Gourducational Seminar

by

Gourds by Jeanie
Jeanie Dixon

for

The Washington Desert Sagebrushers

Local chapter of the National Society of Tole and Decorative Painters

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On Saturday, July 10, 1999, The Washington Desert Sagebrushers met at the home of Betty Held. Betty is the president of our local chapter of the National Society of Tole and Decorative Painters.  The day was sunny and hot  100° F. The day's agenda: gourd class, business meeting, potluck and swimming.

The high temperatures didn't wilt anyone's enthusiasm. Everyone came to learn how to use the gourd in their artistic creations. This was the first gourd class I had ever given. I was really nervous. Nervousness soon soon gave way to the fun and interest shown by all who attended.

The Giant Bushel and the Mini-Bottle Gourd

Center stage was taken by Harry Hurley's Giant Bushel Gourd and it's contrasting mini-bottle gourd. The mini bottle is barely visible. It sits just in front of the giant on the diving board. The ladies were quite impressed with the massiveness of the giant. They had seen the bottle gourds but nothing quite like the Giant Bushel. There was concern about the giant maybe falling into the pool. I assured them that the gourd was quite buoyant. It would just be a different kind of beach ball.

Left to Right: Jeanie (half hidden), Kirston, BJ, Ruth, Pat, Mary, Diana and Betty

All of us settled in for a fun day of sharing and learning.
I started with a brief history of how I became interested gourds and Tole painting.

Lt. to Rt.: Jeanie, Kirsten, BJ, Pat (foreground), Ruth , Mary

Spring of 1994, I had purchased a package of gourd seeds while shopping for flower seeds. From a childhood memory, I also purchased a package of gourd seeds. My mom had a dipper gourd. Mom never did anything with the gourd, I just remember her showing it off to her friends.  The gourd seeds were started in trays along with the flower seeds. The poor plants were quite neglected until I found a nature craft book in the library. It had many pages of gourd creations. From that moment on, the surviving gourd plants received lots of attention.

In the Fall, my daughter and I took a series of beginner painting classes. As soon as my gourd crop dried, we started painting on the gourds. Gourds have been my chosen palette from that time on.

Flat and symmetrical gourds.

Gourds grown in our garden are with the artist and working lady in mind. The gourds sits flat. If a gallery cannot accommodate a hanging gourd, it can be displayed on any flat shelf or table. At home, the gourd can be sat aside when it is time to toss in a load of wash or run an errand. There is little worry of the freshly painted design being ruined by a rolling gourd. 

Most of our gourds are free of insect holes. This minimizes the need to fill holes and repair damage caused by bugs.

Gourds For All Seasons by Sue Hollon

Tole and Decorative Painters are always looking for the latest out in books and designs. What better time to share the newest book out on the market,  Sue Hollon's "Gourds For All Seasons". Sue Hollon has several painting packets which can be easily adapted to the gourd.

I will have the opportunity to paint with Sue this month. I shared my excitement, with the group, about my upcoming trip to meet Ginger Hammond, owner of Creative Corner. Ginger features Sue Hollon on her web site. Sue is also the instructor for Creative Corner.  Most of the   ladies in the group, have attended national conventions. They have painted with some of the finest artists in the industry. This will be my first away from home. The ladies were excited for me. They asked that I bring back a few copies of "Gourds For All Seasons". They also want me to bring back a few copies of Sue's newest book if it is available.

A great artist's work is ageless!!!
Tole and Decorative Artist, Phyllis Tilford was another hit with the Desert Sagebrushers. A Tole Mill Christmas" and Phyllis' gourd pattern packets were oo'd and ah'd. Fortunately for me, I still had the ordering list for all the packets.

Other Tole and Decorative books shared

More Tole Mill Favorites by Phyllis Tilford
Crafty Gourds by Julie McGuffee
Simply Gourd-geous by Chris Stokes
Beginning Gourd Crafting and Resource Guide by the California Gourd Society
A Step By Step Guide to Gourd Craft by Tracey & John Van Tol- The Australian Gourd Father

*Australian Country Craft & Decor Yearbook
* Sydney NSW - Folk Art & Decorative Projects Magazine

  *gifts from Wendy Stayner, The Pumpkin Lady

The Complete Book of Gourdcraft  by Ginger Summit & Jim Widess
Gourds In Your Garden by Ginger Summit

No gourd class would be complete without sharing the books by Ginger Summit and Jim Widess. I call the these two books  "The Gourd Books of the 90s".

BJ, the lady in red, bought my large Indonesian Bottle Gourd.  I had purchased the gourd from Glen Burkhalter a couple of years ago.Glen's Indonesian Bottles are shown hanging in the arbor in  "The Complete Book of Gourd Craft". BJ will be designing a lighthouse with her new found treasure. She is excited!!!

Gourd books shared with the group
The Gourd Book by Charles Heiser, Jr.
Gourd Craft by Carolyn Mordecai
Crafts From the Gourd Patch by Mary Wojeck

Newsletters from the Gourd Chapters all over the USA

Gourd Chapter newsletters were big hit.
Everyone was surprised at how many chapters there are in the US.

More OOhs and Ahhs over the pictures of the gourd art displayed in the newsletters.

There was a question and answer session on gourd preparation for Tole and Decorative painting. Time was nearing for lunch and our business meeting. We really needed a break. We had talked gourds non-stop for 2 hours. It was great!!!
Now was also a good time to get the gourds soaking in the bath water. They would be ready for us to wash after our lunch and meeting.

Now girls, I'm just checking the temperature of the water ....
Don't want to these babies to catch a chill !!!

Now it was time to get down to some serious gourd soaking.
We needed a lid and a heavy rock to hold the gourds under the water. Betty had both, close at hand.

Lunch Break &  Meeting

Even after a long soaking, scrubbing gourds felt too much like work.

Betty suggested that we put the gourds in the dishwasher. "That would work wouldn't it?"  I have heard of some gourd folks doing this but I had never tried it.We were all game for this idea. So, off to the kitchen we went. :-)

The hot wash and steam from the dishwasher certainly made the gourd washing a lot easier.
But... there was still some work required to remove the stubborn gourd skin.

The day started at 9:00AM and ended around 5:00PM. The day was fun, educational and sharing.
Gourds by Jeanie

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