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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!
Marilyn Sunderland's 'Running With The Wind'
In This Issue: Many years ago, when we first began to work with gourds, the style that most resonated with us was the carved gourd. These works of art somehow felt as though the gourd had a story to tell, and through the carver's knife and drill, the story emerged. This month we will be delving into the world of gourd carving with the delightful Marilyn Sunderland. Marilyn is an artist who brings the textures and shapes of gourd leaves and horses alive. Her sense of design excels and her work can be found in galleries and art shows throughout the year.  Leaves - Carved by Marilyn Sunderland Ken Carlson is here discussing a question that all have at this time of year when planning our gourd gardens. Just how many gourds should one plant and how many gourds can we expect per plant? Ken has some sound advice on the subject in a style that is all his own.  The Gourd Jungle, our home gardener series, is full of tips on planting. There is also lots of trivia to savor. (Do you know what brain-to-brain interface is?) Lots to read and learn this month - this lovely month of May!
Marilyn Sunderland: Art Lifts The Human Spirit
 Marilyn was born and raised in Columbia, Mo on a small farm of 135 acres. Her family enjoyed the country life. They rode horses and had lots of animals to care for and play with. There were always things to do and life was filled with daily adventures and fun. Drawing began at a very young age and once in high school, Marilyn entered every art competition there was. At one point she entered a contest at the Art Instruction, Inc of Minneapolis, Minnesota and ended up taking a 2 year home instructional course with them. She then attended the University of Missouri where she received her Bachelor's degree in Art Education. Both of these schools had a great influence in her art training. After she married, Marilyn moved to Utah and has lived there ever since. She lives in Riverton, a town about 20 miles south of Salt Lake City. It is set in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains and 20 minutes away are the canyons where you can hike, camp, walk or take a leisurely Sunday drive. It is her childhood memories and the canyons that have given Marilyn Sunderland the inspiration for her art work.  About nine years ago Marilyn went to a Home and Garden Show where the company Profitable Hobbies was demonstrating their high speed carving tool. She fell in love with it and bought it. She went home and practiced on wood and glass and then moved on to the most exciting medium; a gourd. Next, she took a class from Mary Hogue, a fellow gourd artist who has been carving for years. They quickly became good friends. The different burrs you purchase for the high speed carving tool allows you to produce many techniques in carving the leaves (or any subject matter) you choose Marilyn states. She expands by saying that it allows you to pull out the smallest of details. Marilyn always tests and practices her carving techniques on a gourd that is not shaped nicely before she render it to her final gourd project. Marilyn has many strengths, one being her sense of design. The design she states is what gives the drawing it's utility. It becomes a skillful artistic way of expression that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. For example Marilyn doesn't want to just draw a leaf, she wants to draw a creative leaf. She can take one leaf and draw hundreds of designs. Over the years her designs have become more detailed as her expertise in the art of carving has grown. Besides the leaf, other passions are old barns and horses. She is currently learning all about the anatomy of horses so she can carve them well.  Marilyn exhibits at art shows when she can and also enters her work into local carving shows and state fairs in the valley. She has participated in many gallery showings and currently has two scheduled for this fall in Provo, Utah. (at the Anderson Gallery at the Provo City Library - September and October and at the Covey Center Eccles and Secured Gallery - December 6 to February 2) Like all creative people Marilyn has many interests besides carving gourds. Taking photographs during travelling often results in inspiration when looking for subject matter to carve. Walking and biking keep her active as do her two children and six grandchildren. She has a husband that loves HO model railroading and she travels to shows with him throughout the year. Marilyn is also working on a book of Inspirational Art of Gourds which she hopes will be available by year end. As well The Decorative Painter Magazine will be featuring an article on one of her gourds in the May Issue 2013. In the meantime check out Marilyn Sunderland's website to view more of her wonderful gourd art. Keep in mind that she does have classes on occasion and also has a set of educational DVD's that are available upon request. Here are some websites for you to check out: http://www.marilynsunderlandstudio.com/:// http://www.trailofpaintedponies.com/ http://www.trailofpaintedponies.com/registry/ registry_guide.php?theme=10 http://www.coveycenter.org/ Each spring there comes a time when you finally have to decide what type, and how many gourds to plant. As a rule of thumb, gourds are like friends, you can never have too many.
