Make an Artistic Dancing Gourd Couple

It is so much fun to create art from gourds. There are so many shapes and sizes and the natural gourd has it's own unique flaws that can be part of the final art project or covered up if it distracts from the final look you desire. The gourds I used are called "people" gourds and the heads are just small round "ornament" gourds. Have fun with this. Make this your own art with different paints and colors or arrange two people gourds into a completely different shape. The possibilities are endless.

1. 2 people gourds
2. 2 small round ornament gourds
3. Metal scrubby gourd cleaner
4. Balsa wood
5. X-Acto knife or good scissors
6. Sandpaper all purpose
7. Paint brushes
8. Alcohol inks - I used bright blue, peacock blue, ultramarine blue, emerald green, pink, purple, yellow and orange
9. Pen style paints - blue, purple, red, green, yellow and black
10. Waxed flat thread (basket making supply)
11. 2 part epoxy wood filler such as JB Weld Kwik Wood
12. Disposable gloves
13. Clear glue
14. Sculptor's armature wire for base
15. Gloss clear coat
16. Jewelry, feathers and beads for finishing decorations

Clean the skin and dirt from the gourds with a metal scrubby and water (or cheat like I did and buy already cleaned gourds :) If there are some bumps you would like to remove, an all purpose sandpaper works great. The good news is that there is no inside gourd cleaning with this project.

I thought about the heart shape, but decided on the dancing figures. I held them up and moved them around to think about the base to make and how the final art would look. It's just plain fun to do this.

This art project began with a base coat using alcohol inks. Practice on a gourd piece or watercolor paper and play with blending the colors. I like to thin the inks with a little rubbing alcohol and tap the brush onto the gourd to get a ring of color. The patterns the inks make are so fun and nicer looking than just a solid color. I used a fairly small brush and "tapped" the color on until I had the desired finish. Paint the head gourds too before attaching them. After the base coat of alcohol inks, I made a loose swirly design using the paint pens. After your painting is finished and dry, apply a clear coat. I used a glossy finish polyurethane. This step has endless possibilities with color and application selections. The gourds can look very Native American and have earthy colors with a satin finish, or lean toward the modern which is the finish I wanted. Make it unique and express your inner artist. Make it fun; not a job, and you will be delighted with the finished art.

Two part epoxy wood filler or clay for sculpting that air hardens works good for this so you don't have to drill a hole in the gourds or glue as the surfaces will not be large and smooth enough to get a good glue bond. I used wood filler and just followed the instructions for the product. It is easy to use and you could make other embellishments on the gourds such as cloaks or hair if you wish. After kneading the two parts together, just make a small "snake" with the filler and wrap it around the neck area attaching the heads. I used it to attach the Balsa wood headdresses too. The product calls for using disposable gloves to protect your hands and it is a little bit of a pain, but keep trying and pressing it in and smoothing it to make a good bond. After it dries, wrap the neck with the waxed flat thread. This is a great little product that you can find in basket making supplies and sometimes in leather making supplies too. It looks really nice and hides the ugly neck ring. You'll be gluing feathers to the head pieces to hide that bond. Paint the Balsa wood before attaching it for an easier finish. I didn't. I will next time :) Now you can glue some feathers around the headdresses to look nice and this also gives you the effect of hair on the gourds.

The coil that is used in sculpture armature is great for this. There are various stands that can be purchased for gourds, but I wanted the stand to be part of the artistic design. This can take awhile to get your stand like you want and to get the bottom flat. After getting the design I wanted, I used a rubber mallet and pounded the base to make it sit level without rocking. Be careful placing the gourds in the coil to test the final placement so that the gourd paint and finish are not damaged. This would make me cry because my design took awhile. I didn't have to cry and I hope you don't either. I painted the coil with alcohol inks, the bright blue and emerald green, and coated the whole base with the gloss top coat.

There are many supplies available for adding a little sumpin sumpin to the finished design. I chose some beads and silver for a little bright accent. I placed the gourds in the stand before the final step so I could see how the jewelry would hang and look. I also placed a drop of clear glue between the necks to keep them from movement. They sit nice and snug in the stand and it all came together after only a small number of "OH GEEZ" moments. Above all, have fun!