Viva La Primavera

Springtime is always an inspiring and motivating time for me. Yes I know that I am in Southern California where a change of season isn't that dramatic as in other places, but I think of it more as an internal thing.

I realize that I don't "blog" very often and perhaps it isn't the most exciting of reads, but for those few who happen to find me, here is an update of what I've been working on. The next show my gourds and I will be is The 14th Annual Gourd Festival in Fallbrook, California this June: http://www.gourdfestival.com/

Last year was the first time I participated in this show and found the atmosphere to be very pleasant, down to earth, and I felt surrounded by kindred spirits. I met Dean at that show (I mentioned him in an earlier post) and he suggested that I do a Passion Flower, so that is what I'm working on now in addition to my usual Trumpet Vine carved gourd.

I'm also working on some masks. Since I did Brown Beauty, the subject of my last entry, I thought I might do some more equids. There is also an Aztec/Mayan inspired mask that I'm debating what colors (or not) to use. I'm almost finished with an African antelope called a Gemsbok. I included a picture of all of the masks...some completed last fall and some I've had for a while.

Don't get me wrong, I love gourds, but one can not live on gourds alone. Every time I go into my garage I usually see a pile of stacked trays next to the water heater. About a year ago a friend told me about some food trays that were for the taking in the workroom of my kids' school. She took some and I took a bunch and I thought I could paint something (anything) on them. Well, there they've sat until recently...could it be the Spring wind blowing my creative self off the couch?

For inspiration I looked no further than my vegetable drawer in the refrigerator. I have more ideas and will get going on these trays. I've gotten so used to painting on a curved surface than working on a flat space seems odd.

One more thing...you've probably noticed that my blog includes music in the title. So far all I've had representing music is a goofy song called The Bunco Song, but I hope to put out a 9 or 10 song CD next month called Perfect Moment. It will probably be distributed through CD Baby and eventually be available on iTunes. One song on the CD (I almost said album...have I dated myself?) is called Oh Gourd.

Well, I'm all blogged out...happy Spring everybody.

"Brown Beauty" Kicks Up Childhood Dust

I recently completed a gourd horse mask for someone who has had a passion for horses since childhood. She had seen a zebra mask I created a year or so ago and asked if I could make a horse. I love doing special pieces for people because it forces me to do new things, however, it all depends on having the right gourds.

You can create illusions (the texture of fur for example) with two-dimensional media like paint, but that only goes so far on a three-dimensional shape. It reminds me of that Steve Martin movie based on Cyrano de Bergerac called Roxanne. He goes into a drugstore to purchase some makeup and the clerk tries to show him how to shade his nose to make it appear smaller, but of course it is so long it doesn't make any difference.

The stars aligned and I found the gourds for the head and muzzle. Those two pieces were attached and then I started searching for the all important eyes. Once the eyes were cut and secured, for me, it started having a real life force. I know they are just gourds and maybe my imagination can go into overdrive, but this mask had a peaceful presence in my art room...a real gentle soul.

The new owner came by to pick it up and said she would call her "Brown Beauty" after a brown Bay horse she played with as a child. We spoke about different kinds of horses and I learned quite a bit, but I mostly I sensed the love she had for equids. It also got me thinking about my own childhood interests and what has carried through to adulthood.

I stumbled upon an envelope with old papers and projects from elementary school that my mom had sent a while ago. I found a "Pupil Interest Inventory" from the fifth grade. It was a questionnaire (on a lovely ditto copy--remember that purple/blue ink?) where you had to fill in the blanks. My first reaction was to cringe because I went by "Barbie," but as I continued reading I realized I am not much different than that little ten year old.

I was surprised that I wanted to be an artist. I knew that I liked art but I didn't think I wanted to be an artist until I was much older. I also smiled when I read what things I would like to be doing as an adult. I'm pretty much the same. I draw and paint, we have a dog, guinea pig, and two mice, we go camping and hiking, I learned how to ski and enjoyed doing that for many years, and I did take piano lessons, but later found a passion for the guitar which I still enjoy today. How much do we really change?

The Lessons of Juan

A friend of mine asked me to make him a Guatemalan gourd mask. We both served in Guatemala with the Peace Corps and witnessed the beautiful indigenous people so it wasn't an odd request. Immediately I got these wonderful visuals in my mind of how it was going to look: definitely female, regal looking, and with some type of woven cloth going through her hair.

I cut the gourd and started working on the nose. I wanted to make a prominent Mayan nose, but what I ended up with was a big nose and possibly that of a male. But I continued with that female image in my mind. Besides, there is nothing wrong with a handsome woman, right?

I cut out and shaped the eyebrows which turned out thick, and yes, very masculine. Lesson #1: GO WITH THE FLOW!

Once I accepted that it was male, things seemed to go more smoothly. I started working on the irises and eyelids and then the mouth. Parts were positioned and glued down and then I placed him on the wall to get a different perspective. Everything looked all right except for his left eye...it was googley.

O.k., do I rip that eye apart (don't do it) and redo the whole thing? I've pulled things off before and ended up with broken pieces or big divots and the repair work I have to do sometimes outweigh the benefit. OR, do I leave it alone (yeah, good choice) and accept that they are natural organic forms mimicking a person that is also an organic form.


Of course my artist ego stepped in and I pulled off the iris and eyelids (no major damage), repositioned and glued them on again. I put him back on the wall to view my handiwork and it looked 99 1/4 % the same! I did exactly what my kids used to do when they were learning how to write. I'd have them erase a letter and they'd rewrite it the exact same way in the old "grooves."

