THE GATHERING

 

My grocery store always has a beautiful display of gourds during the fall season.  The grouping is interesting.  They almost seem like a family gathered together for a wonderful celebration.  There are all shapes and sizes, tall and short, bulbous and slender.  The texture is usually smooth, with an occasional ridge or blemish.

This is what I thought about when I received the wonderful “Doodling Borders for Wood Burning Gourds & Drawing,” written by Bettie Lake and published by Schiffer.  What fascinated me as I reviewed the book was how the art form, Zentangle, was utilized to enhance the borders and surface of each gourd.

Many patterns are introduced and subsequently shown as border designs. There are many examples of beautifully designed gourds, utilizing transferring images and then applying watercolor pencils and paints.   Other gourds are illustrated with very intricate carved and wood burned surfaces.

The last section is a step-by-step process of choosing and cleaning the gourds.  Once all of the scraping and sanding, and scouring has taken place, the gourds will be ready for enhancement. 

The wonderfully decorated gourds, which I viewed in this book, has really captured my imagination.  They too seem like a family gathered together for a very special celebration.

 

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