September is SHOWTIME!

Our September meeting will be on Saturday, Sept. 10th at the Caning Shop at 926 Gilman Street in Berkeley, from 10AM to 2PM. Meeting will begin on time. Bring lunch. We will make final plans for the Berkeley/Albany Solano Stroll which is Sunday, Sept. 11th. Plans for the event at Davis Ranch Festival the following weekend, Sept. 17 - 18 just outside of Sloughhouse, CA will also be finalized. Then ... on with the show. 

This will be out fourth year at the Solano Stroll and we will be at the same location as before. Beautiful work by gourd artists will be on display along with other artists booths all the way up and down Solano Avenue. The parade starts at 10 a.m. and there will be activities and performances at various locations throughout the day. For more information, go to -->>  http://www.solanoavenueassn.org/strol.htm 

Join us! 

Catching Up!

A lot has happened since the last post. The Leiser Gourd Festival has come and gone, as has the final Welburn Gourd Festival. We were well represented at the California Patch Leaders' Meeting and there is much to report on all of the above and more! But first ... the upcoming events. 

James Dollar takes home the prize at Welburn Gourd Festival. 

AUGUST MEETING - Our own East Bay Gourd Patch August Meeting will be Saturday, Aug. 20th from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m at the Caning Shop in Berkeley. Discussions about upcoming events including the Solano Stroll in North Berkeley on September 11 and the Davis Ranch Festival in Sloughhouse on  September 17 and 18. Also the ideas for our California Gourd Society Entry for the Fund Raising Raffle will be finalized. The meeting workshop will be exploring different methods of marking gourds that are a bit out of the box. Scraffito and resist have been explored and will be shared along with other exciting ideas. Join us. 

WELBURN GOURD FESTIVAL- California's East Bay Gourd Patch was well represented at Welburn's final Festival, as member James Dollar took a First Place Award in the Masters' Division of the California Gourd Society competition. Welburn celebrated it's 15th year by putting quite a show and as alway included classes and the competition. We'll miss this event.

Other award winners this year were: Jenn Norpchen, Judie Burge AND James Dollar at the Leiser Gourd Festival in May . 

 Going Native! Judie Burge's Leiser winner

Jenn's entry demanded an award!
Judges at Leiser thought so. Would you dare not?

  

Imagine this. Think seasons!

REPORT - Patch Leaders' Meeting -  Each Patch has been given a large gourd to make into a basket and each member is invited to decorate a small gourd to go into the patch basket which will be part of the raffle at the April 20, 2012 Conference in Visalia - "Gourds and Baskets, Containers of Our Culture IV". Members can be involved by embellishing a miniature gourd to go inside the gourd we were given to fill. Members then can sell raffle tickets for a chance to win any one of the resulting baskets that come from Patches all over California. Proceeds are divided 50/50 between the state gourd organization and each of the patches. Given the talent in our own patch we should do well. Our members have taken on this challenge and are considering doing four baskets, one for each season. Spring may be represented by a gourd fashioned into a bird's nest and filled with small bird gourds or decorated egg gourds or other egg connected themes. Summer possibly a Shell or Beach basket, Fall, well, leaves would be good and Winter could be a gourd tree that can be filled with ornament gourds. So start developing those ideas! Should be fantastic.

Baby Gourds in a Basket

     This month brings a fun project to our June meeting! The California Gourd Society has initiated the Challenge Project for next year. 
     Each region/patch has been given a large gourd to carve and otherwise embellish into a basket. Then each individual member of the patch is invited to create one or more miniature gourds to fill this basket, which will then be raffled off at the Visalia Convention in April of 2012. (The one to the left is only about 4" tall!) The funds from the raffle tickets sold will benefit both statewide gourd arts programs and each patch. 
     So come to our meeting on June 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a bit of business and to find out other news of interest to gourd artists. Bring your lunch (or there are restaurants nearby) and prepare to beautify some little gourds amidst great camaraderie. 
     Of course a Challenge means a contest, Gourders. The prize (People's Choice) will be $100 for the winning patch's entry! So bring your colors, your embellishments, your tools, one or more tiny gourds (some will be available for sale if you don't have any) and your best big ideas for a little gourd. Will yours be pyrography, weaving, beading, added on basketry, staining, carving, fusible web, zen doodle, painting, colored pencils, etc. ... OR?  What choices! Do NOT miss this opportunity! 
     The meeting is at the Caning Shop from 10 a.m. to 2p.m. (926 Gilman at the corner of 8th Street, Berkeley, just off Hwy 80). Here's a chance to show off a skill, try something new on a really small scale, or just play. 
     For additional information, e-mail eastbaygourdpatch@yahoo.com

May Gourd Art Festival Excitement!

Join us this month at Leiser Farms in Knights Landing for their annual Gourd Festival on May 14 and 15 in lieu of our regular meeting. This is your opportunity to see a large variety of gourds being artistically interpreted. Meet a number of gourd artists who will be displaying the many different ways of decorating and embellishing the natural beauty of the hard shell gourd. Click on the link below for more information about the festival, the classes, directions, and more.

http://www.gourdfarmer.com/festival_2011

There will be fantastic gourd art, many vendors with supplies and an amazing number of varieties of gourds for sale to serve as a canvas for YOUR art ... already dried and ready to go. This festival provides access to all that you need. Stop by our booth and say hello, visit some of the other groups dedicated to the art of the gourd, and pick up supplies and materials to get started doing it yourself!

Zendoodle example

Here's an example of the fun process called 'zendoodle' used on a gourd.
Photo courtesy Chris Johnson

April Meeting

April 16, 2011.
Join us at 10:00 a.m. for a short business meeting about upcoming events having to do with the wonderful world of gourds. Held at the Caning Shop on Eighth and Gilman in Berkeley. Mini workshop that follows will be Zendoodles on Gourds. Contact the East Bay Gourd Patch
at    -> eastbaygourdpatch@yahoo.com for additional information.

Our Blogspot

Welcome to the new blog for the East Bay Gourd Patch. It is still under construction.

We are a group of gourd artists who love to get together and explore the many possibilities of gourd embellishment/art.  Stay tuned for more information and of course, a look at more gourd art.

Our next meeting is Saturday, March 19 at 10 a.m. at the Caning Shop in Berkeley, CA.