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Gourd ArtI think it was 1990 when I first saw a gourd. It was being used as a canteen at an historical reenactment. I was taken by its beauty and functionality; its simplicity. This was during the same time I was in college studying photography. I had been forced to take art classes. I was terrified. I was a photographer; I didn't know how to draw! Even while I was continuing to study, I knew I wasn't going to be a photographer. I had found something I couldn't forget. I fell in love with paint, the brush and the simple process of taking a glob of paint, smearing it on a canvas and creating what I saw.These two separate experiences stayed in the back of my mind all the years I worked with Charlie in the shop. When heat exhaustion forced me to leave the shop I was faced with the horrible question, "What am I going to do?" I went to work for someone else (inside an air-conditioned building) where I found nothing but stress and misery. It was the fall of 2000 and again, that question stared me in the face. "What am I going to do?" Well, I did the only thing I really wanted to do; I painted. With no job and very little money, my mother was clearly worried. She ordered a box of gourds and had them shipped to me. I loved the shape of the gourds with their natural undulations and imperfections. "A perfect match for my painting", I thought. They are available at "Popo's Gallery" on South Austin Street in Rockport, Texas, "Too Chickie" on South Seventh Street in Port O'Connor, Texas and the "Roseate Spoonbill Gallery" and "Red Frog Graphics" on Main Street in Port Lavaca, Texas. I also take commissions. | |||
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click here to visit my Gourd Gallery |
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