Plan your Gourd Journey with more thought and along the way save money and time by following these tips from an expert that bought everything she saw!
To get the most out of your gourd journey, let’s talk about things to consider before buying gourd supplies and perhaps I can save you money.
When you plan a trip, you know your destination and you consider a route to get there. Next, you pack your gear and off you go! Your gourd journey can be a short one, that lasts for a year or less or you may be on this journey for years.
Will you be a back-seat driver and go anywhere, following any gourd artist you meet with recommendations? You can buy every product you see, or someone suggests, and you can take classes you will never need and still have no idea who you are as an artist.
In ths post I will share some lessons I have learned in my ten-year journey. Before you spend your money, here are 10 things to think about.
Plan your Gourd Journey
Things to consider before buying gourd supplies
Gather what you have and Organize it!
If you have dabbled in art before, gather those supplies and make a list of what you don’t have. The beauty of gourds is the versatility of mediums that work. If it is acrylic paints, your first projects can be done in a media you know.
Most importantly, establish a place for you to be an artist. Put all your supplies into labeled boxes.
Be creative in how you keep your things convenient and condensed. Google, “art supple storage “and find some great ideas.
Things to consider before buying gourd supplies
2.Find your Nearest Resources
First, you will have to find a resource for gourds and gourd art supplies. Look locally first. Belonging to a local gourd group will help here. They can provide many suggestions. Next, ask friends and other community members.
Fortunately, you don’t need to buy everything at once. Most things will stay under $50. Most of us frequent art stores with coupons!
3.What tools do you buy first?
There are some major tools you should consider for research before buying. Begin, by reading about them online, ask other gourd artists, go to stores where you can handle them to see how they feel in your hand. Will, it fit your purpose?
By the way, I have written a post on each one of these tools on the blog. Start there before shopping.
I put them in order because the electric sander and micro carver I didn’t buy until the 2nd or 3rd year when I decided I was going to stay with gourds.
Here are my choices :
- Wood burner
- Mask
- Jigsaw
- Sander
- Micro-carver
Plan your Gourd Journey
4. What tools do you buy first?
Every art project begins with drawings. Your design on the gourd’s round surface needs a cut line or ditch to catch the liquid mediums, so the wood burner would be my first buy.
Unfortunately, they seldom are on sale, so the prices on all the brands will be about the same. You can buy them second hand on-line or maybe from a group connection.
There are several posts on this blog that will help you make wise decisions. Be sure to check out the reviews of different product and tools.
I do have a section just on wood burning with several videos to watch. Which wood burner should you buy? Begin by reading this post. Focus on the handle and how it fits in your hand. Always use removable tips.
The mask, jigsaw, and electric sander are all great gift suggestions and are often on sale. Just figure out which brand you want.
Plan your Gourd Journey
Things to consider before buying gourd supplies
5. Buy only as you need and research your options
Do not buy new products until you need them. When you are ready to use dyes on your gourds, then research the brands and check prices. Ask around about which colors are used the most. Do not buy the big sets of anything! Consider buying the color wheel colors and colors that fit your first project.
When you know which brand you like or see a set you would use on sale, then buy it. The best deals are usually at a state gourd festival. Here you can ask questions and get a closer look at the product.
Go with a list and online prices so you don’t go too wild!
6.Buy gourd supplies from gourd artists.
At the festivals there will be large gourd farms and craft stores selling products. Also there, you can find gourd artists and small gourd farmers who are also gourd artist and instructors selling favorite supplies. Please look there first. The suppliers I use that are linked on the blog page are mostly gourd artists.
Welburn and Blue Whale Arts are gourd farms and family businesses. Since Maria Art Creations has the same products as Welburn, but cheaper. I try to buy from her first, besides she lives in Tucson. We need to support each other every way we can.
Plan your Gourd Journey
7.Make a plan for where you are going within the artform
Set some goals and determine your steppingstones.
Gourd art is about learning different techniques with tools and products or media.
