Arlie Sommer
Producer, Expressive IdahoArlie Sommer produced Expressive Idaho from 2020-2025.
Expertise: Audio production, oral history, photography, film, illustration, graphic design
Education: University of Idaho
Highlights
- Grew up on my family’s organic herb farm
- Made a whole lot of creative media
- Spent a lot of time in historic archives
Experience
I produce Expressive Idaho, an award-winning radio series about traditional artists of the state where I'm a fourth-generation resident. I grew up on a farm and descended from cowboys, outfitters, weavers and teachers and I care deeply about this place.
I've also produced a slew of other documentary media, including the Eliot Oral History Project about residents of the Eliot Neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, Making Mortzilla about Basque sausage makers in Boise, The Boise Food History Project about the history of food and farms in Boise, and Idaho Babe, a film about Sawtooth Lodge wilderness outfitter Babe Hanson.
In my free time, I enjoy getting outside, rain, snow or shine. I backpack, ski, garden, cook and love to eat!
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Whether out on the range or in the arena, a saddle has to hold up under hard use. Many are factory-made, but custom Western saddles are crafted by skilled leatherworkers. -
From artisan jewelry to cowboy boot spurs, women silversmiths in Idaho turn raw metal into works of art. As part of a special Expressive Idaho series, we are listening back to a gathering of Idaho artisans called the “Cowgirl Congress.” -
The history of cowboy boot making in the U.S. has been lost to time, but some women are still crafting the iconic Western gear. For this episode of Expressive Idaho, we go back to a 2022 gathering of artisans called the "Cowgirl Congress." -
Poet CMarie Fuhrman is Idaho's current Writer in Residence. She uses nature soundscapes to inspire her writing that often focuses on issues affecting native people in the West. -
Rosemaling is a decorative painting that adds colorful embellishments to wooden platters, containers and furniture of Norwegian homes. Immigrants came to the U.S. with their most precious possessions stored in hand-painted trunks. In Boise, Idaho artist Joanne Hultstrand is carrying on the tradition of rosemaling. -
The art of hunting demands close attention to wildlife. In the fall, waterfowl hunters lure their pretty through mimicking calls and setting out decoy birds. -
Boise author Malia Collins recently collaborated on a new book featuring story quilts made by artisan refugees who have resettled in Boise. In 2020, Collins was named the Idaho Writer in Residence by the Idaho Commission on the Arts. She recently spent time helping new community members tell their stories through quilting. -
Stephanie Laishy brings Flamenco to Idahoans through her organization Flamencos United, which she founded to spread awareness about the dance through performances, teaching, and bringing world famous flamenco dancers to Idaho. She hosts workshops and shares a message embedded within the dance: art is healing. -
Nancy Martiny ranches and builds saddles at her home in the high mountain desert of the Pahsimeroi Valley, near May, Idaho. She's known for her flowing, intricate flower leather carvings. -
Hot August days on a ranch are the quieter times when Ryan Carpenter and his wife are able to halter break new colts in between bailing hay and other chores. Their ranch is on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, which sits on the border of Idaho and Nevada. It’s the same time of year they met their neighbor, Monte Cummins, more than 10 years ago.