Sure, some have funny shapes, long necks and grow too large. Some need more time to develop, while others you can ignore for an entire season and still see that growth has taken place. Some need lots of space while large groups help others thrive...but enough about our friends; let's talk about how many gourds we're going to plant this spring. It's taken me a few years to get to this point, but I can now pull a gourd plant out of the ground if it isn't doing well. One reason I can do this is that the other gourds around that spot will do better. (I always plant too close) Another reason is that since my first year I always plant too many.  For example, my first year with apple gourds I planted about 6 plants and expected to get 36 perfectly shaped apples in the fall. I over-watered, over-fed, over-pollinated and over-worked the patch. I ended up with about about 25 tall, large things that looked like 10 pound tomatoes grown in an 8 pound box. About as many small ones that didn't have enough time left in the growing season to mature, and you guessed it, about a dozen nicely shaped apple gourds to paint. The next year I planted 20 apple gourd plants and only watered them if it got dry for a couple weeks. At the end of the season I had about 60 apple gourds that were too fat, or too tall or too square - but - I also had about 60 apple gourds that were really nice. It felt good when harvesting to know that I hadn't worried about every plant, every blossom and every apple - everyday. Life is short so sow many, pull a few, enjoy the good, toss the rest, but again, enough about our friends, my advice on gourds is to plant more. Ken  PS A few years back while shopping, my wife and I saw some colorful basketball sized Christmas bulbs for hanging outdoors during the Christmas season. She liked them and thought some of them would look good in our clump birch tree. At $20.00 each however I said our tree looked just fine. A little over a week later as my wife came home from work she was greeted with 140 large colorful Christmas bulbs hanging from our birch tree. They were not however, just large round bulbs, strangely enough they were in the shape of the140 extra gourds that I had left over from other years. She loved them, so I tried to get $20.00 each for the gourds - $2800.00. She said that sounded a little high but maybe we could work something out. When I looked at her she had that coy grin on her face that I haven't seen since...well anyway...I was very glad to have an extra 140 gourds of all shapes and sizes just laying around. PS PS The birch tree looked happy in the daylight. At night it was in full glory with flood lights on both sides. The reflected light enlarged each gourd to twice it's size against a jet black sky only to have the entire sight highlighted by the white skeleton of a clump birch holding each gourd out for you alone to enjoy. Out Of The Mailbag  Hi Carolyn,
In reference to the current newsletter (Issue 97 - April) highlighting purple martins and great horned owls, you should find this news article of particular interest. It come out on the same day as your newsletter.
Jim Widess
Thanks Jim for the link. Jim is the owner of The Caning Shop in Berkley CA. It is a great place to visit and shop - here is the link. http://www.caning.com/
Hi Carolyn,
I have been receiving your newsletter for a few years now and just want to say how much I enjoy it. I use to live in Alberta but have moved back home to Whitby, Ontario. It is nice because I am closer to my family.
I would like to come up to see you and buy some gourds. Should I make an appointment and do you have a lot of gourds?
Thanks,
Paula Sforza
 Hi Paula,
In answer to your question - yes we have lots of gourds to choose from. Pictured above is a very small sampling of what we have.
People like to come up and choose their own gourds. At the same time some like to take a workshop while they're at it. Regarding an appointment - it is a good idea.
We look forward to meeting you. Drop us a line and let us know when you would like to come and we'll make arrangements. See you soon...
Carolyn
"Other Stuff"
 The headline "Man Wriggles Rat's Tail Using Only His Thoughts" caught my eye the other day. Reported in the Live Science magazine this article described how, by linking a human and rat brain, the man was able to wriggle the rat's tail by thinking about it.
This was the first non-invasive brain-to-brain interface between species. In other applications it has advanced over time, enabling people with paralysis for example to control robot arms.
To learn more about Live Science click here:
Looking Ahead: June 2013
 Next month's featured artist is well known in many circles. As a successful jewellery designer Sharon Patrick's art is seen by thousands every day and now, working with gourds, she is quickly building a reputation of creating extremely unique one of a kind pieces. Whether it is her vessels with interesting textures or her sculptural figures with their wonderful faces, Sharon Patrick's art will captivate your imagination. Please welcome Sharon in the June issue of Gourd Fever.  Summertime brings big changes in the gourd garden. Your vines will be rapidly growing and cucumber beetles may be paying an unwanted visit. But not to worry - everything you will need to know will be in next month's article The Gourd Jungle. Ken Carlson will be here as well talking about all things gourdly. We love Ken's writings. He is humorous, knowledgeable and witty. So until we meet again, enjoy the warm springtime sunshine coming your way. Carolyn Cooper and Linda Bond PS If you have any stories, ideas or photos that you would like to share please send to info@northerndipper.com |
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