Mavis “Jo” Orchard, 84, of Ten Sleep, Wyoming, said that she found inspiration for her original hide and fabric art in nature, especially on the Orchard Ranch.
“Beauty was all around us on the ranch,” Orchard said. “The art was there no matter where you looked. It was beautiful.”
Orchard had first moved to Thermopolis in 1978 to attend veterinary technician school with her young children. Instead of going to work for a veterinarian, as planned, she was wooed by local rancher, Kenny Orchard.
“I became a rancher’s wife because he told me I would probably be able to do more vet work on the ranch with the cattle than I could ever think of doing by myself or with a veterinarian,” Orchard said.
Although she had been raised in Iowa, Orchard had always dreamed of living in Wyoming and had jumped at the chance to attend school in the Cowboy State. She quickly fell in love with everything about her new home.
“I would look out my utility room window into the red cliffs, and it was just phenomenal,” Orchard said. “I could just stand there and soak in the beauty. It was just beyond words.”
It was about five or so years after moving to the ranch that Orchard started exploring her creative side.
“It was for fun,” she said. “I started sewing small projects, like a blouse.”
These small projects soon grew into her own store in Ten Sleep where, for years, she would sell her original buckskin clothing and other creative artwork.
Jo Orchard, 84, has spent nearly 50 years creating pieces of art from quilts and hides. (Courtesy Jo Orchard) 
Jo Orchard, 84, was known for creating original buckskin clothing with her own designs. She insisted on using only real hides that she would brain tan and smoke herself. She also used the sinew from the legs of the animals to create her own thread. (Courtesy Jo Orchard) 
Jo Orchard, 84, has sold her original fashion pieces, ranging from vests to stylish blouses, and had her art showcased at shows. Orchard said she was inspired by Wyoming’s beauty and its people. (Courtesy Jo Orchard) 
Jo Orchard, 84, taught herself to brain tan which would turn her hides into a beautiful pure white color. For these dresses, she did not smoke the hide in order to retain the natural white color. (Courtesy Jo Orchard) 
Jo Orchard, 84, has sold her original fashion pieces, ranging from vests to stylish blouses, and had her art showcased at shows. She taught herself many of the techniques needed to create buckskin clothing, including how to use the sinew from the animals leg to make her thread. (Courtesy Jo Orchard)
The Traditional Ways
The Orchard spread was a working ranch and Orchard said she had a hard-working husband. The couple had up to five ranch hands and their families working for them to keep the ranch running.
She loved their life and when not creating her unique artwork, she would be putting her veterinary skills to work.
“Calving was always fun, and we always had bum calves,” Orchard said. “The calves were always in the yard or around the house.”
Another favorite pastime for Orchard was to visit with their ranch hands, several of whom were tribal. They would talk about the old ways of doing things and Orchard soaked up the knowledge they shared.
“I loved everything that they did,” she said. “I loved how they could make something out of whatever they had on hand. They were great at that.”
Eventually, Orchard was able to teach herself these same techniques, such as creating thread out of the sinew from the leg of an animal. She only used real hide, from animals they hunted themselves, in her clothing.
“I love making vests and belts,” Orchard said. “Just about anything that had an idea strung with it.”
Orchard also learned how to brain tan hides.
“You crack the skull open, and you can also use the liver,” Orchard said. “You then cook it a certain way and never let it boil, but you slowly bring it to a simmer.”
She then would rub the brains and liver mixture on her hides. This would produce white hides Orchard could use or else she could smoke the hides and turn them into a soft brown color.
Orchard used different hides to create her clothing and would then decorate each original piece with beadwork and fringe.
Jo Orchard, 84, of Ten Sleep has been inspired by Wyoming and its people since the 1970s. She has channeled that love into her original buckskin dresses, beaded art and quilts. (Courtesy Jo Orchard) 
Jo Orchard, 84, has spent nearly 50 years creating pieces of art from quilts and hides. She also likes to tell stories through her work. (Courtesy Jo Orchard) 
Jo Orchard of Ten Sleep is inspired by Wyoming’s colors, the tribal stories of the old ways, and through visits to museums to create her original art that ranges from buckskin dresses to quilted masterpieces. (Courtesy Jo Orchard) 
Jo Orchard of Ten Sleep is inspired by Wyoming’s colors, the tribal stories of the old ways, and through visits to museums to create her original art that ranges from buckskin dresses to quilted masterpieces. (Courtesy Jo Orchard)
The Art Of Fabric
Orchard did not confine her talents to just one medium. She also loved to play with colorful fabrics and would create stories in her quilts. Sometimes she would add embellishments like beadwork to these masterpieces.
“The colors just happen and are just there,” Orchard said. “Sometimes a pattern would lead into something else that made a completely different, unique pattern.”
She explained that she had been inspired by the sunrise in one piece and in another, the colors just came together almost on their own.
Orchard also has a simple rule about any project that she would tackle, whether it was a wooden horse she decorated with hide and little people or a beaded buckskin vest.
“I didn’t do it unless I liked it,” Orchard said. “I just wouldn’t touch anything if I didn’t like it.”
These days, Orchard is living in the nursing home in Worland, and she is still being inspired by the world around her. If she sees a color combination or style that catches her eye, she will take a picture and file it away on her smartphone.
“You need to pay attention to everything around you,” Orchard said. “The beauty is there.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
