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Fauna Folkart - My Latest Work!


Photograph by Juliana Harris
Here I will show you my latest work. The projects that I undertake require, like anything we do, planning and effort. It usually takes me about 20+/- hours to complete a project from start to finish. In general I work with flat acrylic paint and finish with polyurethane, this is what I'm best at. But, also, I have dabbled in a little pyro-engraving and used hand-rubbed tung oil as a finish, this is a very nice finish. (Picture now available at the bottom of this page.)

At times ideas just come to me. At other times I have to work at it - sort of tempting the muse into telling me what to do. Or, at least give me a hint! The shape of the gourd is what guides how it will live out the remainder of it's "life". Sometimes gourds grow up to become birdhouses, sometimes rattles, sometimes lamps, and somtimes bowls. It all depends, really, on what the gourds are asking and want to be. Gourd artists almost always learn to "listen" to their gourds.

I love to paint. Painting is like an old friend, it's always there for me when I need it. The results don't always equal the plan. My hope is that what I do pleases the eye of the viewer.


This is a nightlight created by cutting out a windsurfer and wave image from the gourd. It is painted with acrylic paint and finished with Deft satin.


This is my contribution to the Gourdpatch Gourd Quilt project. The tile is a piece of gourd that is 4"x4". It is painted using acrylics. Click here to read more about the Gourdpatch Quilt


This gourd is a rainstick, the black snake is coiled around the gourd, he is eating an "egg" which is really a coyote gourd.


This little gourd is a music box that I made for the Gourd Artist Gathering exchange in Cherokee, North Carolina May 2003. These pictures were taken too hastily.


This is a small bowl that took me months to finish. I would start and do something, then I would hate it and put it down for weeks and pick it up again weeks later. I did this weird 'dance' 3 times before I acutally finished it. It has 4 ruby throat hummingbirds in different poses and 4 Japanese Kanji symbols. Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.



This lamp was made for my friend Jim, Principal Chief of the United Tribe of Shawnee Indians (note the gourd vine growing in the background). The sign below is from the tribes tribal store. There are a couple of other pictures of the lamp below.









This picture is my son cleaning out the inside of a gourd using a flint knapped gourd scraper, made by Mescalero Apache. This little piece of stone works great as you can see.



This is step 2 of this project, my first mask, being created for and exchange on the Gourd Patch. I've sketched on the design and have begun engraving out the patches on either side of the cobras flair.



"Ready to Strike"
This is the finished cobra, ready to strike. The part of the flair that was engraved was painted white. The raised portions, tan as seen in the picture, were left their natural gourd color, no stain, nor paint was used here. The rest of the cobra was completed using acrylic paint. While it is difficult to tell in this picture, the false eyes the cobra uses to distract it's victim are actually camoflaged eye holes for the mask. There are 2 braids of leather on either side of the head for hanging.





"Raining Fish"
Photograph by Juliana Harris






Photograph by Juliana Harris
"Raining Fish"
(close ups)

The rainstick that you see above was painted for a scuba diver. This was really a lot of fun to do. I was able to use a lot of different colors. The jelly fish was mostly done using opal leaf. This allows the jelly fish to glow and is not too "heavy".





Photograph by Robert Zayas, Jr.
"Bears and Butterfiles"

Bears and Butterfiles was created using a large bushel gourd, grown by me at my home in central Virginia. There are four bears on the ground or in the stream and there are three bear-shaped clouds in the sky. In addition there are many butterflies flitting around. The butterfiles are goldleaf. Also one of the bears seems to just have raided a honey cache and has angered the bees, the bees are also goldleaf. On the fallen tree rests a dragonfly, the dragonfly too is goldleaf.

This gourd's future is uncertain. It was originally created to be raffled off to raise money for the American Cancer Society. I've met a couple stumbling blocks (leagal) along the way to this end so I may just sell it and donate the money. Keep scrolling down to see other sides of the gourd and a picture of it with it's shade on. This gourd has been sold.




Photograph by Robert Zayas, Jr.



Photograph by Robert Zayas, Jr.




Photograph by Robert Zayas, Jr.




Photograph by Robert Zayas, Jr.

"Kokopeli Rainstick"

This is a rainstick that I made from a snake gourd purchased from Gourdgeous Farm. This is the first rainstick that I ever made. It was made for an exchange on the Gourdpatch e-mail list that I subscribe to. When I signed up for this exchange, "Musical Instrument Exchange" I wanted to challenge myself to do something that I had not done before, such is usually the case with these exchanges. The directions for making the rainstick came from the Gourd Artist Guild then click on the "Tutorials" link. The directions for making it were exceptional. It was alot of fun to do and when I took it to where I work, I instantly received 4 orders! I must get busy!! If you would like to hear what a gourd rainstick sounds like "click here".



