Go Out of Your Gourd at the Gourd Fine Art Show

edited by Nan Frient

Over the next several weeks it will be virtually impossible to be bored out your gourd in Fallbrook, California. Once used as water carriers and ceremonial vessels, gourds are taken to a higher level at the 12th Annual National Gourd & Fiber Fine Art Show, which runs May 18 to June 22 at the Fallbrook Art Center.

"Fine gourd art is finally coming into its own," said Mary Perhacs, executive director of the Fallbrook Art Center. "It's amazing that simple gourds can be transformed into fascinating works of art as well as functional objects and jewelry."

The show this year was expanded to include fiber art such as basketry, weavings, quilts and large-scale wall hangings. It has attracted 24 artists from all over the Western United States to Fallbrook, which is nationally recognized as a gourd-growing destination and center for the fine arts.

On June 7, the Fallbrook School of the Arts will offer a workshop in Basic Gourds for all those interested in becoming "gourdies" or perfecting their craft. The final weekend of the show coincides with the Welburn International Gourd Art Festival on June 20-21 at the Welburn Gourd Farm, which is 12 miles north of the center of Fallbrook.

Gourd art today is only limited by the imagination of the artists who rely on time honored as well as modern methods for transforming gourds into works of art. Pieces on exhibit at the art center can incorporate carving, coiling, decoupage, dying, lashing, painting, weaving, wood burning and polymer clay. Gourds are embellished with everything from acrylic paints, gold-leaf, dyes and waxes to accessories such as bone, cane, coins, eucalyptus pods, feathers, glass beads, hemp twine, leather, leaves, Pakistani grass, palm fronds, pine needles, raffia and shells.

An artists' reception will be held at the Fallbrook Art Center at 103 South Main St. in Historic Downtown Fallbrook on May 17 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The five-week show is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from noon to 3 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $5.

www.fallbrookart.org