|
Note: If using Outlook click the above bar where it says “Click to download photos” The photos are the best part!
Ocean Drum - Brown Pelican by Sandra Taylor
This Month: If you were lucky enough to attend the Georgia Gourd Society Festival, you may have met this month's featured artist Sandy Taylor. If not the chances are good you saw her work. She submitted 12 pieces of gourd art and one tutorial for competition and came home with a handful of ribbons. She states that now she has to be careful - her head may be too big to get through the door! Please welcome Sandra Taylor, an artist full of energy, humour and generosity.
A short gourd grow report grace these pages as September is when the gourds mature and ripen during the cool night-time temperatures and warm sunny days. This is the month that requires patience. The gourds are large and look ready to harvest but they are not. Read on and get the true facts on harvesting in "The Art of Growing Gourds."
Our trivia includes a photo of the "World's Largest Rocking Horse', a horse that made it into the Guiness Book of Records. It doesn't have anything to do with gourds but it is cool so there you go! And here we go into the gourd world of Sandra Taylor.  The business "Hot Off The Vine" is a growing concern for Sandra Taylor and to think; it all began in 2004 with the gourd her husband picked up at the Farmer's Market. As Sandra held this gourd the artist in her emerged. The possibilities she quickly realized were endless. She loved the natural, golden shell and within moments she was a convert. Looking back Sandra states that she has always been an artist. In grade school she was always the one doing the hallway bulletin boards, the posters and anything else that was creative in nature. In high school she took advance placement art with the intent of majoring in art education in college. She did go to a liberal arts college and pursued her degree and then life, as it so often does, intervened. Sandra has been a floral designer, a painter, and a home decor junky but for decades her primary interest was pen and ink artwork.  Faux Fitz and Floyd Teapot Sandra describes herself as a pyrographer/ illustrator... "Woodburning is a natural extension of pen and ink work using the same drawing techniques like stippling, shading and cross hatching." She enjoys sculpting and has added a new technique or medium to her "bag of tricks" every year since she started to work on gourds. This keeps it fresh for both herself and the public. The first technique she perfected was pyrography and then she moved onto pine needle coiling. Another year she added colour and then inlay, carving, and most recently sculpting. Experimenting with mediums and trying to "invent" new methods sometimes works out and sometimes doesn't...it doesn't matter; it is all creative and fun.  Marvel Bowl An outgoing personality makes Sandra a natural ambassador when it comes to gourd art. She loves to teach and has passed her knowledge along in basic pyrography and Apoxie Sculpt as well as more specialized classes such as making ocean drums. She is a member of the American Gourd Society, the Georgia Gourd Society and her local patch called the Hot'Lanta Patch. Sandy is not interested in displaying in galleries as she has a fear of losing control of her products. However she is very active in marketing her own art and does about a dozen juried shows per year in Georgia and North Carolina. She can be found in her studio or her workshop working 12 hours a day trying to keep up with the demands the shows put on her. Her husband is very supportive and patient. Sandra has taken over the garage with hundreds of gourds, tools, shelves and workbench plus he helps out with the driving, packing, set-up and all the other gazillion details involved when doing so many shows. Sandy loves people and her energy is contagious when standing in her booth. In looking ahead Sandy is hoping to be chosen as an Artist In Residence for the Georgia Fair in 2011. They will be featuring gourd art. If the economy ever improves she plans to continue to sell her gourd art to support her ever growing gourd habit!  Christmas Ornaments A couple of weeks ago Sandy celebrated her milestone 60th birthday! She and her husband live in a suburb of Atlanta along with their two kitties. She has one son who is absolutely wonderful along with an equally wonderful daughter-in-law. She ends the interview by saying that she is blessed to be Southern and although she has lived in twelve different states as a military wife and later a corporate wife, the reality is she is always the happiest when she is pulled back to her Southern roots. Sandy's business "Hot Off The Vine" has developed a reputation of being hand-made, one- of a kind art. Each piece is created with design in the forefront and it is obvious to anyone who sees her work that this artist truly loves the gourds and the possiblities hidden in the shell.  To learn more about Sandra Taylor click here: http://www.hotoffthevine.com/ We look forward to seeing future art and urge that if anyone has an opportunity to sit in on one of Sandy's classes do! This woman is an inspiration and we thank her for sharing her life and art with us this month in Gourd Fever.
