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Artisan Open House June 5 & June 6
This is an annual event in Empress - a tiny hamlet that straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan border north of Medicine Hat. The Artisan Open House is traditionally staged the first weekend in June and is well worth the trip! This is real cowboy country...cactus, coyotes, even a few longhorns...but against all odds it's possible to make a living selling ART in Empress and the artists and their wares are featured below! It began more than a decade ago when Dean Francis of Sagebrush Studios sent invitations to family, friends and potential customers suggesting they make the drive to see what he had been up to since they saw him last. Next came Aaron Steinley and his handcrafted furniture joined the fray, and finally Pat Donaldson bought the old TD Bank and changed it into the craft gallery called That's Empressive. But the event is still growing. This year we'll have at least six (possibly seven) studios open, live musicians at three artist venues, and several places to stop for a snack. Paintings, pottery, jewelry, photography, stained glass, lampworked glass and quilting will be available for sale. If you're still in town on Sunday evening make a point of heading to what was once the Empress Catholic Church. Nowadays the building is owned by a retired aeonautical engineer who just happens to play the banjo and is a bluegrass fanatic. A few years ago he bought the building and decided that since he owned a church he should have a service. So every Sunday evening...all year long... he oversees a brief service 'upstairs' and then everybody heads downstairs for the Bluegrass and Gospel "jam" session". Bring an instrument...or not. Because Empress is a small village, you'll get fed as well. Here's what's open on that weekend... studio maps are available when you get to town. If you're coming a long distance, plan on staying at the Forksview Apartment Motel or at the campground. That's Empressive!
Gallery of Canadian Crafts Because of it's remote location, That's Empressive! built a small restaurant into the gallery and is open seven days a week from 6 in the morning 'til 9 at night....all year long! They serve soup and sandwiches any day of the week and have a Sunday Brunch from 10am - 2 pm from May until the end of October. Sagebrush StudiosHome of Painter Dean Francis and Potter Fran Francis
Over the years Dean and Fran have moved three churches onto their acreage and have spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours restoring and refurbishing them to house their art and making it available to the public from May to the middle of September....except for a brief period in July when you can find them at the Calgary Stampede. The first building they renovated was the Mantario Gallery, formerly the United Church in Mantario, Saskatchewan. It was built in 1950 and moved to it's present location fifty years later. The restoration work took more than a year and it was opened as a seasonal gallery in June, 2001. That's it up above.
The third bulding, the Mendham Gallery (on the left), was formerly St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Mendham, Saskatchewan . Built in 1916 it served it's congregation well, until the nature of farming changed and villagers had to move to larger population centres to find work. Although the building was moved in March 2005, at the same time as the Pinkham United Church, it took many more years of loving restoration work before it opened as a seasonal gallery in May 2009. Even the choir loft is open and is hung with Dean's paintings.
They've xeriscaped their yard by transplanting hundreds (thousands?) of prairie plants from other parts of their land. Sagebrush, buffalo berries, prairie grasses and drought tolerant trees now grow in ribbons around and about the new galleries. If that wasn't enough they've incorporated water features that have been edged with tons and tons of rock that has been hauled from who knows where and laid in place with gresat care and attention to size, texture and colour.
Knarls 'n Knots
Finely Handcrafted Furniture by Aaron Steinley One-of-a-Kind chairs hand carved from old Manchurian elms, tables and occasional furniture incorporating antlers or ancient buffalo bones harvested from the prairie and bent-willow chairs built from coppiced willows that grow along the banks of the Red Deer River. Farmer/artist Aaron Steinley began making bent will chairs for his own use but family and friends leaned heavily on his good nature until he found himself furnishing the patios, decks and lawns of all his neighbours. Aaron and his wife Lori work from a funky litle shop on Main Street where you can buy the furniture or an array of other Alberta crafts. When seeding is done you can ususally find Aaron working in the backroom of the store surrounded by peeled logs, unpeeled logs, piles of willow branches and shelves full of antlers or buffalo bones that he's picked up while farming his land. He often uses the latter to embellish his one-of-a-kind furniture.
The log or piece of wood he works on is held in place by the surface of the bench itself and a couple of levers that are operated by foot pedals. When he pushes on the pedals a couple of eccentrics move the brace into position so that it firmly holds the log in place while he peels it or carves a decoration. Handy.
Garden Hideaway
This is one of our 'temporary' artisan studios Saturday from 9am - 6 pm and Sunday from 10 am - 6 pm Once a year our local quilter, Bev Farnden, cleans out her garden shed/greenhouse and puts her quilts up for sale and at the same time invites her family to participate in our annual Artisan Open House. Daughter Laura O'Conner displays her photographs, Bev's sister markets her handbuilt lampworked beads and her brother-in-law shows off his stained glass ornaments. You'll see the studio on your right if you enter town along Main Street...but don't worry...the Garden Hideaway is on the map whichis available at any of our venues.
Panorama PhotographyOur second 'temporary' artist will only be available Saturday June 5th 9am - 6 pm 
Forty years ago George McWilliams made panoramic photos with a second hand Russian camera that mechanically assembled an image as it click, click, clicked its way from one end of the 180 degree view to the other. Marriage and seven children necessitated a long hiatus but he says, "When several factors converged - the evolution of digital camera technology, the development of ink jet printers that could output a product that won't fade in 100 years, and the creation of software that creates seamless panoramas with superb resolution and the kids grew up - I sprang into existence." In preparation for impending retirement the McWilliams bought a house in Empress and have embraced the concept that "Empress has Artisans". They've set up a gallery in the living room of their Centre Street home and will be open on both Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6 pm. D-Ware Jewelry
With more than 15 years of bead and wire related hobbies, Diana Bingham has evolved her crafting passion into the fine art of wire wrap jewelry. Her company, D-Ware was established in 2009 as a full-time home-based jewelry design business located in Empress. 
Whether it be for yourself, or someone special, D-Ware provides individual feminine expression, through hand-crafted adornment. Saturday from 9am - 6 pm and Sunday from 10 am - 6 pm
Jeff Bingham - Prairie PhotographerSaturday from 9am - 6 pm and Sunday from 10 am - 6 pm 
At a young age Jeff Bingham developed a life-long love and respect for our natural world and its’ history. At the age of 17 he began photographing fascinating images of Southern Alberta landscapes and wildlife. 
Focusing on the Red Deer River Valley for more than 10 years, Jeff’s collection of photographs captures the simplest most everyday subjects and transforms them into elegant, breathtaking images. His unique perspective and gifted photographer’s eye has produced images of a natural beauty only found in Southern Alberta.
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Sagebrush Studios is a destination in itself. Painter Dean Francis is inspired by the rolling landscape that stretches out from his studio as far as the eye can see. His wife Fran builds non-functional pottery inspired by the colours of the earth or the texture of stones and fossils she finds in the hills that frame the South Saskatchewan River.
The second building to open was the Pinkham Studio. It was formerly the United Church and Town Hall in Pinkham, Saskatchewan. It and the former St. Anthony's Catholic Church from Mendham were moved onto the Sagebrush property in 2005 after much ado coordinating schedules with the mover. The Pinkham church was restored and opened as a working artist's studio in May 2006.
The couple doesn't know when to stop. 
If you visit the store, ask to see Aaron's work bench. It's a replica of one he saw in a museum.