Whimsy in the Valley...

Some days one just has to step out of the box and do something totally different and treat yourself to some fun. Besides you just got to take a break from your daily routine and in my case canning all those tomatoes!

Sunday 12 women decided to spend part of their day doing just that, whimsical gourd art of all things with the 'Gourd Girl' herself, Terri Schmit(far right in the pic) You should Google her to see her gorgeous creations! Terri and I met a couple of years ago at the Driftless Art Fair in Soldier's Grove. (FYI The fair is being held Sept 15th-16th). Anyhow I couldn't believe a gourd could turn into such a piece of beauty. The faux finishes can look like leather, ceramic or even wood if you are a talented artist like Terri who also happens to have an endless supply of gourds. Why? She is married to a gourd farmer. In fact they grow about 7,000 gourds (15 different varieties) annually and are the largest supplier of dried gourds.

After expressing an interest in the process and the possibility of taking gourd classes nearby, Terri offered to travel across the state to hold a class if I got the other participants. Here is the first class of Valley Gourd artists. Were we happy campers or what? We buffed and polished,wove and sewed to embellish our gourd vessels. Every piece looked so different. I have heard that each gourd is displayed in a predominant locale in their new homes. We had so much fun that we decided to make it an annual event and hence the 'Whimsies' class.


This year those that participated in the Second Annual Gourd class created gourd "Whimsies."From 2 pieces of stained and finished gourd pieces, one which served as the head and the other, the torso, beads and wires were used to make appendages and create our own unique 'Whimsical' Person. And create whimsy we did... Take a look at our gourd people. They are each as individual as we are!

Creativity busted out even in choosing food the chip 'scoops' to be a bead holder. It was such a good idea that I used a scoop to collect the found beads on the floor after everybody left! Of course I had to add those beads to my creation and now my work has a piece of everybody's work.

I can't wait to hear what everybody names their work of art. Mine is called 'Chastity.' Note the chastity belt. Obviously it's the politically correct' protection' of some.

Maybe you'd like to join us next year for another gourd class right here in the End of the Rainbow Valley, just let me know so I will put you on the mailing list...