|
Note: If using Outlook click the above bar where it says “Click to download photos” This Issue has many photos so it may take a couple of extra minutes to download.
Painted Vase Necklace by Featured Artist Darlene Propp
In This Issue:
Happy Valentines Day
This month we are delighted to introduce Toronto musician Jennifer Gillmor. During a trip to Africa in 2002, Jennifer made it a point to track down the n’goni, a gourd instrument very similar to the western bass. As a special treat we will be linking into some really fine musical tracks performed by Jennifer and her friends in their band YALA.
We are very pleased to present, as our featured gourd artist, Darlene Propp. Darlene hails from California and is an extremely busy woman who, despite her schedule, manages to fit in one of her many loves – gourd art.
There will be a short tutorial, Reader's Corner, gourd sightings and trivia. There is lots to cover this month so get cozy, retreat from the wintry winds outside your window and enjoy this February issue of Gourd Fever.
Canada Blooms 2007
Northern Dipper will be exhibiting at Canada Blooms, Toronto's largest and most spectacular garden show. Mark March 7 - 11 on your calendar and stop by to see Carolyn and Linda at Booth 17 & 18. This show is very good with lots of unique garden designs, speakers and best of all vendors! To learn more about Canada Blooms click here.
February Specials
Gilders Paste
$8.00 per tin
A little Gilders Paste goes a long way:
a 27 ml container covers over 30 square feet...
that is a lot of gourd surface!
Gourd Dye
15% off
Permanent dyes that absorb easily, providing a beautiful, translucent finish. Available in 9 different colours.
Gourd Hand Scrapers
15% off-Available in 3 styles
Cleaned Guatemalan Gourds
No Cleaning Charge -This is a savings of $1.50 per gourd
Sales are applicable for both Internet orders
and farm visits.
Must be shipped in the month of February.
PLEASE NOTE:
March 4th to April 13th we will be closed
to all farm visits.
We will ship Internet orders until March 23.
Seed orders will be shipped between March 23 -
April 13th. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. See you again April 14!
To view Gilder's Paste and gourd dye click here.
To view gourd scrapers click here.
To view dried gourds click here.
Gourd Seed Update
NEW this spring are the Guatemalan
Croy -Yo-Yo gourd seeds. Once mature these 13" high gourds make fabulous instruments and as you can see are perfect for tole painting too.
Guatemalan Croy-Yo-Yo Gourd
Loofah is a gourd, not a sea sponge!
Also NEW are Loofah seeds. Loofah have day blooming flowers and are easy to grow. Once dried the coarse texture of the Loofah is invigorating for the skin. Loofah are an excellent gourd for bath gift baskets.
We love our seed customers and would like
to offer the following Special:
Buy 6 packs of seeds and receive a free
Northern Dipper Grow Guide
This is a handy little grow guide developed to assist the northern gardener in growing hard shelled gourds. It's full of helpful tips & advice on planting, fertilizing, watering, pruning, pollinating & drying.
Northern Dipper seeds have an excellent germination rate.
To view gourd seeds click here.
To view the Northern Dipper grow guide click here.
Featured Musical Artist
Jennifer Gillmor -
Music is a universal language...
YALA is a brand new musical project that grew out of a few friends’ mutual love of African music.
Pictured from left - right is Morgan Doctor (tables & percussion)Jennifer Gillmor (kamala n’goni and bass guitar)
and Jayme Stone (banjo and loops)
I play a series of instruments. As a child I studied classical flute and since that time my interests have expanded to include bass, cello and the n'goni. In some ways one would be hard-pressed to find two instruments more dissimilar than the flute and the bass guitar. But I was brought up in a musical family with a musicologist father and he really instilled in me a passion for many types of music. I think this made me quite adaptable in terms of applying myself to expression through a variety of instruments.
Jennifer Playing The N'goni
I traveled to West Africa in the summer of 2002. My Lonely Planet travel guide had a whole section dedicated to music and there I read about this instrument that supposedly held a similar role in African music to that of the bass guitar in western music. So naturally, I made it a point to hunt the instrument down. I expressed this interest to a musician I met in Bobo Dioulaso in Burkina Faso and as it turned out, he had an n'goni and invited me to try it out. I ended up staying several days with him and jamming with he and his pals who were all incredible musicians. It was a real honour for me to play with them and, no doubt, a novelty for them to meet a woman musician. Unfortunately, in their culture, women don't play instruments but are strictly dancers.
