Sculptures & pendants,
relief carved & painted
home-grown gourds
My work literally and figuratively begins as a seed. I combine my love of art and gardening by growing gourds and using them as my art medium. The three-dimensional form of the gourd, its texture and its history, along with creating art from a material created by nature, inspires me.
Historians believe that gourds were the first cultivated plants to span the globe. They played an essential role in the social and cultural evolution of humankind. Gourds were, and in some cultures still are, most commonly used as containers to hold food, utensils in daily life, musical instruments and in ceremonial rituals. Working on gourds evokes a sense of bridging the past and the present by taking a material rich in history and moving it forward with contemporary design.
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Acanthus
Once dried and properly prepared, hard-shell gourds have a texture and look of wood. Very large bushel gourds, my preferred variety of gourd, may take as long as a year to dry completely. This gives me a lot of time to contemplate the gourd and indulge my imagination. The shape and thickness of the gourd help me determine the carving techniques to use. To create depth and vibrancy, I use many layers of colored glazes.
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Illuminated Forest
A background in textile design influences my work today. As a textile designer, I discovered that many of the patterns I used for fabric were fashioned after the fractal patterns repeated throughout nature. This continues to inspire my work with gourds and serves as reminder to me of our connection to everything in the universe. May my interpretations of the art in nature spark your own prowess to observe and imagine.
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