Master silversmith Ernie Marsh of Lovell, Wyoming, spares no expense on materials and will settle into a project knowing that it may take anywhere from 150 to 450 hours to complete.
“Whatever is needed, you just commit to it,” Marsh told Cowboy State Daily. “Maybe that isn't financially sound, but boy, I've made well over 150 pieces that would not have gotten made without that level of commitment.”
It was this commitment to his craft that earned Marsh a National Heritage Fellowship Award which he was presented at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
It's an honor only five Wyoming artists have received since its inception in 1982.
Marsh is more than a silversmith, his intricate work also celebrates and elevates Wyoming’s cowboy culture and heritage, said Josh Chrysler of the Wyoming Arts Council, who nominated him for the award.
“I nominated Ernie through his work as a bit and spur maker and a silversmith,” Chrysler said. “He's an amazing artist who produces some of the best and most beautiful bits and spurs out of anybody in the entire country.”
Marsh is known for his bridle bits, spurs and other gear that’s museum quality, yet made to be used by working cowboys.
In The Company Of Great Artists
Marsh has been in silversmithing for 35 years and was a founding member of the Traditional Cowboy Arts (TCA).
He is now the third recipient of this National Heritage Fellowship Award from that founding group. The first was saddlemaker Don King of Sheridan in 1991, and Dale Harwood, a saddlemaker from Shelley, Idaho, in 2008.
“It might be a little more than a coincidence that out of a group of maybe 20 people, we have three winners,” Marsh said.
It’s not a coincidence that there has only been one other silversmith of horse bits and spurs to win the award, and it was Marsh’s mentor, Elmer Miller, in 1993.
“Unfortunately, Elmer passed away before he could attend the ceremony,” Marsh said. “But the fact that he won it just makes it all the more special for me.”
Another Wyoming winner with whom Marsh is well acquainted is Jim Jackson in 2019. The two, along with Keith Seidel of Cody, had collaborated on a saddle that is now in the Brinton Museum in Big Horn.
“I'm pretty humbled to be in the company of all those that previously won this award,” Marsh said.
Silversmith Ernie Marsh of Lovell, Wyoming, believes in paying it forward. Since his early days of silversmithing, he has sought to help others learn the trade and has been an advocate for teaching trade secrets to anyone willing to learn. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Silversmith Ernie Marsh has often teamed up with other artists to create stunning Wyoming art that can be used. This horncap, right, was made for a Keith Seidel and Jim Jackson collaboration saddle. It is now displayed at the Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Silversmith Ernie Marsh of Lovell, Wyoming, believes in paying it forward. Since his early days of silversmithing, he has sought to help others learn the trade and has been an advocate for teaching trade secrets to anyone willing to learn. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Theresa Marsh and silversmith Ernie Marsh were able to visit with Rep. Harriet Hageman - R, while in Washington, D.C. receiving a prestigious National Heritage Fellowship award from the National Endowment for the Arts. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Before becoming a full-time silversmith, Ernie Marsh and his family spent years on the ranch, working cattle in Oregon and other parts of the United States before settling permanently in Lovell, Wyoming. It was these years of working as a cowboy that enabled Marsh to make useable spurs and bits rather than just decorative. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Silversmith Ernie Marsh will spend an average of 100 to 150 hours on a silver horse bit, creating beautiful pieces of art. He learned the craft from master craftsmen and is passing on his knowledge to the next generation of silversmiths. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh)
The Path To Silversmithing
Marsh has been interested in art since his childhood from wood carving to pencil drawing. He grew up enthralled by a family friend’s collection of spurs and that became the foundation for a lifelong passion for silversmithing.
“My first attempt was a pair of spurs I made in the eighth grade metal shop class,” Marsh said. “They were absolutely horrible, but you got to start somewhere.”
After graduating high school, Marsh started working on a cattle ranch in southeastern Washington state.
“I thought I would just make some of my own bits, but that didn't turn out so great,” he said. “So, over the course of a few years, I saved up my money to go to a school.”
When the cattle industry experienced a downturn in the 1980s, Marsh joined the logging industry in northeastern Washington.
“I never forgot how much I wanted to make those bits and spurs,” Marsh said. “Since I was finally making some decent money as a timber faller, I saved up and went to Elmer Miller's school.”
Marsh was 28 at the time and credits Miller for the fine skill he’s honed.
Born in 1914, Miller had learned the trade of silversmithing and bit and spur making from one of the masters of the previous generation, Filo Gutierrez.