I have never made an n'goni, but the gourd on mine broke which is how I ended up at Northern Dipper in search of a replacement. I plan to prep the gourd by cutting the necessary hole, cleaning it and sealing the inside to allow the resulting harder finish to amplify the sound better. But then I plan to bring it, along with the rest of my broken instrument to an instrument maker I know by the name of Nuno Cristo.
http://www.nunocristo.com/ I will ask him to reskin it and reassemble it with the rest of its parts. Nuno makes all kinds of interesting instruments -- many using gourds. The main gourd instrument he makes is the mbira -- an African thumb piano set in a gourd resinator.
Being a musician is a hard road financially and so for many years I've been supplementing my income through graphic and web design, various types of audio work, music and sound design for film and dance as well as some photography. I set up a freelance company that encompasses all of this, hence the name Sound & Vision Design. More of my design work of late has been for the web, but I generally prefer designing for print.
To learn more about Jennifer Gillmor and her music with other bands click here.
To check out Sound & Vision Design click here.
Thank you Jen - this was fun. Thank you for sharing your music with us. Let us know when YALA cuts that CD so we can all add some great "gourd" music to our collections.
(Most photos for this article were provided by Jen Gillmore)
Featured Gourd Artist
Darlene Propp
"Gourds are God's gift to artists"
My piece for the Iron Gourd Competition. In this competition, artists have one day, 6 hours, to complete their entry. And the pressure is on….
I discovered gourds in 1998 when I went to a friend's church for a craft day. Ghosts were the subject and gourds were the canvas. I tryed it and discovered I enjoyed it, so I decided to give gourds further investigation. I went to a nearby Christmas tree farm, which happened to also carry gourds, and my fate was sealed. It turned out that the San Bernardino Patch of the California Gourd Society had a booth there. Once learning about the many different styles of gourds and watching the demos, I knew I was getting hooked. I joined the California Gourd Society that day and haven't looked back since.
This is a piece I did for the friendship gourd at the Fallbrook patch retreat. It is done on a gourd shard.
As you can see from my art I love to try many different techniques. I would have to say that the technique/medium I'm working with, at any one point in time, is my favourite! I probably do more wood burning, painting and carving than anything else though. I love doing different things such as wax resists. I have done chip carving with gouges and carving with my Dremel. I also have a Power Crafter, but haven't hooked it up to my compressor yet. I'm really looking forward to getting that tool going and trying it out!
This is a tiny lidded container. You can see how small it
is by comparing it to the penny at the side.
I attend many gourd events and would love to teach sometime in the future. I do take classes at every event I attend. It's interesting because even if I already know how to do the technique, I always learn something new. It's wonderful to spend hours with good gourd friends and come home with a new piece and new ideas.
An ornament for Gary Ford - I loved doing this one.
It is wax resist, wood burning and paint.
I do compete at gourd festivals and have won many ribbons. I love spreading that gourd glow by demonstating at the local county fairs. And I really liked taking part in the Iron Gourd competition at Welburn's last fall. I've also done a library display and filled the entire display with my own collection! Plus I was asked by the local Master Gardeners group to give a talk on gourds. That was quite an honour and I enthusiastically shared my knowledge with the members.
Apple Gourd Blackboard - I made this for a Canadian Gourd Society contest and won 1st place!
I've had my ups and downs with growing gourds. Some years I have a great crop and others are disasters but I keep on trying. My backyard is certified as a National Backyard Wildlife Habitat, so it's full of all kinds of plants and fruit trees. Hummingbirds have nested in my yard for several years now and it's always fun to see the babies fledge and make their first flights.
Gourdoozie (right in the front of course!) went to the Fallbrook Retreat and managed to sneak in with all the little Asian ladies that were made that day. That is the Friendship Gourd to the left.
I'm interested in EVERYTHING. I base my life on God and family, and enjoy singing in the choir, reading, making jewellery, clay art, photography,
painting and poetry. When I was younger I was a dancer - Hawaiian and Tahitian mostly, and I played the piano. I lived in Saudi Arabia as a youngster and have traveled extensively in Europe. I've tried my hand at flint knapping, needlework, making Temari balls, vermicomposting, soft sculpting dolls, and many other crafts. I would love to learn hip-hop dancing, sculpting, to play the hammered dulcimer, and to spend a week with an Amish family.
The Hammered Dulcimer, which I hope to learn to play one day. To learn more about this instrument click here.
|
