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Note: If using Outlook click the above bar where it says “Click to download photos” The photos are the best part!
 Three Warriors by Morningstar In This Issue: We are honored to feature Jeanne Kent, more commonly known as Morningstar. This name was given to Jeanne by an Abenaki Elder and it means "One who leads others out of the darkness into the light...a teacher." The Elder named her well as she is a teacher, artist and historian. The focus of Morningstar's art is the interpretation of the designs and stories of the Wabanaski People; a northeastern woodland aboriginal people who today, find their unique culture slowly disappearing. Through her art Morningstar is bringing their daily life, in historical terms, alive. Please welcome Morningstar. Her work is spiritual and very beautiful.  Some areas in North America have been so hot that colourful sunsets are the result. It is June and the gourd seedlings will have settled into their new homes and will be taking off. For first-time gardeners these are exciting times and it is guaranteed that as the summer progresses, the excitement will just heighten. This month we will briefly discuss bugs, flowers and pollination as well as other growing information. We have some good letters from you which we will share as well as some gourdly trivia.
Art For Future Generations  Bridge To Assimilation There is always a beginning when an artist discovers gourds, and with some, a few years will pass before they actually begin to work on them. This is the case with Morningstar. During her career as a teacher her principal sent her to New York to attend an art seminar. One workshop offered was on puppetry, the other on gourds. She started a gourd project but when she got home she placed it on a shelf and did not look at it again for a few years. And then a life altering injury to her hands changed her life drastically and while cleaning out old art supplies that she could not use anymore (due to the lack of strength caused from the injury) she came across the old gourd that she had started and a book. Reading through the book she realized that although she could not use small tools, power tools would not be a problem. Rejoicing she had now found a perfect medium for her creative spirit; a medium that would also fit in with her other interests in life.  Fiddle Heads Rattle When growing up Morningstar was not involved with native art or culture yet she found she was always drawn to it. It was, what you might say, in her genes from her father's side. He was native and French, her mother was of German decent. Her parent's separated when Morningstar was young and she was raised not to tell anyone about her father's heritage. At that time in history her mother was afraid that Morningstar would be looked down at. Once childhood passed, Morningstar moved into what was a much more comfortable fit. Now, twenty-five years later, she has embraced her roots through her art. Her Mother by the way, accepted this and would introduce Morningstar as her "woodsy" daughter. She would comment on how different Morningstar was from both herself and her sister...a comment that would make Morningstar chuckle. Morningstar's inspiration comes from the pages of history. It became obvious to her that the Abenaki people were disappearing, and along with them, the visual language and stories. For three years she gathered information and purchased old texts or manuscripts from early archaeologists like Frank Speck and Leman. She collected both the designs and the stories. Now she is working to make them come to life. She hopes that her hands (now arthritic) will continue to allow her to complete at least a dozen or more of these pieces.  Wampun Although Morningstar restricts herself to gourds now this was not always the case. She has won prizes for her pastels (National Pastel Association) and has a photo used on a cover of the CT Arts Commission summer bulletin. She has made regalia in leather and cloth including boutellier bags, blouses, skirts, Abenaki pointed caps, leggings, knife sheaths, turtle pocketbooks and pouches, and mocassins. Beadwork, moosehair embroidery, thread embroidery and bead applique were used as embellishments.
Currently her art is shown at various galleries including the Millbrook Gallery and Sculpture Garden in Concord, New Hampshire from June thru to September. Morningstar is also a featured artist at the Institute for Native American Studies in Washington, CT during the month of June.
 Corn Bowl
Morningstar is presently looking for gallery representation or other galleries that will consider including her in group shows. She also has her eye open for some high end craft/art shows. She considers what she does as fine art and we are certain that she would be very successful.
These days life is full for Morningstar and her husband. She has two children and four grandchildren along with two Hymalian cats and one rescued Bejan/poodle cross dog. She has let the pets and animals naturally decline as her husband will be turning seventy this year and Morningstar will be turning sixty-six. Having animals outdoors is a lot of work especially in the New England winters 1400 feet up!
