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Joining the Gourd Community

Joining the Gourd Community

The gourd community is always looking for new members. Here you will learn how the American Gourd Society is structured and how you can find a local group to join. This is the best way to learn about gourd art!

This is a community of helpers!

The gourd journey has a great appeal to many because the gourd art welcomes so many art processes and techniques creative people are familiar with. Plus, it allows many older women like me the opportunity to learn to use small power tools! It has become a wonderful hobby for retired adults. Every club usually has more women than men, so they always get lots of help!

When asked why they are members, many say it is for the friendships. Everyone is there to learn, so they are helpful and encouraging to new people and want events to happen.

You are going to meet some great people in these gourd communities!

festival

There are three tiers in our gourd community.

Here is how the Gourd Society is set up.

American Gourd Society

First join the national organization, American Gourd Society. This is the mother ship.  

They publish a quarterly magazine that is filled with information about gourd events across the nation. It has tutorials and articles about artists and festivals. 

Then you will need to find your State Society. They offer you the opportunity to join gourd competitions, attend state classes and help make decisions on the Society’s actions.  These are listed below. Check out their festival information and photos. They will also lead you to the local clubs which we call “patches”.

Patches 

These are the local gourd communities where you get involved monthly. Patches have monthly meetings with demos, Show and Tell segments, and lots of socializing. Many patches organize booths at the state festivals to sell their gourds and recruit new members.  Some patches are required to work on the state competitions at the state festivals.

Now you are set up for the support you will need. I will guess this will cost you no more than $25. Plus, you now have the opportunity to make many new friends on all levels of the gourd world.

The gourd community will provide you with physical places where you meet gourd artists. But there’s also another way to connect.  

Links to help you get connected to a great gourd community

Chapters

ALABAMA GOURD SOCIETY (Tau Chapter)
Elizabeth West, President
alabamagourdsociety.org

ARIZONA GOURD SOCIETY (Gamma Chapter)
Karen Wollscheid, President
arizonagourdsociety.org

CALIFORNIA GOURD SOCIETY (Nu Chapter)
Marilyn Phelps, President
californiagourdsociety.com

FLORIDA GOURD SOCIETY (Lambda Chapter)
Therese ZamoiskiPresident
flgourdsoc.org

GEORGIA GOURD SOCIETY (Pi Chapter)
Jane Ballou, President
georgiagourdsociety.com

IDAHO GOURD SOCIETY (Rho Chapter)
Ron Swank, President
idahogourdsociety.org

INDIANA GOURD SOCIETY (Eta Chapter)
Pat Moore, President
http://indianagourdsociety.org/

IOWA – LOESS HILLS GOURD SOCIETY (Delta II Chapter)
Ron Sievers, President

LOUISIANA GOURD SOCIETY (Beta II)
Jackie Carlisi, President

MICHIGAN GOURD SOCIETY (Theta Chapter)
Ellen Rodriguez, President
michigangourdsociety.org

MISSISSIPPI GOURD SOCIETY (Psi Chapter)
Mike Thompson, President
mississippigourdsociety.org

gourd magazine

When you join the American Gourd Society you receive the quarterly magazine. This is a national report on events in the United States.

There tutorial, articles, and lots of pictures. We all look forward to our copy and so will you!

Join our Gourd Art Talk group Facebook page

This site also has a group where you can share your gourd experiences. I encourage you to use the platform as a Show and Tell section of our Gourd Art Talk community. You can alway go there from the facebook icon at the bottom of every page. Or connect there now.

 

You can also connect with people from more gourd communities through  other Facebook Groups. Many of the state societies have groups. You can set up memberships in as many states and patches as you like. The fee are always low!

Some groups provide you a place to sell gourds and others even allow you to sell used tools or supplies.

The American Gourd  Society Facebook Group page is another place to connect with gourd artists. 

 

 

 My Blog Post are designed to be informational and helpful for gourd learners who may not want to join others in the gourd community in person

When you are not near people and local groups you still have some great connection opportunities online. On the Blog page you will find monthly post covering several gourd categories.  These will help you in your self-directed journey with project ideas, inspiration and many tips to make it fun and easy. 

Also, it is important that you next read the post, Best Social Media Platforms for gourd artists. Here I explain how to get connected and use many more resources available to us online. 

learn about gourd art blog title

Share your thoughts here in the comment box or share it with all the gourd artists in our Facebook Group Page. 

Return to the Blog page for other articles.

 

Bettie Lake

I am a former art educator and gourd art master helping new artists understand how to succeed with gourd art. I use my blog posts and our Facebook Group Page to communicate with my followers. Hopefully you learn some new things from this post and will return to read others.

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