Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittaney Owen.
Brittaney, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I’ve always loved making things with my hands, and I’m pretty crafty. However, I’ve struggled to find the medium to work in that just felt right. I’ve tried cake decorating, making jewelry, polymer clay, and I even sewed and sold baby headbands after my daughter was born, but nothing ever stuck. I really stumbled upon weaving in a totally random way. My husband and I had recently bought our home, and I was looking for a woven wall hanging for our bedroom. After not having much luck finding one that I loved that wasn’t made with animals fibers (I am vegan), I decided to try to make one. My husband made my first loom with a canvas frame, nails, and a tutorial I found on Pinterest, and I immediately took to Youtube to teach myself. Through the process, I fell in love with weaving and couldn’t stop. At first, I just made them for fun, but after a few people asked me about selling them, I decided to take some proper classes. After that, my work really improved, and I just went for it.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do? Why? And what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I create fiber art by weaving all types of yarn by hand on a loom. My process begins with building a color palette with all different textures of fiber. I love working with chunky, unspun yarn called roving, which is definitely what you will see the most of in my pieces. I like to make pieces that you can’t help but touch.
One thing that sets my work apart from a lot of other fiber art you see is that it is very organic and wavy as opposed to more bold, geometric designs. I don’t draw out plans or patterns for my pieces, and I love just letting the yarn go where it wants. I love those more technical pieces, but I’m not very good at them.
In addition to my wavy pieces, I also make rainbow wall hangings. I’ve always loved rainbows, and because the cotton roving that I work with reminded me so much of clouds, I was inspirad to make them. They are by far my most popular piece. Rainbows are so great because they can mean something different to so many different people. It makes me so happy when people tell me that my rainbows bring them joy.
As far as what I hope people take away from my art, I think it’s just that: joy. I try my best to surround myself with things that make me happy, and if my art can do that for someone else, that’s just the best feeling ever and all I could ask for.
The stereotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Because I’m a stay at home mom, starting a new business was definitely a financial burden. I still haven’t gotten to a place where I can put as much money into my work as I’d like, and I’m definitely nowhere near it being an actual source of income. I am fortunate though because where I may not have a lot of money to invest, I do have time. So when I first started out, I was able to watch hours of free classes on Youtube. I started small with just a DIY loom and a few spools of yarn and just gradually built up my supplies. Each time I sell a piece it usually goes right back into the business because I have a minor obsession with buying new fiber to work with.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I have a website where my work is available for purchase and an Instagram where you can keep up with what I’m doing and any markets I’ll be at. I don’t have any scheduled right now, but I’ll definitely be at several when market season ramps back up in the spring,
You can also contact me about custom pieces on my website, Instagram, or just through email.
Contact Info:
- Website: brittaneyowen.com
- Email: brittaneydowen@gmail.com
- Instagram: brittaneyowen
Image Credit:
Amanda Sloane
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