"Running of the Gourds" at Wuertz Farm's Annual Gourd Festival

This was my first gourd festival at Wuertz Farm in Casa Grande, Arizona, and even though I mostly sat and stood with the gourds rather than run, I enjoyed this fun and quirky show. Much like gourd people, the show was down to earth and a little kooky!

The festival was held at the Pinal County Fairgrounds and is about 10 miles from the city of Casa Grande. Lots of agriculture and cows and although it was sunny and pleasant during the day, the early mornings and evenings were rather cold. We camped right next to the event in our trusty pop-up trailer, "Melvin."

The festival started on Friday and became very crowded. Almost half of my gourds went off to new places. One piece in particular, Gourd Circus, was a little tough to let go of, but the new owners assured me it was going to a good home.

As I walked around the show I saw some familiar faces from the Welburn Gourd Festival like JC Nan and his wife from New Mexico who make Apache inspired dolls and ornaments. I also met Kristin Johnson and her husband from Kansas. She does intricate burning, or pyrography, and is also an art teacher like myself so we had a very nice chat. I was surprised to see a few vendors from Alabama. One couple from Lacey Springs, Alabama, hand trains gourds while they are growing to make knots and twists.

One of the nice things about the festival was the musical entertainment. We camped right next to a family that plays Bluegrass music. Thursday evening they were outside practicing and the music was so nice and calming after such an exhausting day of traveling, setting up camp, and setting up for the show.

This family band is called Just 4 Mama. Really fun and happy music and a super nice family to boot!

I met Tony Redhouse and caught his inspiring and peaceful show. I just happened to take my break and heard him talking about letting go of expectations and that's exactly what I needed to hear because, for me, Saturday's sales slowed down to a pace of molasses on crutches. (Don't feel bad for me--Friday and Sunday made up for it!)

Even though it was quite an effort to get it all together and get out of the house, I'm glad I came! It was interesting talkin' gourd with other vendors and the folks who wandered into my space were very kind and supportive. I met many a snow bird, some locals, and a few that were being introduced to gourds for the first time.

It was also very enjoyable having quiet dinners with my husband (my roadie) and just getting out of the normal routine of daily life. Back at home my girls were enjoying some freedom and spending time with their grandma so everyone was a winner!

As we packed up and started to head home, I was finally able to relax and enjoy the Saguaro-spotted landscape. We stopped at Silly Al's Pizza in Quartzsite and had the best veggie pizza and were able to catch the last ten minutes of the Superbowl.

Thank you Wuertz Farm for a worthwhile and unique experience!

One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish...

Recently I finished this Golden Trout gourd as a birthday gift for my brother-in-law commissioned by my sister-in-law. It started out with just a few fish and slowly kept breeding!

Using One's Gifts to Help

If you are ever in the mood for a touching and inspiring documentary, I highly recommend "Waste Land" (2010). It follows artist Vik Muniz as he travels to the largest garbage dump in Rio de Janeiro and meets some interesting "catadores" or pickers; the people who toil in the dump collecting recyclable materials.

As he meets these people you get involved in each of their stories. I was also intrigued by Muniz' creative process and how he went about creating these beautiful, large-scale, trash mosaic photographs. I probably shouldn't say any more...let's just say he uses his art to help each individual as well as the community of pickers.

I was telling my class of 7th graders about this film and you never really know what gets through to them (I have a 7th grader of my own at home), but when it came time for their school to do their annual pumpkin auction, many of the students couldn't wait to get their pumpkins and begin to decorate them. As a class we took one class period and each student was given a little gourd, a black Sharpie marker, black and white paint, some odds and ends and asked to create some type of unusual face.

It was a rather chaotic class but they came up with some great little faces which I placed on a wreath. Photos of some of the creative pumpkins can be seen in the OC Register. The great part about this auction is that the money earned will go to a homeless shelter and a college fund for two Nairobi students...everybody wins...and that's the greatest treat anyone could ask for at Halloween.

Sparrows in Psyche

About a year ago I started making little gourd sparrows. I've never been a "bird" person, but it seems they have been in my awareness...maybe because I've been working outside more often and therefore have an opportunity to see them???

Maybe birds are "in" now as represented in this clip from a quirky new tv show called Portlandia.

