how to commission a gourd of your own …

Because she is caught in the moment of dropping her glass juggling balls, I named the clown gourd (shown in the left column), “Fumbelina.” The shape appealed to me, even though the long straight neck and pear shaped bottom made things a little tricky. I could see, with a little squint of my eyes, a woman there, a little unbalanced, a little gawky. On day one, I sketched and painted the first draft. Over the next few days I listened for a message. Her personality was there, just wanted a little decoration on her clothing, and finally, her pointy-toed shoes, kicked off and discarded around back of the gourd. One more day of drying and I paintedt the stem, printed her name with my signature on the base of the gourd and sent her off to Australia.

The chicana gourd (shown here on the right) is named Rita (after Rita Moreno as I remember her in “The West Side Story”). It doesn’t really look like the actress, but that was the kind of girl I was trying for. I feel that I caught her passion, in her face, in her shoulders, and with her skirts flying as she dances. When he saw her, my friend, Leon, said, “Visual art and painting is a person’s most complete activity, where hand, eye and mind are united in a creative way.”

You may be interested in having a painted gourd of your own. I have many dried gourds of varied sizes ready for painting. I hand-picked each one with an eye to the ‘person’ they will become. I invite you to commission one for yourself by emailing me at diana@painted-gourd.com and I will start one for you right away. Thanks!