Date/Time: Thursday, Oct 17, 7:00PM, MST.
Welcome back to TAG’s 2024-25 season in our NEW location! This in-person meeting will be in the Palm Room at the Clark Park Community Center in Tempe. Located on Roosevelt Street (NW of Broadway and Mill in Tempe), our new digs are a bright and comfortable place to learn, laugh, eat, and catch up.
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Speaker’s name: Lu Wald
Lu Wald
Speaker’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lu.wald.75
Bio: My name is Lu Ella (Lu) Wald, I live in Mesa but originally from Bismarck, North Dakota. I first experienced working with gourds when my sister gave me a large gourd that she had grown. I painted it to look like a Tiki Hut, drilled a hole and it became a birdhouse. Unfortunately, a squirrel decided it liked the taste of it and chewed off the top, causing it to fall and break.
On my first visit to this area, I mentioned something about gourds to friends and I was told I should go to the Gourd Festival in Casa Grande in February. Although I certainly did not understand how 3 days could be devoted to “just” gourds as I had never envisioned anything but a bird house until I attended and realized how it truly was a place of pure artistry. I returned home with several gourds and have been hooked ever since!
Since then, I have learned so much by observation, Youtube videos, and just hands on trial and error. I have created lamps, baskets, bowls, a large variety of animals, thunder gourds, and so much more. I have learned to use a variety of tools, paints and ways to seal the surface, both inside and outside. Rarely is a scrap thrown in the trash as it seems I can always find a use for it. Fortunately, I have the space to use these tools as, just like woodworking, it can get messy!
I drive to a gourd farm 10 miles east of Casa Grande and load up on a large variety of gourds that are grown there. There you will find thousands of gourds ranging from miniatures to huge kettle or bushel gourds. Most of the time, I select an unusual gourd not knowing what it will become, but there have been times when the cleaned gourd may set on the counter for a week or two until an idea surfaces.
I love sharing what I have learned with others and have always found that even the first-time gourd crafter has created something really amazing.
Title of presentation: Make a Gourd Ornament
Description of presentation:
At the demo, each participant will receive a cleaned/prepared ornament gourd to paint as they choose, whether during the demo or to take home and work on it there. I will talk about the many aspects of gourd art and show several of the gourds that I have created. In addition, I will have several of the tools available to show how they are used.
