Gourds! Gourds! Gourds!

Those of you coming to the 1997 High Desert Gardening and Landscaping Conference will not only be able to attend a class by master "gourdsman" Eliot Edwards but some of you will be able to take home one of the many beautifully decorated gourds that will be given away at the conference.

If you are interested in seeing some examples of gourd art on the World Wide Web, point your browsers at either http:/www.cfcl.com/essence/ or http://the-grizz.com/market/gourd/. These two Web sites are profusely illustrated with many examples of gourd art. They also provide some interesting background information about gourds. For example, did you know...

The hard-shelled gourd, Lagenaria siceraia, also known as the calabash, is a member of the pumpkin family. Hard-shelled gourds have been cultivated for at least 40,000 years in Africa, 8500 years in Mexico, and 5,000 years in Peru. They were used by the ancient Egyptians, and the Chinese used them over 4000 years ago. Bottle gourds were grown and used by Woodland Indians in eastern North America at least 3000 years ago.

Gourds were not only used for food in primitive societies, but were also used for ceremonial and utilitarian purposes such as drinking vessels, bowls, bottles, floats, utensils, masks, rattles, drums and other musical instruments, birdhouses, storage containers, and art pieces.

The creative possibilities that gourds present to the artist are unlimited. The wood-like outer skin readily accepts stain and paint, making it an excellent medium. Once dry, the gourd will last as long as any other wood product. Fragments of gourd vessels have been found in Pre- Columbian graves.