sewing and Second Half Manufacturing was created. Laura is a native Oregonian and a resident of the cowboy town of Prineville. She is surrounded by amazing resources and the creative inspiration of the western culture around her. Laura’s pieces reflect the balance between rugged leather and the beauty of Pendleton wool. “The biggest blessing I have discovered while stepping into this journey has been the people God has introduced into my life.”
LOIS KEISTER
Lois Keister has spent nearly all of her life in the rural West. From the Southwestern deserts to the plains of Montana, she finds inspiration in the deep roots of the history found in those places.
As a trained welder, using heat to create seemed like a logical step when searching for a new medium after years of painting and sketching. Kiln formed glass allows her to use both color and heat to create images of the West that formed who she is.
After starting work as a studio assistant for an established glass artist, she began stretching her creative wings and has since developed her own distinct style and methods when approaching the process.
Lois currently resides in Southwestern, Montana, tucked up against the Ruby Mountain range.
MARY CERISE
“I'm the one woman show behind Hanging Moon Silver, I'm moon to 3 daughters and ranch full time in rural Idaho. I'm beyond grateful for the support and opportunities I've been given by Cowgirl Art Rodear, and I literally cannot wait to attend this year's program. The last two years I tried to attend we've had fire on our range so I'm crossing my fingers and my toes that we've had our fair share of fire and will be ready to roll in July! I am especially looking forward to the face to face conversations I'll have with other makers and artists as well as those amazing and dedicated women behind the face of the Rodear. It's an honor to be a part of such an incredible group of women in an event that really captures the culture of the working west. Cheers to Cowgirl Art Rodear 2023. I look forward to seeing my friends and making many new ones in Bridgeport!”
MARY LENT
“I am Laguna Pueblo and I was born in New Mexico and raised in California. I spent summers in New Mexico with my grandparents. My grandma taught me how to bead when I was young. It all started with a daisy chain and then loom work.
I raised 6 children in beautiful Bridgeport.”
MEGAN DOHERTY-SPANGLE
“The foothills of the western Sierra Nevada Mountains are where my family and I call home. My husband, children and I have a small cow calf operation while working day jobs in construction. As long as I can remember I have had a longing for and a love of creating. As an artist I have worked with different mediums and methods but always had a longing for Silversmithing. For far too many years life got in the way and that dream was put on the back burner. A couple of years ago I took a leap and started working towards my dream with "Be A Maker School". It gave me the foundation and confidence to pursue my dreams and now thanks to the Cowgirl Art Rodear Scholarship I am blessed to be able to grow and refine my skill set even further. My dream and goal is to create one of a kind family heirloom pieces that carry meaning and love for generations.”
MELISSA LACKORE
“As long as I can remember, I have been doing some form of art work. When I got older, leatherwork became a natural outlet of creative expression for me, and I was very drawn to the idea that I could create beautiful and functional pieces. I have been doing leatherwork for three years now, and it has supported me as a side hustle through college. Now that I have graduated from UNR, I hope to focus on my leather business and continue to grow as an artist and entrepreneur. The most rewarding part of being a craftsman is seeing my work “in the wild,” being enjoyed by those that I have made it for.”
RACHEL ALLISON
“As a kid I didn’t question why creating art was a pleasure, it just was. I am a self-taught artist. I had one high school teacher tell me, ‘Rachel you have your own style, don’t let anyone change that. Be yourself and be original.’ Rusty and I lived and worked on ranches. It was a great way to live and raise our two kids. I love the ranch/rural life; the animals, the land and how it all ties together. A simple and humble pencil has always fascinated me. So much can come from this medium. It takes thought and patience when creating a piece of art. Most of the time I’m drawing from my own photography. This way I can remember everything felt… the subject…the surroundings…and myself. My intentions are to convert how a moment felt with no words. The different values that can be made with graphite pencils in a piece of art can say a lot.”
SARAH SMITH
Sarah Smith was raised on a commercial cow/calf operation in the foothills of Bakersfield, CA. Over the years she developed a deep passion for creating a variety of items including jewelry, three piece buckle sets and saddle hardware. Sarah has studied under master engravers Jeremiah Watt and Diane Scalese, as well as others. Each piece Sarah makes is handmade, custom to the individual and one of a kind. Her work can be found around the world. Most recently Sarah has studied with Ernie Marsh.
SHELE JESSEE
“I am a maker, and a doer, a horsewoman, a rancher, a sister and a daughter. I live my life with as much intention as I can, and follow my heart as much as possible. The only things that get in the way of that sometimes are my head, and society. I have studied horsemanship, yoga, nature connection work, primitive skills, equus/life coaching, permaculture and probably more. I am a studier of life, I like to know how to do things and why we are the way we are. And try to live my own life artfully.
I love fashion and believe we deserve the finest goods made of the best materials. These materials to me are linen, cotton, wool and silk. I offer sheepskins and other leather goods. As much as possible I salvage materials from their respective industries.”
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