How to prepare a gourd!!

We have had one of the most wonderful winters this year! Short spurts of cold and snow are followed by unusually warm and pleasant days. I could deal with winter a lot better if they were all like this one. I hope it keeps going until the end!

I wanted to take some time, and explain to those not familiar with gourds, all the work that goes into making a fine art gourd. When I grow or buy my gourds, they have already been drying for 6 months or more. They will be covered in dried mold and dirt, which has to be scrubbed off. Above you see the gourds soaking in a wheelbarrow of warm water with some soap and a little bleach added.

Then I use a metal pot scrubber to scrub the entire outside of the gourd to remove the mold and dirt. Sometimes this takes quite a bit of muscle to accomplish. When I am happy with the results, I spray off the gourd and set it in the sun to dry.

Here is one that is all done and drying off. All this happens before the artist can even plan on what the gourd will become. Next time I will go into the next steps.

I have been working on an acrylic painting lately. I took a great reference photo last summer in Virginia of a heron near the ocean.

I loved the colors of the overturned boat and the basket full of nets.

I also got a new camera lens from my husband, around Christmas so I have taken some wonderful pictures of the birds around my feeders!!

I have been accepted into the Kerr arts and Cultural Center fine art gourd show in Texas again so I have to get busy on some new gourds. Also Campbell Pottery will be having a wildlife and landscape theme show this spring! I need to get busy!!!

Super Weather!!

The weather this fall has been amazing!! I have been able to go kayaking 4 times in the last few weeks which feels wonderful!! Even though we have gone from trees ablaze with color to trees devoid of leaves , the warm weather allows the beauty of both to shine through!!

 

This view of my favorite creek shows the beauty of Pennsylvania!

I have encountered quite a few eagles on my kayak adventures , like this one watching as I paddled underneath!

I also came upon this bird which I think is a juvenile black crowned night heron. Anyone know for sure?

I have had time to start and finish one gourd. This one I call Winter White. It has a metallic white and sponged on white finish with random spots of gold leaf. The pine needle coiling is accented with gold beads and pine cones! I really like how the colors complement the natural beauty of the gourd and the pine needles! This gourd is available and would make a nice part of a display for

Christmas.

Recycle Show and the rest of the trip to Maine.

Here I am next to my African sculpture at the Campbell Pottery recycle show! The reception was very nice and I loved to see all the creative ways artists used everyday articles and dare I say trash, to make beautiful art! Thank you very much to the new owner of the sculpture!!

I also talked to a very nice art teacher that has started a blog. She is covering a lot of local art events for her blog and included me for this show! The link to her blog is www.artwithmsaudrey.com   

Now to continue with our trip to Maine... Here is the view from a state park near our daughters house!! Beautiful!

 

All too soon it was time to start back home, and wave goodbye to riley in front of her house! We took the long way home and drove across Maine to New Hampshire and stopped to check out Mount Washington. We were too late to drive up so we had to settle for pictures from the bottom!

We passed this beautiful resort with a rainbow nearby! Then we continued across Vermont and the next day took the ferry across Lake Champlain.

We traveled to Lake Placid New York and went up the ski jump! I don't know how those athletes jump off those things!!

Our last stop was at Letchworth State Park in New York. It is very beautiful there with wonderful waterfalls!

 

Our trip was a lot of fun , but it is always nice to get home and see the dog, cat, and horses!

Here is my favorite fall tree in my yard! Such a beautiful sight !

MY gourd in a new home, butterfly raising , and Maine!

I wanted to start this post with a couple of pictures sent to me from Bob and Sheila of the gourd they bought from me in it's new digs! They really made it look so beautiful in this arrangement in their gorgeous home!

Thank you so much for sending these wonderful pictures!

I have been busy with a new project lately that was fun and educational, I brought 3 monarch caterpillars in the house to raise into butterflies and then set free for the trip to Mexico! It is supposed to be safer for them away from predators and bacteria that can kill them. I kept them clean in a plastic container with a paper towel lid and supplied fresh milkweed leaves daily for them to eat.

After they formed their chrysalis on the paper towel, I moved the paper towel to a larger cage. Here is a picture of the first butterfly to emerge. I was so happy that they had waited for me to return from a trip to Maine to visit our daughter!

Here is my cat Sam wishing he could eat them!

Here is the last one to emerge .The next day I let her go and watched her fly away! Hopefully she will have enough good weather to make it to Mexico where they spend the winter! the other female flew away also but something was wrong with the male and despite my care he didn't make it! I will definitely try this again next year and hopefully see more raised to help them recover from the awful decline in their numbers.

