I never expected that I would begin creating gourd artwork at age 69, but life has been a series of surprises.  I began knitting when I was 7 years old.  I have been a knitter my whole life, producing mostly clothing items for my family.  I was going to retire and write a book and develop patterns until my thumbs started to give me problems.  Then I tried Japanese Brush Painting and Pastels.  I spent about six years developing my painting skills but something seemed to be missing.  I was getting better all the time but I was not having fun doing it.

 

One day a friend and I were sitting around trying to decide what we wanted to do that day.  She showed me a picture of some gourds that were painted using fishnet stockings and she wanted to try it.  So we looked up the local gourd society to find out where we could get gourds and headed out to buy some.  We gave it a try and I fell in love with working with gourds.

 

We had found the New Mexico Gourd Society and I went to my first meeting.  One of the members was teaching a marbling techniques hands-on class--I was very excited—and actually went home with a marbled gourd sample.

 

I’m still relatively new using this art medium, but I work hard and have been able to sell my gourds at the spring Home and Garden show and at local Farmers’ Markets during the summer.  I attend as many classes as I can while continuing to develop my skills.  I recently attended a gourd carving class and look forward to creating more new gourd artwork.

 

Contact Information:

phenderson628@gmail.com

(505) 466-1017