Welburn Gourd Farm Photos

Big gourds for things like drums and bowls.

Sculpture gourds.

Bottle Gourds.

If you don't like cleaning gourds, pay a bit more for already cleaned ones.

Tiny jewelry gourds.

Kettle Gourd

Fayme Harper holding a sculpture gourd.

Under the oaks.

Sculpture gourds for things like penguins and swans.

What a great field trip!

Here are the Welburn Gourd photos I promised you yesterday. I just wanted to take them all home! But like many artists, I can only buy so many supplies and that is based on how much I sell.  If no one buys my art, I don't have the money to keep buying supplies. I did the best I could with $25.

Making gourd art is labor intensive. First the exterior has to be cleaned, and then cut open and cleaned inside. Then the art may require drawing, painting, wood-burning, dyeing, stenciling, carving or may be decorated in other ways like weaving or inlays.  By the time it reaches the shop, all kinds of time have been put into it to make it the best I know how to make it. Most gourds will also need a stand or a hanger or some other accessory to truly show them off.

Every bit of a gourd can be used. The seeds can be planted or used for mosaics or necklaces. The papery pulp inside can be used in handmade paper. The tiny shell bits can be used for earrings and doll faces and brooches. Even the stems can be saved and glued onto gourds that have lost a stem. 

Just like any fine sculpture a gourd will last many years if you treat it like fine art. Keep it out of the sun, don't drop it, dust it from time to time, and enjoy.