I have been working with gourds for several years.  I have a degree in fine art with my main interest being in design and color.  I had worked in several mediums prior to discovering the 3 dimensional challenge of working with gourds and thus combining both design and color to create a flowing and cohesive overall art piece.

I design all of my work on the gourd itself with pencil.  I do not use transfers and all of the artwork is my own.  I then wood burn the designs and color with leather dyes, acrylics, and inks.  I use leather, bone beads, turquoise, and other natural embellishments to finish the piece.  The finished work is then sprayed with a protective matte or satin fixative.