Lesson #2: BE PATIENT AND LET THINGS PLAY OUT TO THEIR CONCLUSION or HOW COULD YOU FORGET LESSON #1 SO QUICKLY?

By the time I reached this point, this wise gourd told me his name...Juan. I realized he was helping and guiding me the whole time. He made me think about my kids and how they will be what they choose to become regardless of my "vision" of them. He made me think about areas in my life where I've been resisting instead of accepting things and "going with the flow."

I have to say I was a little sad when I left Juan at the UPS store to be shipped to the other side of the country, but I knew he was going to a good home and that one day I would see him again. Gracias Juan.

The next place I will tote my gourds will be to the Nutcracker Boutique, November 20th and 21st in Brea, California. If you can't quite read the flyer above, the address is 695 E. Madison Way in Brea. For more information please call 714-990-7771 or go to http://www.cityofbrea.net/. I'll be outside by the west entrance in spot #37...as usual, I'll be praying for good weather.

Check Out Bella Luna Arts

One great thing I've noticed about gourd artists is that they take what they're good at and apply those talents to a gourd. At the recent gourd festival at Welburn, for example, I saw one artist who paints cars and applies that super shiny painted finish to his gourd pieces.

My friend of Bella Luna Arts takes a jewelry gourd and uses her jewelry know-how and creativity to craft these fun and personality-plus gourd ladies. She does a bunch of other interesting things too which can be viewed on her blog http://bellalunaarts.blogspot.com/

Nice to Meet You, Leiser Farms!

As a full-fledged, card carrying member of the adult world, I take notice when I feel like an eight-year-old again. Somehow going to a gourd farm reverts me back to a child on her birthday!

I had the pleasure of visiting Greg Leiser Farms in Knight's Landing, California, just outside of Sacramento. Greg and Mary Leiser were very accommodating: Mary showed me around the gourd bins and she and Greg talked about their third-generation family farm.

There were some good bargains to be had and some different varieties I hadn't seen before so I chose a bag full and had to be on my way---I could have stayed longer, but I could feel my travel weary family's telepathic messages to hurry it up!


If you're ever in the area it's worth checking out. They host an annual Gourd Art Festival every May and from what I saw and read in my latest edition of The Golden Gourd, it was quite a success and the gourd art featured was top notch! Their website is http://www.gourdfarmer.com/ (Sorry, my link to this site is not working, but I hope you check it out anyway.)

Murals, Part Deux

*WARNING: the following entry may be too long and bloggy for some sensitive readers.*

A recent road trip from Southern California to Portland, Oregon sparked thoughts about murals. Growing up in a suburb of Denver I remember driving through North Denver and seeing eye-catching and thought provoking murals. These images remained dormant until my last semester in college when I was completing an internship with an English/Spanish/Jazz/KPFKesque radio station. As my final project I decided to do a piece on the murals of North Denver...yes, I NOW see that murals are visual and I was at a radio station and perhaps I should have concentrated on something more auditory, but I didn't.

I'm glad I didn't because my search lead me to Emanuel Martinez, a Denver born and raised Chicano artist. He was the creator of the murals that stayed implanted in my brain. I had the opportunity to interview him at his studio way back in 1987. He now has a website, http://www.emanuelmartinez.com, where I found a picture of one of the murals from my childhood called La Alma painted in 1978.

He briefly studied with David Alfaro Siquieros, one of Mexico's three influential muralists (Jose Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera are the others). I've always admired them because they brought art right to the people with their murals and let them (the people) see themselves in the present and past and made them feel proud of their heritage.


O.k., now back to the road trip where I saw many a fun and quirky mural. Here are just a few that added a little extra eye candy to my already picturesque trip.



The first one I was able to take a picture of was in Eureka, California. We stopped to eat lunch at a neat little restaurant called The Golden Harvest Cafe and there it was right across the street on the Bucksport Sporting Goods Building. The mural was created in 1996 by Duane Flatmo, http://www.duaneflatmo.com/. I love the movement and the colors (if you go to his website you can see a better and more colorful picture), but that black and white figure off to the side adds so much more interest for me. I love when there's a bit of mystery!







The next mural was found at an old elementary school converted into a Portland-layed-back-cool-community-fun-place called McMenamins Kennedy School. (There's lots more info. on their website, http://www.mcmenamins.com/) My niece took us there for dinner and as we waited for a table we checked out the artwork that somehow relates to an event, memory, or teacher from the 82 year old history of Kennedy School.

This mural entitled "Passing On the Torch of Knowledge" at first glance was a little eerie. The children look like those Renaissance paintings where babies have adult faces and they don't look too excited about the "knowledge" they are passing. As I read more about it, I like how the artist, Lyle Hehn, put as many symbols as possible without making it look like a Highlight's "Hidden Picture" page. The cherry trees, for example, were donated to the school in 1939 by a Japanese family and those "adult" kid faces are actually somewhere on the building itself. I ended up liking the mural and appreciated the artist's ability to incorporate different elements into one cohesive composition.






My husband pointed out this mural as we were walking to the Farmer's Market held at Portland State University. It adorns the Sovereign Hotel (1923) which is now the Oregon Historical Society. Richard Haas, http://www.richardhaas.com/, was commissioned to design this mural in 1989 (along with another one that I didn't see, but it can be viewed on his website). This is a shining example of trompe l' oeil or French for "fooling the eye." Yes, the imposing figures of Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, her son Baptiste, a slave named York, and a Newfoundland dog are impressive, however, the painted architecture was dumbfounding! As I look at my photo now there are some areas where I can't tell what is real and what is paint.