In the meantime energy abounds when it comes to her gourd art. In addition to the hands-on work energy is being spent on finding homes for her art in museums or permanent collections. It is important that the stories and designs of the Wabanaki people will live on for future generations. This is generosity at its finest; a characteristic that Morningstar is well known for.
To learn more about Morningstar and her art click here: http://www.morningstarstudio9.com/
For details about the Millbrook Gallery and Sculpture Garden click here:
Thank you Morningstar. We have enjoyed meeting you. Thank you for sharing your art and aspirations with us.
The Art of Growing Gourds
 Maranka Gourds in August
In parts of Ontario, Quebec and the U.S. the long weekend was a scorcher. Thirty-eight degrees with the humidity, it was a blissful situation if you were a gourd seedling. The heat helped the seedlings settle and now, one week later, the plants will begin their journey in reaching maturity.
June is a pretty quiet time in the gourd garden; at least for you. It is a time for rapid growth, vines lengthen so quickly you can almost see them grow in front of your eyes. Keep them well watered. Once a week fertilize your plants with a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen. This will help them to become green, lush and healthy. If you have trellised your gourds they can be tied up later on once the vines get a little longer.
Late in June cucumber beetles may make an appearance. They are deadly to sick or very young seedlings but to strong healthy plants, small numbers of cucumber beetles can be tolerated. ( The numbers will go up in July and it is then that we will go into detail on how to deal with them. ) In the meantime some home gardeners will plant marigolds in their gourd patch which may help control the beetles but will not deter them completely.
Also in late June, especially if it is hot weather, flowers will make an appearance. If you get both male and female flowers get a paintbrush and pollinate - dab, dab, flower to flower. We'll go more into this next month as by then you will have scores of flowers.
Enjoy your month! In July the gourd vines will require more attention thus giving you, the gardener, more work and even more pure satisfaction.
Dear Carolyn
 Memories Inks - A Great Colour Selection!
Hi Carolyn and Linda,
I have just finished working on one of the gourds that I purchased from your farm and showroom in April. I chose to experiment on the smallest one, removing the top, covering both the top and bottom with the purple ink. This is to be a little treasure box for a birthday gift for a grand-daughter.
I traced on a rabbit - the "Mad Hatter" - and a couple of other images (all from Alice in Wonderland.) The coats, socks, etc were coloured in with the green and red inks. We drilled small holes and strung purple and green beads just below the rim and, all in all, I was pretty pleased with the results. However, I sprayed the gourd with a clear acrylic sealer and the inks all ran. My husband came to my rescue and actually used a tool to carve the gourd and get rid of the run lines. Now each picture is outlined with the actual colour of the cleaned gourd - a light beige - and it looks just fine! Talk about experimenting! We repainted the coats, socks, etc with the green and red inks. Hopefully you will be able to give me some advice. My question is: What do I use to cover the gourd to give it a little bit of shine and not cause running? Thanks so much - any info would be wonderful. Hope to see you at Buckhorn on the long week-end. Gail and Bill Jones - Ontario (Answer is in the right hand column)  To learn more about Memories Inks and other finishes click here. Once in click on Issue 53... http://www.northerndipper.com/news_archives.php  Coming Next Month: A couple of weeks ago we were sitting with a group of people and the subject of gourds naturally came up. One question people had was where do gourds originate from and how were they used in a historical sense? We thought about it and decided it would be fun to do an article on it. So if you have ever wondered about this, stay tuned for the July issue of Gourd Fever. We will have a tutorial by Carolyn Cooper. Carolyn's tutorials are always fun and are written in such a way that the end result will always be successful. The easy times for gourd growers will be over. July is all about nightly trips to the gourd garden to pollinate. Sex in the garden - who doesn't like that - especially when each pollinated blossom will end up being a gourd! Enjoy the beautiful month of June. We just love this first month of summer ... "I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June." L.M. Montgomery Until next month - Carolyn Cooper and Linda Bond
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