List the gourd techniques you want to learn. Set up a Pinterest board and start collecting examples of gourds using that technique. The first thing I wanted to learn was wood burning. I collected images of woodburned gourds,tools and videos. This helped me identify and understand what was involved before I started buying things. Learn what can be done with the technique by looking closely at these images. Who are the masters and how is their work different?
Focus on only one or two techniques at a time. Get to feel comfortable with it before moving to the next one. Often one technique builds off another.
Consider each technique you learn as a stepping stone on your journey. Most master gourd artists uses 4-5 different techniques on their gourds. So, you don’t need to learn them all!
If you are on the journey for enjoyment, then don’t hurry and focus on craftsmanship.
Plan your Gourd Journey
8.Think Small Before going Big
Always begin with shards when learning new skills or working with new products. Then go to small gourds. If it turns out well the short time activity will add to your feeling of accomplishment. If it does not, then you can toss it into the trash and not feel you have wasted tons of hours! Keep in mind that the path to success is practice, not creating masterpieces right away!
9.Seek out some critique for your work.
Ask others for tips and suggestions. A “show and tell” experience in a gourd group in person or online in a Facebook group can be extremely helpful. The Gourd Art Talk Facebook Group is a great place to start that experience.
If someone asks you for a critique here is a simple formula. Say two things you like about the gourd. Then start the next sentence with the phrase, “You might consider……” Here you give suggestions for change on this gourd or the next gourd. Example. “You might consider next time to limit your colors to five to keep the viewer’s eye focused on your good wood burning skills.” I always told my elementary art students to say two good things first, then one bad thing.
10.How will you know you have reached your destination?
What will have to happen for you to feel comfortable to say to strangers that you are a gourd artist? Will it be a sale, a booth, or a spot at an art show? Or maybe a ribbon at a gourd competition?
Set something as your steppingstone. If your goal is mastery of a technique then I strongly recommend going for a ribbon at a state gourd competition. They are great fun and everyone there is focused on doing better, so every one offers suggestions if you ask.
11.Talking about your art
After about a year or two of work, you will now have to talk like you are an artist. Artists have a style, theme preferences, and a statement about why they are an artist. This means it is time to do some soul searching. Here are some questions to start with.
Gather your work together. Now be honest with yourself.
- How would you describe your style? What themes do you see? Why do you like working with them?
- What techniques do you use the most? Why?
- Why are you still interested in learning more?
- What do you enjoy most about working with a gourd?
- What are you expressing about yourself in your design choices?
Plan your Gourd Journey
All these answers become part of your “artist statement”
If you are asked to exhibit anywhere, this will be required for display.
Having thought this through, it also gives you something to say when some ask, “Why are you a gourd artist? “Now these answers might change as you get better with your skills. Which is good.
Checking back on these questions every few years will help you see your growth as an artist.
A good question to ask a gourd friend who has followed your journey is to ask them how your work has changed over time? See if you agree and what insight that gives you.
Some of you might be saying to yourself, I will never see myself as an artist. This is just a hobby, something I do for fun and a way to meet people. That is great and welcome to the ride.
What everyone needs here is encouragement and respect for their goals. You will meet gourd artists serious about getting it right. Be their cheerleader, not their judge.
We are all at different steppingstones. Some have been where you are, and others are not at your stone yet. Some have gone way beyond you. But it is the same journey, and it is always more enjoyable when “friends support friends ” because we know that it is the journey that matters, not the destination.
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Hello Bettie,
The information you have provided, in particular, the artist’s statement and talking about your art are very helpful to me at this stage of my gourd art journey. I am at the age of retirement and absolutely love gourds as a medium for art. I have used paints, inks, woodburning, weaving and some carving and always receive very positive feedback from fellow gourders. This past February I entered for the first time, several of my gourds in the Florida Gourd show in Melbourne and to my pleasant surprise, won 2 ribbons. Now I’m at a cross-roads as to how to begin selling my pieces and actually, getting over that feeling of not being sure if anyone would want to buy my art. Thanks again; I will be following.
Becky Woodward
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