a little about gourds
green gourd
When I first laid eyes on gourd art I knew absolutely nothing about it, or much about gourds for that matter. When I display my work people often ask me what it is, and I have surmised that as an art form it is somewhat atypical.
I have learned a lot about both gourd art and gourds themselves. Gourds are from the same botanical family called Lagenaria siceraria as are squash, melon and cucumber, to name a few. They grow on a vine and what makes them either a fruit or a vegetable, I honestly don't know. When I cook up zucchini or bake a buttercup squash I think of it as a vegetable. When I dive into a chilled watermelon on a hot day I think of it as fruit. The gourds which serve artists as a 3D canvas are for the most part considered inedible. When green and growing on the vine these gourds are comprised of about 90% water. The drying process involves the evaporation of this water leaving a very light, hard shelled object with a moldy exterior if it hasn't shriveled up or been devoured by insects.
In the west gourds are often displayed at harvest time. You may be imagining a centerpiece with smallish warty objects striped green or yellow, or smooth skinned, crooked gourds that rattle because of the seeds inside. But if you have ever seen an Indian sitar or the drum like instrument called ipu heke used in Hawaiian hula, then you have seen some of the largest of dried gourds and some of the largest fruits of the earth.
Gourds have been used cross culturally for thousands of years, mainly as functional objects. Some of them are named after their shapes and uses such as dippers, canteens, bottles, kettles, and tobacco boxes. In many ancient cultures gourds are ascribed great power and spiritual qualities and they play into numerous creation myths. As mentioned above they may be fashioned into utensils and musical instruments though their uses have been far reaching and include jewelry, floats for fishing nets, warrior face masks, penis sheaths, medicine, and even currency. To decorate and embellish them is a natural inclination and the creative expression of turning them into objets d'art grows in popularity.
Simply stated gourds are gifts of the earth with intrinsic beauty, never two exactly alike.
I have learned a lot about both gourd art and gourds themselves. Gourds are from the same botanical family called Lagenaria siceraria as are squash, melon and cucumber, to name a few. They grow on a vine and what makes them either a fruit or a vegetable, I honestly don't know. When I cook up zucchini or bake a buttercup squash I think of it as a vegetable. When I dive into a chilled watermelon on a hot day I think of it as fruit. The gourds which serve artists as a 3D canvas are for the most part considered inedible. When green and growing on the vine these gourds are comprised of about 90% water. The drying process involves the evaporation of this water leaving a very light, hard shelled object with a moldy exterior if it hasn't shriveled up or been devoured by insects.
In the west gourds are often displayed at harvest time. You may be imagining a centerpiece with smallish warty objects striped green or yellow, or smooth skinned, crooked gourds that rattle because of the seeds inside. But if you have ever seen an Indian sitar or the drum like instrument called ipu heke used in Hawaiian hula, then you have seen some of the largest of dried gourds and some of the largest fruits of the earth.
Gourds have been used cross culturally for thousands of years, mainly as functional objects. Some of them are named after their shapes and uses such as dippers, canteens, bottles, kettles, and tobacco boxes. In many ancient cultures gourds are ascribed great power and spiritual qualities and they play into numerous creation myths. As mentioned above they may be fashioned into utensils and musical instruments though their uses have been far reaching and include jewelry, floats for fishing nets, warrior face masks, penis sheaths, medicine, and even currency. To decorate and embellish them is a natural inclination and the creative expression of turning them into objets d'art grows in popularity.
Simply stated gourds are gifts of the earth with intrinsic beauty, never two exactly alike.
