YardSmart

Decorating Gourds for Seasonal Displays

Native American-inspired gourd pot by
Deborah Easley.

The miracle of DNA has finally solved the age-old question: How did bottle gourds come to America?

This plant has no wild progenitors in the Western Hemisphere. The gourd grown by early cultures in Florida, Mexico and Peru is a variant of the African species. Being buoyant, it was believed gourds floated across the Atlantic to our southern coast and from there travel inland.

Recent work by a team of scientists from the Smithsonian Institution and four other universities studied the DNA of the bottle gourd and got a big surprise. The genes proved that ancient American gourds where not from Africa at all. They were from Asia!

Being a thicker shelled form than wild species in Asia, these already "improved" strains were brought here by man 10,000 years ago via the Bearing Strait land bridge or by boat. This finding has now reinforced the theories of North American population origins, and it illustrates why gourds touch us in such unique ways. They predated pottery by thousands of years and the first ceramic pots were inspired by the shapes of gourds.

I've grown many types of gourds and then spent the long winter months creating dozens of different works of art with them. But growing gourds isn't for everyone. It takes time and the vines require tons of space to ensure they don't cross-pollinate with each other or with my squash! Fortunately, you can buy dried and ready to use gourds at local pumpkin patches or from online gourd farms. For a great collection of Web links to gourd sellers and artists go to Gourd Artists Guild at www.jkstacydesigns.com.

Red Mountain designed by Deborah Easley

There is no limit to what you can create with gourds. The decorated containers range from gorgeous Native American designs to fine art paintings. Artist Denise Meyers is a professional who works miracles with these lowly dried fruit. Her brilliantly painted gourds will inspire the painter. See her work online at www.denisemeyers.com.

To get a look at how fabulous Native American designs are rendered on gourd surface with wood burners and stains, check www.gourdartgalleries.com. Artist Deborah Easley has raised this style to its pinnacle. Check out how she uses basket-making materials to add varying textures to some of her pots.

It's a good idea to do some background reading on preparing gourd surfaces for decoration before you start. Some may need to be soaked and scraped to remove the thin outer skin that is often discolored by fungus during the drying process.

Clean dry gourds may be primed and painted.

Painting gourds with oil or acrylic is the simplest way to decorate, but fine artists create virtual portraits on gourds that require a great deal of skill.

Double Happiness, gourd art by Deborah Easley.

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