Three cleaned gourds. 

What a difference cleaning makes. The before and after. It's a lot like scrubbing a burnt pot. 

P.S. gourds

Thanks to my boyfriend Guy for taking me on this wonderful journey. If you want to read it in order scroll down a bit and start at the bottom.

Now I'll have plenty of gourd seeds to try to grow my own. A gourd takes a full year to grow. Visiting the gourd farm would be a great family outing or school field trip. 

Hanging gourds on the grounds of Wellburn Gourd Farm. They also do mail order if you don't want to take 16 miles of winding round near Temecula to pick out your own. Prices for most gourds are by diameter. Snake gourds are $2.00 per foot. See more details at www.welburngourdfarm.com.  

This one is called a canteen gourd and is actually used for making canteens, but can also be used for bowls.  

These gourds will keep me busy for awhile. I have to scrub off all the black skin and mold to get to the pretty part underneath. 

Rocky inspects the new purchase. 

I call this one Corny Girl. 

The two biggest ones I brought home. The longer one is called a snake gourd.  

My boyfriend looks at gourds for his own projects.  

A beautiful fairy gourd on display in their exhibit room. 

Here I am at the gourd farm trying hard not to get in over my head by adopting too many homeless gourds. 

Welburn Gourd Farms

Today we visited the Welburn Gourd Fields near Temecula CA. They grow organic hard shell gourds for artists, craftsmen, and musicians. www.welburngourdfarm.com
I've been wanting to do gourd art for years and here was my big chance, so I came home with $70. worth of gourds. Here are some of the photos I took.

These are the first 2 fairies I finished. I hope to make 2 more today. 

Close up 

fairy with pear 

Fairy art diorama with apple. 

Fairy Diorama 

the Wee Folk

I've been working on four forest scene dioramas. First I had to get some boards cut. Then I spray painted them green and gold and scrumbled the surface. Then I took elements from a faux fruit potpourri bag I purchased and a branch and wired them to each board, along with some mossy stuff. I'm making a fairy doll to go on each one. I have to paint the faces on the wooden beads next. The heady smell of the potpourri mixed with the smell of fresh spray paint is giving me a headache, even though I'm working outside. One thing I didn't buy, because I already had it, was embroidery floss. Of course that means I can't find it today. So I've had to work with aqua and burgundy, the only two colors I could find this morning. So after I rest my eyes a bit I need to look for the rest of the embroidery thread.
To be cont.

Two mermaids I carved on eraser stamps. The yellow paper is one I did before 2002 and the other one I made tonight. 

Another view of the top. The paper box came from Walmart. 

Poetry side. 

Journal side of the box.  

A word morgue is a collection of words a writer may draw from to inspire new thoughts and forms. 

Word Morgue 

Current projects

1. I am almost done with my 4th crocheted teddy bear in cool colors.
2. I am trying to finish a knitted tubular Dr. Who style scarf I started so long ago I can't remember.
3. Finishing up my holiday cards.
4. Imagination door. This is a tiny door that doesn't open. You just imagine what is happening on the other side. I need to get to a hardware store and buy 2 hinges and a doorknob.
5. Poetry chapbook. I need to write more poetry for it. This is going to take a month probably, since I'm doing the artwork too.
6. Calendar. I'm toying with making my own calendar with my art on each month. My daughter made one a few years ago and it was a big hit. Only I should have spent more time on it because it's almost Jan. already. I set it on the back burner because I thought I'd be traveling all next week, but now I'm staying home so hmmmmmm...maybe I should rethink this.
7. Paintings. I always have paintings to finish.
8. Needlepoint. I have this hand-painted dragon needlepoint that is taking me 300 years. I'm about 3/4 done with it.
9. Beaded wine glasses. I need to get to the .99 Store and buy the glasses before I can move forward.
10. Belly Dance face veil. I made a black and glittery green face veil and I'd like to make more costume pieces to go with it.

What will 2005 hold?

Most of my art time lately has been spent crocheting teddy bears. I finished three so far and added them to my HOOKERY blog. Then I've been trying to finish a very long 'Dr. Who' scarf that's been stuck in a box.
Some things that I thought would pull in a decent income didn't, so come Jan. I have to start looking for more predictable employment (cringe). No point looking until after Jan. 5...as everyone is in holiday zombie land. And I really don't want to start a new job until after my birthday on Jan. 3. One shouldn't have to spend one's birthday worrying about interviews.

Throughout time, artists have learned to become better artists by carefully recreating the work of other respected artists. In that same vein, this drawing was copied from a book by Walter Crane. 

Pitchers from the top view. 

Two pitchers. The handle and spout are hand pulled, and the rest is made on the wheel.