Between Dreams and Reality

There is a moment of anticipation and suspense the first time someone puts on a pair of handmade shoes or boots. Will they fit? How will they feel? How will they look? The maker holds their breath and watches. The wearer usually has to work a bit – handmade footwear goes on harder than anything from a store. And then whoosh! Air is forced out as the foot goes in. The wearer is silent, feeling their body. Then the other foot. And maybe, hopefully, a smile. A shake of the head. A step. A twirl. The shoes or boots are up and moving in the way they were intended, the wearer caught up in the realization of their dream. 

Walking into a footwear exhibition, it is difficult not to imagine wearing the works on display. How would it feel to stand tall, heel toe, heel toe, and walk? But take a moment to inspect more closely. Allow the works to transform, unfolding into complex multi-dimensional objects that betray the hand and the mind of the maker. It is incredible how the pieces change after one minute, five minutes, and more. No longer is it about the viewer or the wearing. It is about the incredible, sometimes mind-blowing, vision and skill of the maker. 

Bespoke footwear is an optical illusion of simplicity. In reality, every dimension is made of at least three layers of leather. Each layer is cut, skived, nailed, pegged, and/or sewn. There is flexibility where the body bends, support for our curves, and style in the toe, topline, and on every surface. Each pair is made only once, built for an individual body. Knowledge of anatomy and human kinetic motion as well as mastery of leather-working techniques is necessary to work in this trade. There are no longer schools, so the craft is learned by spending time in the workshops of elders, and by trial and painful error. The journey toward artistry is slow and unforgiving.

Scattered throughout the United States, shoe and boot makers are sculpting footwear by hand using historical techniques in the creation of entirely modern works. This small world is quite insular, and largely known only to those who seek it out. There are so few of us, and there are very few opportunities to see one another’s work, much less to share what we do with a larger community. 

Between Dreams and Reality brings together thirteen contemporary shoe and bootmakers from around the United States, each of whom is elevating the craft by stretching it with their skill and vision. Most are workaday craftspeople, running a workshop as their livelihood. We work on commission, collaborating with clients, but we also need to test theories, techniques, and leather, which take the form of samples, many of which are shown here. This work seldom travels outside of the workshop, and the unique opportunity to bring it together is nearly unprecedented. With it we hope to shine a light on the singular beauty of handmade footwear, sharing with a community that values what can be done with the hand, eye, and mind. 

Amara Hark Weber
Guest curator and shoemaker

PURCHASING FROM THE EXHIBITION

This exhibition features a collection of bespoke footwear, and therefore the shoes and boots on view in the gallery are not available for direct purchase.  We encourage you to contact the makers via their websites for more information about acquiring a pair of remarkable shoes or boots for yourself.  

Click on the artist’s image for more information.
To inquire about works in the exhibition contact us at 828.765.6211 or via email at gallery@penland.org