Photograph by Juliana Harris
"Kokopeli Rainstick in Red"

This rainstick represent one of the orders I mentioned above that has been filled. My customer was delighted with the stick, it is now living in North Carolina.


Photograph by Robert Zayas, Jr.
Broadbilled Hummingbird

Photograph by Robert Zayas, Jr.
Broadbilled Hummingbird Entrance
This is a birdhouse that I made for a customer that wanted a hummingbird on her birdhouse. Yes, I know hummingbirds don't nest in cavaties. I don't think any birds that take up residence will care that a hummingbird is painted on it's home. Of course, now that I've delivered the birdhouse the new owner says that she has decided that she doesn't want to put it outdoors afterall. Now that she's seen it, she wants to keep it in the house! Okay, now to discuss the design. The other thing "wrong" here is that sunflowers are not on the list of the hummingbirds favorite flowers. What was I thinking? Well, I get inspiration from strange places. I was in the grocery store and I saw someone wearing a tee shirt that had, yes, hummingbirds and sunflowers. I liked the colors so much that I decided to borrow from the tee shirt and paint this birdhouse in a similar fashion.


Photograph by Robert Zayas, Jr.
Eastern Wild Turkey Strut

This is not new work, but it is new to this web page so I've placed it here. This was my first attempt at pyro-engraving. I used one of those cheap little wood burners like you buy for a kid. That was challenging in itself. The finish I used was hand-rubbed tung oil. I used 3 coats. More coats would produce a glossier finish as tung oil tends to build up glossieness with repeated coats. I was very pleased with this finish and highly recommend it for a natural gourd look. It takes time though. Tung oil takes longer to dry than polyurethane finishes. It took me 3 days to get the finish that you see. The handle is made from a braided Kudzu vine.



Ruffed Grouse Drumming

This is a clock that was made from a gourd that was cut from stem to bud-end. The gourd was dyed using Rit dye, burgandy. There are pine needles, also dyed with the same Rit dye, that are whipped around the edge using thin round leather. This gourd was crafted for the Gourd Patch Christmas 2001 exchange. I wanted to do something that my partner, Kathy Halleran, could enjoy and use all year round. I also wanted to challenge myself to do something a little different from my normal style. I picked this particular gourd because of the great stem it had. It can be hung on the wall from a piece of the same leather thread that holds the pine needles. And is sealed using high gloss polyurethane.

What was new? 1)I had never used pine needles before. 2) I also rarely use stains, and I had never used Rit before. Great color! Great learning experience.



Casablanca
Photograph by Rhoda Forbes




Casablanca (back side)
Photograph by Rhoda Forbes

This little gourd lamp was created for the Gourdpatch Classics Exchange. It now lives in Canada with Rhoda Forbes, who was kind enough to take these fabulous pictures. As much as I love color, the classic I drew for the exchange, Casablanca, presented me with an overwhelming challenge. The era of black and white film. I finally came up with this lamp. It was first stained with three coats of Minwax Pickled Oak #260 stain. I then sealed the stain with a couple of sprays of Deft satin finish. Next I sketched on a couple of cells from the film using a regular #2 pencil. One of Rick and Ilsa (Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman) in an embrace. The other of Sam, playing it (As Time Goes By). "You played if for her, now play it for me...play it Sam." The sketches were blended using a stump, actually a bamboo skewer. Once each sketch was completed I sealed it to keep from smudging using the Deft satin finish. Finally, to add a little nostalgia I scrounged around and found at a local film store an old 8mm film reel which I used for the base. Then I purchased three nuts from the hardware store, painted them black and sealed them with the Deft, these were glued as "feet" to the film reel to allow clearance for the cord.





Something is Fishy!
This little gourd rattle was created for an avid scuba diver who, in her own words, has "Gill Envy". The lady loves fish. There are 3 tropical fish in 2 schools on each side. I used opal leaf to give a scaly look to the individual fish and to add luminesence to the bubbles. The handle is wrapped with black suede which has leather lacing strapped around each end. The loop that allows the rattle to be hung for display is leather thread that has been braided.





My 2 Boys
These little mini gourds are my interpretation of my two boys. The one on the right is actually the younger and smaller in real life. He is dressed in hunting atire and is holding his rifle. The one on the left is the actually the older and larger of the two in real life. He is dressed in casual attire and is holding a shovel so that he can help me, his mother, in the garden.



New pictures will be coming here soon! Please come back for a visit!


The next project is already waiting in the "wings". I have a bunch of new orders, so new pictures will be coming as the projects are completed.




Fauna Folkart Page 1

Let me know what you think...

This sound byte is "Wildwood Flower" it was downloaded from "Blue Grass Midi Files"
Just a little sidebar - I grew up in a little bump in the road known as Wildwood, Virginia