While America remembers and honors those in the armed forces who gave the ultimate sacrifice on Memorial Day, leather artist Mike Bray spends every day honoring them and all of those who serve others through his art, including the military, law enforcement, firefighters, and health care workers.

Always an artist, it wasn’t until after Bray quit his job of 44 years that he began using leather to create his art. His wife Wren found a saddle maker in Kansas and Bray took a leather working course from him.

“The doctor told me I needed to find another profession for my health,” said Bray. “The old saddles Wren and I like to collect are expensive to repair and I like that kind of stuff, so it fit.”

He began making traditional saddles with the intention of going into business with his new skill. However the artist in him took over and he started creating more elaborate leather work.

“It was 2008,” said Bray. “The economy had taken a downturn and people weren’t spending money on things like saddles, so I started making the stuff I really wanted to do.”

Today Bray is known not just for his incredibly detailed leather art, but also for the tribute art he has created to honor specific groups of people, which he displays for groups and organizations around Minnesota.

His first tribute art pieces were commemorative saddles, but unlike anyone has seen before. For example, along with the elaborate artistic details on his law enforcement tribute saddle, he started attaching actual badges from counties across Minnesota. As people heard about it, he began receiving badges from Minnesota cities as well. As word continued to spread, badges from across the country began to arrive. He even has one from the Canadian Mounties.

His first saddle, created in 2011, is called ‘Tribute to the Troops.” Carved into the leather are images of all branches of the U.S. military and historical images such as the planting of the flag at Iwo Jima and Rosie the Riveter.

Today Bray has seven saddles that he displays for groups and organizations across Minnesota. Each tells a story. Along with his military and law enforcement tributes, he has saddles honoring firefighters, cancer survivors, and for PTSD and suicide awareness. 

“That’s the one that’s getting the most attention right now,” he said.

While watching television in 2020 Bray noticed the COVID death counts on screen and thought of the nurses’ motto “Nobody dies alone,” and knew he wanted to honor health care workers next. Instead of a saddle, he found an antique doctor buggy, covered it in leather and then carved it inside and out with thank yous to health care workers. 

His leather art has also expanded to boats that he’s covered in leather. His first, a 1955 Larson Cabin Special, is vintage patriotic. He worked on his second, a 1956 Crestliner, during the George Floyd riots. It’s named ‘Back the Blue’, and is carved with numerous sayings and thank yous, interviewing people to see what they felt was appropriate as he worked.

He’s currently on his third boat, a 1957 Lone Star boat from Texas that he dropped a 1969 American Yankee fuselage into. The very unique ‘boat plane’, which he’s named “American Yankee”, is a hit everywhere he goes with it.

“It looks really cool,” said Bray. “Everyone just loves it. Through it I’m thanking all our military with an emphasis on our special and elite forces.”

Along with all his tribute art, Bray continues to create his original leather picture art. Although he used to focus on western themes, today he does more Minnesota-inspired work, such as fish. Chickens and rooster have also become popular topics. 

“A lot of women don’t like taxidermy,” he said. “But they like this.”

His leather art also includes items such as belts, vests, holsters, and guitar straps.

“It’s an old method that’s time consuming,” he said. “No one does it anymore.”