The Art of Growing Gourds
 e Most people absolutely love September and it is easy to understand why. Warm days, cool nights and outside the window the gourd vines are lush and green. By month end the vines will be showing signs of drying and many first time growers will be very tempted to cut their bounty from the vine. Do not follow through....gourds should not be harvested until the first hard frost which, in most parts of Canada and the northern US, does not occur until late October. At this time of year go through your gourd patch one final time to check that all the gourds are standing upright. Look under the leaves because there will always be a few treasures to be found. Looking ahead to harvest time - For those that trellissed the gourds can be left hanging throughout the winter. The snow, ice and wind will not hurt them and in fact aids in the dying process. For the ground gourds they could be left as well but it is better to plan to harvest them and then do a thorough clean-up of the gourd patch. The harvested gourds can be stored in a cold shed, garage or outside on the ground on pallets. The only exception to this rule is with the minis. The vines will dry off quite quickly but keep in mind that the minis are still green and will require a few months to dry. As with all gourds it is best to cut them from the vine leaving the stem on. Spread them out to dry or stack them in wire baskets as demonstrated in the photo. Next month will be the final segment in the series "The Art of Growing Gourds." Harvest tips and storage will be discussed. In the meantime take a few moments to pat yourself on the back. You planted the seed, babied the seedings, pollinated night after night, watered and looked for bugs and mildew and now it is almost time for the harvest. Such a satisfying feeling and one of accomplishment and hope. And to think that in the spring these gourds will be your canvas. Now how great is that! Mark Your Calenders! Its Time For
The Canadian Gourd Society (CGS) Gourd Festival  When: October 23 and 24, 2010 Where: The Black Creek Pioneer Village, Toronto This festival is a lot of fun and an opportunity to meet both old and new friends. There is lots to see and do including artists at work, display gourd art and a competition, classes, demos, workshops and a large variety of gourds and supplies for sale.  Lizard by past winner Mary Druissi Yaber
To learn more about this annual event click here:
http://www.canadiangourdsociety.org/ gourdfest10info.html Dear Carolyn
Hello Northern Dipper,
I have always wanted to make a gourd purse and now is my chance as I have a couple of beautiful large canteens with nice thick walls. I would like to attach leather straps which I would get from my collection of old purses that I can't seem to throw away. My question is should I sew the straps on or is there some type of hardware I can use to attach them?
An excited gourder from Cornerbrook Newfoundland
Louise Browning
 Hi Louise
I have made a few purses using leather straps and what I did is made a trip to my local leather making store and bought a two part post and binder screws. They are also called Chicago bolts. Easy to work with these screws have one side which fits into the other. They secure the strap well and the finished look is clean and professional. I have also made purse straps with satin cord and soft rope and in this case you would sew them on.
Have fun! Carolyn
PS To see a photo of a Chicago screw click here:
The Largest Rocking Horse In The World
 Up until this year the largest rocking horse was claimed by Japan but now a group of Canadians have stepped up to the plate. The staff and friends at Pine By Munro / Munro's Furnishings in Innisfil Heights, Ontario have now claimed the title. This horse was put together last October during a fund raiser for breast cancer. There was a small high-end trade show at the same time and Linda and Carolyn attended. That is Linda sitting under the rocking horse. Munro's Furnishings had a party this year on August 26 which included a contest to name this famous rocking horse! To read more about this horse click here: Looking Ahead: October 2010
We are thrilled to have with us Ohio artist Sher III Feathers. (Sher Fowee) Sher works in mixed media meaning that gourds is one medium that she works with along with others. Most of her art has a Southwestern influence and no two pieces are alike. It's beautiful and we just know that you will find it as unique as we do!
October is harvest time. It is the last step in the growing process and next month we will offer a few tips to ensure that the harvest and drying is successful.
Hope to see you at the Marshville Heritage Festival Sept 4 - 6th. Stop by and say hello. Until next time... Carolyn Cooper and Linda Bond |
|
