More Gourds?

Yes, more gourds!  I have gourds on my mind, because I keep seeing pictures of new gourd creations in my head .  As you've probably been able to tell from my blog posts, I use a lot of different materials and techniques and am always experimenting.  The fun part is mixing it all up and combining techniques and materials that might not seem to go together.

I've been working with metal a lot lately--embossing and painting it.  I've incorporated it into collages, added wirework and beads and mixed it up with dyed papers.  Now I'm cooking up a gourd project using the metal...haven't quite got it worked out in my head yet, so for now I'll show you another gourd I made.

For awhile I was a purist and wouldn't obscure the beautiful, natural surface of the gourd.  My love of color finally won out, and I began experimenting with color and embellishments on gourds.  Since purple is my favorite color, I often use it in all of my artwork.  Here's my "Purple Passion" gourd...

The minute I put this gourd out for sale at a fair where I had a booth, it was snatched up by another purple lover.  I also love working with deep reds and maroons...like the color of merlot wine.  Here's "Ruby Glow"...

I guess other people like this color, too, because it also got snapped up as soon as I put it out for sale.

Well, that's it for now...I'm off to contemplate the next gourd with my metal embellishments!

Ciao for now,

Deborah

Gourd Crazy

I admit it readily--I'm gourd crazy.  Once bitten by gourds, there's no turning back.  And yes, I have hundreds of gourds in my house, my shed and in a storage unit.  At one point I even bought a small, used travel trailer and turned it into my gourd house.  The trailer was perfect for storing all my gourds in the many cupboards.  All the built in furniture had been removed, so I built work tables.  It was perfect!  Unfortunately, through many moves, the trailer didn't make it.  Happily the gourds did!

Many, many years ago I taught at the Basketry School in Seattle  They sold gourds.  I was intrigued by the organic, sensual shapes and bought a few.  I didn't have a clue how to work with gourds or what I'd make.  I stared at that first gourd for a long time.

I finally got up the courage to cut into the surface and start making something.  I figured the worst that could happen would be to ruin a gourd.  Having been a basket weaver for many years, I decided to use some of my gathered basketry materials with the gourd.

I was shocked at the result...

I still can't find the part of my brain where this creation came from, but I was totally delighted.  I thought, "Not bad for a first try!".  That was many gourds ago, and I'm still infected with "gourd fever"!

Stay tuned for more gourds,

Deborah

From the Peanut Gallery

My cat, Peanut, was becoming quite testy at being left out of this blog and decided to weasel his way in.  He figured that all my followers would be really tired of seeing pictures of my artwork and would love to look at him instead.

For an 8 1/2 pound cat, he's got a lot of ego and attitude!  He decided he'd hold court from one of his favorite spots...

I've never lived with a cat who loved boxes as much as Peanut does.  He's ever inventive with the same old box that contains a variety of toys for his pleasure.

And as if this pose wasn't enough, he decided to go all out and be irresistible...

Living with Peanut is never dull and always a new adventure.  Who needs a TV when you live with a cat??

Meow,

Deborah

Mutant Gourd??

OK, here's a bit of a weird one for you...years ago a neighbor of mine was quite intrigued watching me make art pieces using gourds. Being an "artsy-craftsy" person herself, she tended to save odd bits and pieces to make her own creations.

One day I was working away in my studio when she stopped by with a present.  She told me that the previous evening she had cooked a turban squash for dinner.  I'm sure you've seen these beautiful squashes in the fall, especially as people are gathering squash for Thanksgiving table arrangements.  Here's what they look like...

After everyone finished eating the squash my friend couldn't bear to throw the beautiful shell away.  She cleaned out the remaining meat from the inside and proceeded to bake the shell on a low heat.  After baking it for quite a while, it became hard and turned a lovely honey color.

My friend figured that she'd never get around to doing anything with it, so she proudly presented it to me, which of course I took as an artistic challenge.  So in honor of my friend, Charlotte, I created "Charlotte's Crown Jewels"...

And here's how the inside looks...

Yes, there's more of my crazy wire work...a gazillion hours, stitching in one bead at a time to create the Crown Jewels.  I love how this piece turned out and laugh every time I think of using a friend's dinner leftovers to create art...isn't that the ultimate Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose??