Our trip to Maine was very fun and beautiful! So nice to spend time with Riley and Ryan! Maine is a wonderful place , much like here but with the added plus of the ocean! We went on a whale watching tour but failed to see a whale but beautiful anyway! We did see porpoises and a sea turtle!

We also went to a wonderful place that sells old wood cook stoves and it is also a museum! It was full of old player pianos, music machines, toys, cars, etc. Joe and his wife were wonderful hosts, telling us all about the contents in the museum!

 

 

Then we were off to the common ground fair put on by the Maine organic farmers and growers association. It is a different kind of fair focusing on local organic sustainable farming practices. Lots of educational talks and exhibits! I got my picture taken with Ben and Jerry of ice cream fame!!

I will finish details of our trip next time, as I have to go out and mow the grass! Don't forget the artist reception at Campbell Pottery is Saturday from 1 to 3!!

 

Beautiful Monarchs

I have been pleasantly surprised to find several monarch caterpillars on the milkweed plants in my field recently. I don't allow any roundup to be sprayed here so the milkweed is allowed to grow and is safe for the caterpillars! I also found a chrysalis hanging on a goldenrod plant! Can you see the wing colors through the covering? This whole process is so amazing to me! I decided to try and raise some caterpillars inside ( which is actually safer for them as long as you keep them clean and provide fresh milkweed leaves. ) I have 3 and two of them are now hanging upside down ready to change into the chrysalis stage! I hope they hurry before it gets too cold outside. Monarchs born now migrate to Mexico and California for the winter!! Amazing!!!

Here is one that is on one of my sunflowers!! so Beautiful!!

It is almost time for the next art show at Campbell Pottery! This show has the theme of recycle ,renew, and repurpose! I have made two entries for it, both with gourds.

This one is a gourd and gourd piece that I coiled with some strings off of some hay bales I had. I loved the bright color of the strings , so I had been saving them for something! This show just provided the perfect reason to use them!! The other piece is an African doll incorporating a gourd but also some surprising elements you wouldn't expect!! That is a tease so you will go to the show and check it out!! The show starts October 2nd and the artist reception is on the 10th!

The 26th of September is the last Water fire Sharon for the year, I highly recommend it if you have never gone!!

 

Campbell Pottery Lily Festival 2015

Here I am at the artist reception at Campbell Pottery this weekend, with my gourd. It was a very nice afternoon and I must say the air conditioning was nice as it was very hot and humid outside!! The gallery was very busy and my husband and I enjoyed talking to some of the others there!! My husband especially enjoys the cookies and fruit!! :)

The fields outside were really beautiful with all the lilies in bloom! The show runs until August 2nd and is well worth the trip!

I have had a lily fest of my own at home as all my flowers are blooming! This is the biggest white lily I have ever grown!!

It was so heavy, it broke off and had to be put into a vase!!

After the reception, we went home to take care of animals and then off to the Water Fire event in Sharon! It was a beautiful evening with good music and art and the lovely fires on the river! We also checked out the new brewery in town which was fun! there are 2 more this summer, and I recommend the experience!

I hope everyone is having a fun summer and enjoying the warm weather! Can't believe it is almost August!!

This deer was enjoying some apples in our front yard!!

Trumbull Art Gallery Opening Reception

As mentioned in the last post, I was trying to get something made for the Trumbull Art Gallery annual regional art show. I ended up entering three pieces and they were all accepted! I was so thrilled! The show was juried by John Vanco the director of the Erie Art Museum. The opening reception was last night and the place was packed! It was difficult just to move through the gallery!

I entered two paintings and a gourd. The paintings have been on here before, but the gourd is new. It was made using the same idea from my elephant piece that was at the Campbell Pottery paper art show.

This gourd took a lot of work as I turned it upside down and cut the top off and moved it to the other side making a lid. The bottom then had a wooden piece fitted into it. A small gourd was added to the lid for the handle. The elephant is carved and woodburned and painted. There is a woodburned design with various animal prints etc.. The body of the gourd has an alcohol dye finish. An inlaid teardrop is on the elephant. The show at the Trumbull Art gallery in Warren Ohio goes on until August 29th.

Don't forget the Lily festival artist reception is next Saturday the 18th at Campbell Pottery. Also that day is the first water fire Sharon of the summer. If you go stop by gallery 29!!

Flowers are all in bloom around here and so beautiful!

There are some butterflies on the milkweed , but sorry to say, I have not seen one Monarch!! Makes me sad , as a few years ago they were covered with them! Please help save them! There are many articles online about what you can do!!