Oh! My Gourd.

I am so happy to have completed my first crafted gourd today! I only regret not taking its picture last fall when it was a bright green, spotted swan neck gourd. At that time I had no idea what this lil' fella would become. I only had an inkling when I was at the Alameda Holiday Bazaar in December and saw a fellow Alamedan and gourdista, owner of Studio Phoenix Gourd Art, display her gorgeous gourds. I promptly made plans to dry my two gourds and turn them into.. something, anything! Each gourd is so unique you just have to examine it and think about the possibilities a while before you know. This one, besides being an autumnal equinox celebration gourd, is inspired by Southwest gourd artist extraordinaire, Bonnie Gibson.
I copied her Hopi rain cloud design for the top woven coiled part, and added my own beaded design for the handles. The top neck part is still around for use in a future gourd art piece! I love that the materials are (almost) all natural, and I can combine gourds, beading, and basketry all in one piece. I have two more gourds in the works already, which makes me very happy.

By the way, just because today is the Autumnal Equinox DOES NOT mean that we have exactly 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness. Look it up on a real website like time and date dot com why don't ya? If you have a science geek gene like me, you'll really want to read all about it. If not, well it's still the first day of autumn, and I wish you a beautiful fall day!