Our patch President Vicki McKenna became a Grand Master in February after winning Sponsor’s Choice, Best Living Figure in the Masters Division, Best of Division and Best of Show at the 2017 Arizona Gourd Society competition. Well deserved for a fabulous artist, leader and mentor. Congratulations, Vickie!
Colleen McKnight
Spirit of the Desert Gourd patch had a big sale right about the time you received this paper. On Friday, March 31, in the lobby of Sun Lakes Country Club, about half of our 50-member club displayed and sold gourd art. We were open from 3:00-7:00 p.m. Maybe you can still come; if not, hope you got a chance to stop by and see some amazing art.
Amazing art from amazing members! We are a large group with diverse backgrounds and a range of artistic abilities. Could be a mess! But with our supportive members, we view each other as mentors, not competition. All our members have something to learn and all have something to share.
Because of this corporative attitude, we’ve had three professional classes for our membership in the last month. We were VERY lucky to have two private classes with Grand Master Arturo Ramirez, as well as a class by Kristi Dial. Teachers are willing to do special classes for us, because they are well arranged by V.P. Lorraine Longpre and generously hosted by members Carol Reese and Nancy Zier. Each class was attended by over 15 of our members.
Besides learning at classes brought by our patch, we also learn at the Sunday workshops. Every Sunday, we meet in the painting and framing room of the Oakwood Country Club Arts and Crafts building. From noon until 4:00 p.m., we each work on a project we brought. It’s a fun group that’s willing to share advice and help encourage beginners. And watching artists at the Master and now Grand Master level is inspiring to all the novice artists in the group. Our weekly work groups are one of the best things about our patch.
Our monthly business meetings are the third Thursday of each month from 4:30-6:30 p.m. We meet in the sewing room of the Oakwood Arts and Crafts building. The next meeting on April 20 will include a wrap-up of our chairmanship of the Arizona Gourd Festival in February, some plans for next year and some sad goodbyes. April is usually the last meeting for over half our patch until October.
You can always keep in touch with our patch and members online at spiritdesertgourds.com.