Grape Leaf Gourd

Since I mentioned gourds and showed a part of my studio. I thought maybe you would like to see one of my pieces. I love to draw from the nature around me. The flowing lines of the grape leaves and the clusters of grapes hanging on the vines are very inviting. We have plenty of grape leaves, but the birds have taken the grapes before I could get to them.. After drawing the design I use a burning tool to carve into the gourd. This technique is called Pyrography. Of course, before all that fun stuff, the gourd had to be cut open and cleaned. Yes, with a mask on my face, and steam behind my glasses. Last year my artist friend Julie Mitchell and I went to Bass Lake and found some wonderful pieces of drift wood. I have been busy with Challenge Quilts, but my fingers are just itching to start on a gourd that has already been cleaned.. Back to my Challenge Quilt, I will show a small piece of it tomorrow, maybe, but can not show all of it, or it would not be a surprise for my YoYo group. Will tell the story of the YoYo's next time I get a chance to write.