Philosophy

I would like to tell you why many artists like me, who, have painted portraits and landscapes in oils on canvas, worked with acrylics, watercolors, and pen and ink drawings have turned to the art of gourd carving.

The gourd is a wonderful product of Nature and has been used by ancient cultures all around the world for bowls, dippers, baskets, water containers, musical instruments, and ornaments of art.

Most gourds are inedible fruit that dry into a hard shell vessel. Gourd's come in all sizes and grows in shapes of eggs, dippers, kettles, baskets, apples, canteens, cannon balls, bottles, and snakes, just to name a few. The gourd is so versatile it can be carved like wood, burned with wood- burning tools, painted in almost any paint medium such as acrylics, oils, water colors, wood stains, and dyes to name a few.

The gourd can be embellished with beads, precious stones, wire, leather, fibers, pine needles, or even left unpainted to show off its own natural color. The possibilities are endless. The gourd is truly a great canvas for the artist to create what ever his imagination can bring forth.

Many Artists have introduced the gourd into the craft world, but I want to introduce you to the gourd as a creation of Fine Art.