Enhancing Nature's Creations
Introduction
How It Happens
Life has afforded me the opportunity to express my artistic abilities with different mediums like, paint, pencil, pastel, clay, wood, fabric, food and sound. For the last 2 decades gourds have taken center stage. Partly because I can do all of the above on a gourd, but also because gourds have brought me full circle. They were common and plentiful in my early life and it was during some of my tougher moments later in life they brought me comfort and strength helping me to return to basic understandings. I am deeply grateful for the humble little gourd.
Almost all of the gourds I use come from the southwest where the growing season is long with above average temperatures. I've sometimes used gourds from other places but these are the places that grow the best for what I do.
By the time the work gets underway with a particular gourd, it may not be what I "saw" at the farm. As I look at it and hold it in my hands I may get a different vision. It is like being talked to or guided. Although I may not see the finished piece at the onset of design, it unfolds as I work. Sometimes I'm surprised by what transpires. It is for this reason I might sit with a gourd for a while or work at home with a gourd instead of at my studio. The majority of my gourds come from Welburn's Gourd Farm in Fallbrook, CA or Wuertz Gourd Farm in Casa Grande, AZ. Both farms gown gourds that fit my specifications yet have their own unique qualities from each farm.
Natural and found objects are often incorporated in my work. Pine Needles from trees in different parts of the Sierras or across the country. Acorns from trees along the Mokelumne River I used to feed to some neighbor beavers, stones from various places and adventures, antlers found by my children near a pond in southern FL, leaves from places I want to remember, and things gifted or exchanged in a trade at an event have been incorporated into some of my finished pieces over the years. No 2 gourds are exactly the same and neither are the creations that are put on them. if you see something that sparks your interest or you have an idea for something, contact me. Wado (Thank you) for stopping by... Dondagohv (Until we meet again).