Happy Tuesday,

Deborah

Goddess Rattles

For those of you who love rattles and gourds, I'll share more of my special rattles.  Delving into my rather huge stash of gourds, I discovered a bag I'd forgotten about.  In the bag were a couple of dozen small gourds, about 4" long and quite curvaceous.  I decided that these gourds were small goddesses, waiting to be born.

So of course I decided to make rattles!  I couldn't just stop at one...

Can you tell that I was having fun??  I had to try out all kinds of things with these rattles.  Again, I beaded around the handles to unify the handles with the gourds.  It was a difficult decision to paint the gourds, as their surfaces were quite lovely with the natural markings that form during the drying process.  However, I really liked the results...

These rattles have beads on the end of the gourds and little trinkets dangling from the handles.  I'm particularly in love with the rattles that have the woodburned designs.  This is one of my very favorite ways to decorate gourds.  Take a look...

So now that I'm overrun with rattles, I'll probably sell some of them...that will leave room to make more rattles--imagine that!

Still happily rattled,

Deborah

Rattled!

I've been in love with rattles for eons!  I think part of the love affair has to do with my sensitivity to sounds and loving those that make me feel good.  A rattle can do that.  I found myself attracted to ceramic rattles when I'd be at street fairs and had to hold and shake each one.  I visited one artist's booth for several years, caressing and shaking the rattles before giving in and buying one. (I'm embarrassed to say that I can't remember the artist's name!)  It's a ceramic rabbit with a beautiful, subtle coloring and lots of surface carving to give it a personality.

My second rattle is a ceramic heart that is done in raku, with the magical colors of an oil slick in a puddle on a rainy day.

These lovely little rattles just nestle in the palm of your hand as if they were always meant to live there!

So...combining my addiction to gourds with my love of beading, it was just natural that I'd make a rattle using gourds.  I created my "Awakening the Rainbow" rattle from a gourd on which I drew woodburned designs.  The handle is a curvy branch, and then I proceeded to bead forever to cover a lot of the handle and unify it with the gourd.  I put feathers on for the finishing touch, and voila! the rattle was finished.

Here, you can see the detail on the gourd...

I was most pleased with this rattle, especially because it sounds good as well as looks and feels good.

So I couldn't stop at just one rainbow rattle...I had to create another.  This time instead of beading around the handle, I used rainbow yarn with a beaded fringe.  This added movement to  the delightful sound of the rattle.

Here's a closeup of the gourd detail...I used a Crown of Thorns gourd that looks like an amazing flower opening up...

OK - I think that's enough of rattles for now...more to come in the next post!

Stay tuned,

Deborah

"Lucy...I'm Hoooome!"

Yes, after almost a week away in Florida, I arrived home last Friday night.  This was a business trip, so it was a must.  The flights were grueling (flying isn't fun anymore!), West Palm Beach was very hot and very humid, and the palms trees and tropical plants were gorgeous!  The folks I was visiting were absolutely wonderful, which made the whole trip worthwhile.

After dumping mounds of dirty laundry, my creative juices were screaming at me to make something.  So I worked on a couple of pages in a friend's altered book, which is part of the activity for my monthly art group.

The theme of my friend's book is "Trees," so it was a delight to create some related pages that were inspiring to me.  I couldn't get the poem "Trees," by Joyce Kilmer out of my mind and centered my artwork around the poem.  If your school years were anything like mine, you had to memorize this poem in about the 3rd or 4th grade and then recite it in front of the class.

I created a 3-D effect by cutting out 2 groups of pages in the exact shape of the tree that I painted onto the pages on each side.  On the outer pages I wrote the poem...

On the inside of the middle, 3-D pages, I created a huge leaf tab on the tree trunk that says, "The Wishing Tree" on one side.  The other side of the leaf says, "Trees hold the promise of wishes coming true".  There are silver stars blooming all over the tree to give infinite wishes!

I was pleased with the results and so was my friend when I returned her book!  Now, on to a busy week at work!

See you soon,

Deborah

Out to Lunch!

Greetings, dear friends,

In honor of Labor Day, my blog is going to be Out to Lunch for this week and will return refreshed and renewed next Monday.

Hope you all have a fabulous week and wonderful adventures!

Ciao for now,

Deborah