Cobblestone Museum open house will feature old-time artisans on Sept. 10

Photos courtesy of Cobblestone Museum: Georgia Thomas of Medina churns butter in Farmer’s Hall at the Cobblestone Museum. She will exhibit the process and serve guests a taste of home-made butter on bread during the open house on Saturday.

George Borrelli will demonstrate blacksmithing at the Cobblestone Museum’s Blacksmith Shop during their fall open house.

CHILDS – As a reminder to the public to plan on attending the Cobblestone Museum’s Fall Open House Saturday, director Doug Farley and assistant director Sue Bonafini have shared information on three artisans who will demonstrate their crafts.

David Damico has been a volunteer at the Cobblestone Museum’s Print Shop for seven seasons. He is a graphic media instructor at Finger Lakes Technical and career Center in Stanley. He has worked as a historic printer at the Genesee Country Village and Museum for eight years and has a printing studio at his home, named Gardant Press.

His letterpress work has been published numerous times in an annual magazine called “It’s a Small World.,” published in Wivenhoe, Essex, England. Most recently he has been asked to be on the art grant review panel at GO Art! in Batavia.

Georgia Thomas is a Medina native, member of the Cobblestone Society and Medina Historical Society and an avid lover of history. She has offered to make butter with Cobblestone visitors during the open house. She will also provide bread so the guests can sample their own work.

George Borrelli has done several demonstrations for the Cobblestone Museum over the years and really enjoyed the experience, he said. For several years, he did art shows in the general area, having exhibited at the Clothesline at MAG, the Roycroft in East Aurora and 100 American Craftsmen at the Kenan Center in Lockport.

He has been blacksmithing for more than 30 years, starting with traditional ornamental work, garden gates, wine cellar gates and fireplace sets. For the past 20 years he has done more contemporary work, which can be seen on his Facebook page “borrellihardware.” He will be demonstrating in the Cobblestone Museum’s Vagg Blacksmith Shop.

Judith Bromley, who works professionally with horses, will be demonstrating in the Cobblestone Museum’s Harness Shop.

“Horses have always been a huge part of my life, starting on the farm as a child when my grandfather and father used horses in the tobacco fields and hay fields to pull farm equipment,” Bromley said. “I have always had and still do have horses to ride, done competitions and fox hunting.”

Bromley is a certified equine Trigger Point Myo therapist and qualified master saddle fitter with the Registered Society of Master Saddlers UK. Owner of TruFit Saddle, she is also a bridle fitter, bench and on-site flocker of saddles and is familiar with the shoemaking process and artifacts displayed in the Harness Shop, as a graduate of Sheridan College of Oakville, Ontario, Canada in fashion design/pattern making.

The Cobblestone Museum’s Fall Open House will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a toe-tapping concert at 3 p.m. by Fiddlers of the Genesee. A pulled pork dinner will be available from 11 a.m. until sold out. Presold meals may be ordered by calling the Museum at (585) 590-9013 or on their website at CobblestoneMuseum.org.

David Damico works in the Cobblestone Museum’s Print Shop. A volunteer at the Cobblestone Museum’s Print Shop for seven seasons, he is a graphic media instructor at Finger Lakes Technical and Career Center in Stanley. His is one of the artisans who will be on site during the Cobblestone Museum’s open house Saturday.