In 1997 a friend asked Lynette Dawson if she would like some ornamental gourds. Lynette rushed over and while collecting, she tripped over a rather large gourd shaped like a swan. Her friend had no idea how it got there but she gave it to Lynette to take home. It was beautiful when set with Lynette's  fall decor. 

Once winter came she promptly forgot about it but in the spring, once dried, Lynette began to wonder if she could wash it and maybe paint it. It worked! Lynette believed that she had discovered a new art form and was thrilled. 

That was until the summer issue of Birds and Blooms came out. On those pages were photos of decorated gourds and a listing of a number of gourd societies. What better way to learn she thought; she became a member. In 1999 she attended the Florida Gourd Show and on the home front her son built her a computer. She became active on-line meeting other gourders and exploring gourd art. What a welcome she received into the gourd world and now, twelve years later, Lynette is still excited, involved and happy.



Lynette didn't get involved with art until she was in her twenties. Her mom gifted her with some fabric paint and with 3 kids and a farm with animals and numerous pets she didn't have to look far to find a canvas. Stains were the bane of her life and the paints came in handy. As she says "I would draw and paint animals or characters over the stains to hide them. Shirts, jackets and pants...nothing was sacred or safe from my paintbrush!"

She started to do commissioned work and was recognized and registered by the Detroit Institute of Art. She travelled with their art show for about a year, which led to doing an album cover for the rock group called Atlantis and a write-up in the newspapers. Lynette was also mentioned in the Who's Who of Michigan Blue Book in the Pop Art section. When the kids started to attend school all day she had to take a step back from the Detroit Institute of Art for awhile.



When looking at Lynette's art, many pieces tell a story and in order for the story to be told, unique embellishments are used. For example about ten years ago Lynette purchased some beetle wings from a vendor. She had no clue as to when or how they would be used but she knew they would be used at some point. Now they have been pulled from the drawer and will find a place on an exquisite peacock that Lynette has been thinking about for a while now.

Lynette is involved with the Michigan Gourd Society as well as the American Gourd Society. One major project she worked on was putting together the American Gourd Society's wall hanging. One hundred and twelve artists from across the US sent in gourd tiles and it was Lynette, her daughter Mug and others that sewed them together to make an amazing wall hanging.

 

This wall hanging has been shown throughout the US at various gourd festivals and galleries as well as in Canada at the CGS Annual Gourd Festival. It was quite an accomplishment and demonstrated how the US gourd movement is strong and still growing.




On a more personal note Lynette says, " I was married for 43 years to Byron, a wonderful man. When he died a part of me died too - it left a hollow. But boy oh boy do I have memories!"
 
"I've been and am so blessed. I live back off the road secluded in and by a dense woodlot. It took us about 15 years of doing the work ourselves, along with the cash, to carve and build a home back in here."
"In the late 70's and 80's our lives were in the fast track. Byron owned and operated Dawson's Concrete and Masonary Co. I went to work at the Ford Motor Co. interior division. We also built, owned and operated a fast food ice cream store named Muggy's."
 
"After the kids were out of school we decided to liquidate most of our assets, buy a motor home and live and work in California for the winters. We did this for ten years traveling to so many different places. I am so glad we did this together, especially while we were still young enough to enjoy it."

 

To see more of Lynette's art click here:
http://www.picturetrail.com/lynette/