Through his school, Miller was credited by the National Endowment of Art for passing on the tradition of fine hand-made bits and spurs so that it would not be forgotten.
When the spotted owl led to the demise of the logging industry in 1993, Marsh said he decided to continue with his silversmithing while raising cattle and hay in Oregon.
In 2011, he moved his wife and two sons to Wyoming and said he finally found a permanent home in the Cowboy State.
“I thought since I was never going to be a millionaire, I might as well go live where other people go on vacation,” he said. “We are never going to leave.”
The Art Of Silversmithing
Silversmithing takes time, patience, and knowledge about the different aspects of creating the pieces from forge work to the finer details etched into the silver.
“You start at the beginning and work from there and try to improve on every piece,” Marsh said. “I had a long ways to go, and now I've spent one heck of a long time getting here, but I think a craftsman should be happy if they can keep improving, just a little bit at a time.”
He knows the slow process can get frustrating, but encourages his students to be happy at the level they are at and just work up from there. He does caution, however, not to get complacent with the silversmithing.
“The minute that you say, ‘Oh, that's good enough,' it starts getting boring,” Marsh said. “You'll get in a rut and eventually you'll quit.”
Although known internationally for his spurs and bits, silversmith Ernie Marsh originally planned on a career silversmithing guns. He has decorated about 40 guns in his lifetime and is now focused on designing usable gear for horses. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Silversmith Ernie Marsh of Lovell, Wyoming, said that he wants his art to be seen from afar as well as have fine detail that can be appreciated when the piece is examined closely. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Silversmith Ernie Marsh of Lovell, Wyoming, said that he wants his art to be seen from afar as well as have fine detail that can be appreciated when the piece is examined closely. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Silversmith Ernie Marsh of Lovell, Wyoming, said that he wants his art to be seen from afar as well as have fine detail that can be appreciated when the piece is examined closely. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Silversmith Ernie Marsh of Lovell, Wyoming, said that he wants his art to be seen from afar as well as have fine detail that can be appreciated when the piece is examined closely. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh) 
Although known internationally for his spurs and bits, silversmith Ernie Marsh originally planned on a career silversmithing guns. He has decorated about 40 guns in his lifetime and is now focused on designing usable gear for horses. Right, he designed this full sterling silver overlaid Nevada spade bit with high relief engraving. He is passionate about creating usable pieces of art and spends hundreds of man hours crafting his pieces. (Courtesy Ernie Marsh)
Designing For The Horse
When Marsh is designing a piece, he may spend up to six months planning before he even begins. He also is looking to see what catches people’s eye when they are looking at the finished product.
“What I hear the most is that they are looking for contrast,” Marsh said. “The lights and the darks, the silver against the steel.”
He said you might notice a fine horse, but as you get closer you'll start to notice the designs on the bits and spurs.
“I try to keep designs bold enough that you can see them from a few feet away,” he said. “You don't want people walking up to your horse that close to have to look so closely, so there should be design there that can be seen in a photograph from 10 feet away.”
Within that bold pattern is incredible detail.
“If they finally get a super close look at it, they can whip out their magnifying glass and maybe see even some more,” Marsh said. “The design process is a lot of fun.”
Marsh does not change the basic design of the bit itself but he can cut loose and have some fun. The most important aspect of any of his bits or spurs is that they are comfortable for the horse and function properly.
“My style of bits are designed for a horse to comfortably wear them all day without sawing them up or annoying them or tossing their head up,” Marsh said. “I just designed these mouthpiece designs to provide equal pressure across the tongue and the bars in their mouths.”
It is this care for detail that Marsh is instilling into those that he mentors as he helps to teach the next generation of silversmiths.
A Master
As a founding member of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association, Marsh said that they had three goals.
Goal one was to put on an amazing exhibition of masterwork with no limits on time or materials.
The second was to educate the public and try to raise the level of their current expectations of quality.
The third and most important goal was to start mentoring programs and educate the next generation of craftsmen and guide them along.
He has done this by holding his own classes and be accepting students under the mentorship program through the Wyoming Arts Council. Marsh said he also continues to be a student in the craft.
“The inspiration and encouragement I got from the other founders and basically the pressure of being around those fellows, just makes you want to do better,” Marsh said. “No matter what level you're at, you still want to do better.”
As to the national award he just received, Marsh said he is humbled to have received it and be counted among the small group of Western craftsmen who have been selected over the years.
“His work is beautiful,” Chrysler said. “I think he's really deserving of his recognition and this of honor that he's received. I couldn't be happier for him.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
