Avon, MN
Gourd-geous Arts
© Tanya Allen
2020 Booth
My typical process for creating my art pieces is as follows. I get my gourds from Georgia. Once I have a basic design I do a rough sketch of the overall design. The image starts on the gourd in pencil that then goes onto the gourd with a wood burner. I then make what ever cut necessary to open up the inside. I clean out & sand the inside, then paint the inside if the design warrants it. The carving is what comes next, mostly I make luminaries. I then take it into my finishing studio to dye or paint & embellish it. I use a special gourd dye for my pieces & I love to incorporate stones and gold leaf where ever it enhances the design. Finishing is a coat of poly and if it's to become a luminary it will get attached to a base. Working with gourds is a very unique process that is a combination of drawing, woodworking and other processes similar to working with clay. In fact my work gets most commonly confused as being ceramic, people are genuinely shocked when they find out it is a gourd.