In Memoriam,
Ricarda McCleary Cause
December 22, 2016
Ricarda McCleary Cause in her workshop.
We recently learned of Ricarda McCleary Cause’s passing. Our condolences go out to her family and friends. Cause was a world class silversmith whose lifetime of work has been featured in books, on public television, and in western art galleries. She sold her pieces at the annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering and the Western Folklife Center has featured her work. As a child who grew up on a ranch in Winnemucca, Nevada, Cause admired her father’s workshop and “loved being out there with all the tools.” Inspired by her mother’s love of silver jewelry, Cause started with silver belt buckles. She later learned how to make silver bits and spurs and how to engrave. Later making more jewelry than bits and spurs, she continued to make exquisitely crafted belt buckles, bracelets, and concho belts. Cause made her home in Lakeview where she married, reared a daughter, and later taught silversmithing to her son-in-law, Jimmy van Bell. Cause continued to collect tools for her well-appointed home workshop. Ricarda McCleary Cause’s silverwork had both local and international renown.
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- Silver bracelet by Ricarda McCleary Cause
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- Silver belt buckle by Ricarda McCleary Cause
More on her life and work.