Bryony Studio

As part of the December challenge I made for myself, I finally finished weaving the fabric. Yeah! Now, it's waiting to go into the laundry. The next phase, of course, is designing the dress. Once the fabric is washed, I'll be able to see how much material I have. Currently, it's almost three yards, maybe a little more, but it will shrink once it is washed. No, the cones above are not the finished colors for the dress, but they are the next project. Each year I make the majority of my Christmas presents. My sister wants a throw blanket for her apartment, and the cones are the colors she chose. Honestly, the warp is beautiful, even if I did have to add an olive color to the mixture since I ran out of the 8/2 cotton yarn (the one on the right). Still, since the yarn I bought for her is a shade greener than the computer shows, it's turned out well. Do you make anything for Christmas, or do you purchase handcrafted items for friends and family?

It's nearing the end of fair season in Western NY, and I'm down to my last four or five fairs (one is still up in the air). This weekend, I'll be at Canalside in Buffalo NY for the Saturday Artisan Market . Here's a photo from a previous Saturday Artisan Market. It begins at 10 AM on Saturday, 20 September. There is parking available, but if you live in the Buffalo area, taking public transport might be easier. I sell under Bridgette ni Brian, my writing/art name.

I grew up in Lancaster Dutch Country, and moved to Western NY when I was twelve. After returning home for college, I began using both my weaving and writing skills to try and earn an income. Niagara River Above the Falls No such luck for several years, but yesterday I was up at the Castellani Art Museum  to learn about the Art Services Initiative and the arts community in the Western five counties of Western NY. For a brief review of Western NY (and New York state in general) you first need to realize that New York City makes up a very  small portion of the entire state. It's something like less than ten percent in all honesty. That particular area is referred to as Downstate and includes anything below the northern NY/PA border. Western NY can be a looser term, but it typically is everything west of the Genesee River, or the eight Western counties of NY State (Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Erie, Wyoming, Allegheny, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua. This area is rich in natural b

Tomorrow is my first time at the Saturday Artisan Market in beautiful Buffalo NY. Today has been the mad dash to put everything together, and figure out what I needed to do. Craziness. St. Padraig's Poncho Above is a photo of one of the three ponchos for sale. I planned on a fourth one, but measuring and cutting this morning didn't work out right. One of the joys of art - problems always arise. Still, it wasn't a bad situation, and I was able to turn my poncho into a shrug. For me, one of the biggest fears is cutting the woven fabric wrong and not being able to use it for anything. It's one of the things about weaving that makes me realize how valuable fabric is - the time and energy. To create fabric takes time. To turn the fabric into clothing takes more time. To care for the fabric takes patience and knowledge of the fabric. I sit back and wonder at the knowledge we've lost in our push for cheap clothes. How does it hurt us individually? How does it h

Somehow along the way, I think we skipped spring. It's been in the seventies and eighties here in Western NY with a dewpoint in the sixties. It's hot and humid, and feels like summer! I actually am not the biggest fan of summer, but hey, it's better than winter! Crabapple Blossoms The trees are blooming, the rhubarb growing, and I've started the garden. I especially enjoy walking outside without a coat, scarf, mittens, boots and returning even colder. This year, I'll be at the Saturday Artisan Market at Canalside in downtown Buffalo NY. Saturday (May 17) is the season opener. Fair season is just around the corner, and I look ahead with mixed emotions. Last year produced decidedly bad results. I made absolutely no profit, and found myself discouraged at the end of the season. Changes were needed, and part of the changes involved revamping what I created. In the past, I've focused on home accessories such as pillows, quilts and rugs, but this year, I&#

I went up to the Castellani Art Museum at Niagara University today for a talk about the Weaving Women of Ancient Athens. I don't often have the chance to visit art museums, but I do enjoy them when I can. Knotted Pile Sampler, 2011 For the most part, I enjoy visiting art museums to enjoy both the ambiance as well as gather up ideas. Granted, abstract confuses some people, but I like looking at them, trying to figure out what the creator felt or wanted to express. Part of the enjoyment comes from the fact that weaving, especially the art end of weaving can be something abstract. Due to the abstract nature of fiber arts, I find people not entirely able to accept them as art. On the other hand, those within the fiber arts community sometimes feel that art  is just another word for amateur, and use it as such. A fiber artist  can be a derogatory term signifying those who do not wish to put the time, energy and patience into properly finishing a quilt, knitted item, or wall hang

In recent years, I've tend to stay away from purchasing certain items through the store. Some of the purchases are because I can make the items like scarves and quilts. Others are because I need too make the items like skirts. Still others are made because of a particular color combination I want. Then there is the uniqueness of the item - I don't necessarily want to be like everyone else. Other times it boils down to wanting quality. Soap from Chicory Farm My family values quality. We may not always have a lot of stuff, but what we have will last a few generations. I understand craftsmanship, and expect to pay a little more for it. The long-term benefit of keeping the item makes the item worthwhile. Where I grew up in the Lancaster County region of Pennsylvania, people understood this concept: pay a little higher price for something that will last longer. We realized that paying a hundred dollars for a table which would last maybe five years was less valuable than pay

As one develops an artisan studio things come up. Unexpected things that blindside you, and whack you on the head, and make you reconsider everything you've done. Things like ... reality. Niagara Falls, January 2014 Reality is mean because it gives us facts like gravity. In the real world, if I jump off a cliff, I will fall and most likely hurt myself. In fantasy, I can fly. Reality limits us in ways we didn't expect, but those limitations can always be harnessed. I might not be able to run and jump off a cliff without falling, but with the knowledge of wingspan and winds, I can fly with hang-gliders and parachutes. Sometimes in the process of building a business or expanding a business, reality whacks us right between the eyes. It looks and feels like Niagara Falls in winter: cold, miserable, wet, and somehow mesmerizing. We know how reality limits us, but within those limitations, we also sometimes see the means to fly. Recently, I had reality brought forward. A