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!