After a long HOT day of yard work. My sweet husband was reclining in his chair, reading through the "nickel" news paper ( a free news paper filled with want ads ,garage sales and stuff) says to me, "Hey Hon, here is an add for some gourds." What a guy! So we called on the add, only to find out she was our neighbor down the road.We headed over to people's home to look at the home grown gourds. He was a sweet warm man, retired Fireman and she is a wonderful artist in her 70's and I'm thinking she could literally run circles around me!! Wonderful people. And wow the gourds!
As you can see in the above picture, this particular gourd was massive! My constant sidekick, Gabriel, wasn't amused by the strange object or having to sit and stay by it so I could take a picture. Not all of the gourds were this massive :) The ones I usually work with are much smaller.
These gourds are well dried but haven't been cleaned yet. LOVE the colors and patterns in these. The spots remind me of the leopard seals in my last post!
Gabriel's expression in this photo made me laugh! I think he thought, it was going to come to life. And it just may, in an artistic way!I learned this fun gourd art in an art class I took several years ago. The woman I took the class from is an amazing artist and teacher. Her enthusiasm was contagious and her encouragement put wind in your creative sails.
Half the fun was finding all the goodies,do-dahs and thingies to glue and attach to the gourds! We even went to several junk yards looking for metal shavings to old rusty wire and iron remnants.
Okay,here we go. The gourds are all cleaned and sanded.
Next, I drilled some holes to attach a stand and a base to the gourds. I use a strong 3 minute epoxy to glue them into place. (wearing gloves,eye protection and in a well ventilated area)
Next is a couple of coats of acrylic gesso. Now I have to wait for it to dry well.
The next thing I am going to add is pictured down below.Any guesses what this creature will be??
Take some time to breathe, have fun with some paint and be creative :)
Have a great week friends!!
It sounds like you are married to a great guy or He really loves your gourd art and wants you to do more. I love what you do with them and I can't wait to see the round one! You said to guess? A puff fish or....... I don't know.:)
ReplyDeleteHi Kim!
ReplyDeleteI've missed you :)
I like your new name and beautiful blog.Congratulations!
Yes, my husband keeps telling me, that when I am being artistic, I am a much happier person.(less tired and grumpy I guess? lol) I tend to get caught up in responsibilities and other things that need "I think" need to be done first. Which puts art work last on the list and then I am too tired to paint. He is trying to help me to change that :) It's hard to break old programming, but he is the best coach!
Kim you nailed it,punned intended.
I will create it's face and then I have hundreds of nails to glue on!! This will be a good challenge.
Can't wait to see your new creations on your new site! Thank You for your encouragements friend, Anni
I am soooo impressed with this beautiful artform that you do, Anni! And yes, you definitely NEED to put the art first. When you are that more content, fulfilled, creative person, the other stuff will get done with much less resentment. Do you hear "experience" talking here???? My husband is supportive as your is - and I truly would not be where I am today if not for him. Listen to yours, and get busy on these lovely gourds! (I was going to guess that it was to be a hedgehog!)
ReplyDeleteHello Joanne
ReplyDeleteSuch good advice you have given!! Why do we have such a tough time doing this? Your hubby sounds like a good man.
No..... it is going to be a puff fish, but NOW you have given me another great idea!! A hedgehog would be a fun creature to make :)
Thank you, I so appreciate your friendship Joanne!