About half of our patch (or club) members are pictured above. We met in December to share some Christmas spirit and exchange some incredible gourd Christmas ornaments.
Colleen McKnight
Spirit of the Desert Gourd Patch is a group of nearly 50 artists whose passion happens to be gourds – nature’s canvas. Gourds are grown in Arizona so it’s only natural to see this form develop locally and the artistic level to be high. Any type of art can be done on a gourd from painting, dying, wood burning, carving, cutting, mask creation, clay sculpting, weaving, beading and musical instrument creations are all common embellishment of the many sizes and shapes of our natural gourds. Our patch, or club, is especially well known for its talent with several members selling in art galleries around the states.
To see some of our member’s work and learn more about gourds in general visit our website at spiritofthedesertgourdpatch.com
We meet in Sun Lakes Country Club Arts and Crafts Room, but members from anywhere in the valley are welcome. This very educational and helpful group meets every Thursday from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. in the Arts and Crafts Room for a workshop. Here members help learn different techniques, encourage each other when it’s not quite right and celebrate when it’s better than expected! A very fun group! We also have a monthly meeting on the third Thursday of the month from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in the same Arts and Crafts Room. Here we discuss patch business and our involvement with the Arizona Gourd Society.
The month of January is a busy time for our members. They are preparing for the fabulous Weurtz Gourd Art Festival on February 12-14 at the Pima County Fair Grounds. This gourd festival is one of the top three in the United States and definitely worth a visit. There is a judged competition of Arizona gourd artists, over 100 booths of supplies and finished gourd art for sale and, of course, food and music. Our patch and members will be selling from several booths. People come from all over the states to this festival, but it’s right in Casa Grande, our own back yard! To see more about the festival visit wuertzfarm.com/gourd-festival. And be sure to stop by our booth, Spirit of the Desert, and say hi.
To join our group just contact our President Vicki McKenna at 480-802-1632, e-mail [email protected], or just stop by the Arts and Crafts Room of Sun Lakes Country Club on any Thursday from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.