Painted Gourd

A while back I discovered gourd art. Here in the southwest gourds grow fairly well. We grew some of our own and this is one I painted. Patience is the key word with gourd art. First, they take most of the summer to grow. Then they have to be completely dried out. I usually waited about a year for the drying time. The best way to tell if it was dry was to listen for the seeds to rattle when I shook the gourd. Cleaning the outside was very time consuming. I would work outside because it's a messy project. Keeping a bucket of warm water nearby, I would use a knife to scrape off the skin after I had dipped the gourd in the water. It would take repeated dips in the water and lots of scraping. Once it was completely clean, I'd let it dry out a few days before painting. I used regular acrylic paints for the flowers and leaves, followed by edging the petals and leaves with a wood burner. That's what the black lines are from. Challenging to say the least. When I was satisfied with the project I applied a light coat of satin water-based varnish. I really like the original colors of the gourd. The top was cut off, and I trimmed a large cork to fill the space. I took out the seeds and replaced them with dried beans. This adds weight and helps stabilize the gourd to keep it upright. Seems to be working pretty well. If you have any questions about this craft I'd be happy to answer them.