Recently my family and I had the opportunity to help a baby bird who was hobbling along in a parking lot. Daughter #1 spotted it and daughter #2 immediately wanted to help. It was so tiny and didn't look very healthy, but I know sometimes the parents are close by so we continued on our way.

Well, we did end up bringing it home and a neighbor walked by who just happens to work at a veterinary hospital and she told us we could get baby bird formula which we promptly purchased at Petsmart. This took a little bit of effort but Birdie finally took the food with an eyedropper.

After a few days of emails and phone calls I was directed to Terry who rehabilitates house sparrows. We packed Birdie up in it's shredded paper nest and shoe box and got on the road!

It has been more than five weeks since we found Birdie and I am happy to report that she (yes, turns out she is a girl) is full grown, doing well, and is about to be released.

Daughter #2 and I had the opportunity to go visit her. Birdie still had that alert but calm sweetness to her. (Like I said before, I've never been a bird person, but this one is special!)

A huge bouquet of gratitude to Terry and all animal rescuers and rehabilitators--thank you.

Fantastic Festival!

This was my third and final Gourd Festival and with each experience I've met different people and learned little interesting tidbits of information just from short exchanges of dialogue. One thing that has been a constant is the incredibly supportive crowd that always leaves me with something, even if it's just a smile or a thumbs up.

This was not only a gourd show but a camping weekend for my family. We loaded up "Melvin" (our pop-up trailer) and despite having a list if things to bring, we failed to look at the list and forgot towels and my sleeping bag. Forgetting things always seems to happen, but the nice thing about camping was spending time with my family. I don't know if it was the change in scenery or the lack of electronic media, but we had a nice time reconnecting. I couldn't do this without the hard work of my "crew"; don't worry, they were compensated with food after the festival at a great pizza place called New York Pizza and Bagel in Corona.

Saturday morning people came in waves--lots of pictures--lots of questions and I sold the most pieces during this time frame including my Frida Mosaic. I was pretty surprised she went so quickly. I did feel a slight pang of sadness as I was wrapping her up, but I'm glad she will go to an admiring Frida fan like myself.

Former customers came by to say Hi and some bought a new piece. I spoke to familiar gourd faces I see from time to time at these events; Dean was walking around with a beautiful yucca didgeridoo--still can't believe how long of a breath he can take! I also had a special visit from my brother and sister-in-law and our friends who made the long and winding drive to say Hello.

Despite all of the packing and unpacking, forgetting things, constant smooth jazz on a loop, a zillion trips to the port-o-potties (#6 was my favorite!), and needing a good nap, it was ALL GOOD! The Welburn Gourd Festival has been kind to me and I will miss such a pleasant venue.

Below is a short little video taken by my daughter.

Gourds in Strange Places

I recently saw an interesting exhibit called "Art in The Streets" at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (Los Angeles). If I were a decade or two younger, male, and into spray paint, you probably wouldn't question me writing about this subject, however, I spied with my little eye...some gourds!

The artists are twins from Brazil called Os Gemeos (The Twins). This particular piece combined drums, electric guitars, speaker "heads", small boxed dioramas, and yes, gourd heads. I apologize for the quality of these pictures, but I was unable to use my flash. You can see better pictures on the Os Gemeos blog; scroll down to the May 3, 2011 entry.

Old Portraits/New Hairdos

Most days I am surrounded by gourds--don't get me wrong, they are a fun and crazy bunch, but it is nice to do something a little different.

I will be participating in Fullerton's Art Walk this Friday May 6th at Salon 138/40 Lashes. Since it is a hair salon I wanted to do something about hair and use these old school trays that have been gathering dust. I love portraits, so I decided to take some of my favorites and give them a hairstyle that they might have worn if living in a different era.

After centuries with her hair down, the Mona Lisa (painted by Leonardo da Vinci) might enjoy an updo.

Pablo Picasso was a genius in the art world and was still alive when the pompadour was around, but unfortunately he had already gone bald.

"Business in the front, party in the back." Vincent VanGogh was a brilliant but awkward painter who seemed to live between fits of madness and lucidity.

Frida was a rebel who did many shocking things in her lifetime and I think if she were living now, a mohawk would have suited her just fine!