Gourd ArtworkBefore wood, I began carving on gourds since my wife, Kathy, who is an accomplished gourd artist herself, encouraged me years ago to try gourds as an artistic medium. While there are many species of gourds, the ones used for artwork are "hard-shelled" gourds, which grow on a vine (like all gourds and pumpkins) but when dried, develop a hard skin much like wood. Once dry, the inside seed-bed is removed, resulting in a hollow gourd vessel; the wall of the vessel can then be decorated, stained and/or carved in a variety of creative ways. Over her career, Kathy developed a unique and beautiful style of surface embellishment by applying handmade paper to the gourd, followed by woodburning to achieve a stained glass-like appearance. It did not take us long to start a collaboration with gourds featuring her paper applique style with my carving, creating what we believe are artwork vessels that are truly unique. Gourds are a very forgiving medium for carving, being relatively soft and having little grain structure. Thus, gourd carving is, relative to wood, fast and easy, and the carved surface can be stained using a variety of wood dyes and pigments. As a result, I often use gourds to try out new and different styles of carving, including adding color enhancements to achieve interest and variety. Like my wood pieces, I often feature fossils or polished stone cabochons as central elements in my carvings (see "Seascape" and "Vortex #2" as examples), and I enjoy playing with various textures as well (see "The Beauty Within").. Kathy finishes each piece by applying her paper applique style to the surrounding (non-carved) surface, bringing in rich colors and textures that sets off each carving beautifully. Occasionally, we bring in carved wood, copper and bead elements as well (see "Waterfall").
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