I am organizing Kelowna's first ever Gourd Patch. A Gourd Patch is a group of people who gather together to create art using gourds. We will paint them, wood burn them, use colored pencils and even crayons. I know enough to get us started but gradually the members will become the teachers and show the rest of us what they have created on gourds and then give us a lesson in their techniques.

Right now, no one in the Okanagan grows gourds. However, we have a local farmer who is going to work with us to make this happen. This will take about 1 1/2 years before we have gourds as he has to grow the gourds over the summer, then dry the gourds next winter, and then we can help clean them....and use them! He has invited us to paint in his pasture. Imagine painting on gourds in the middle of a field. What fun!

There is no cost right now except for the cost of the gourd, and some art supplies needed for each month's project. Get on the email list and you will get a notice about the materials to bring each month.

We hope to become an affiliated member of the Canadian Gourd Association. (Yes there is one!) We will probably have dues and a need to "prepay" for gourds until the farmer has a ready supply for us to purchase. We promise to keep our costs to a minimum. Our first meeting is February 4, 2012.

Come and join us as "founding members" of the Kelowna Gourd Patch. Please see my gallery for some examples of gourds that I have decorated.

I want to put together a group of art lovers for an evening of stimulating ideas. We will view one or two professional art lessons from my collection of videos of other artists and have a cup of tea. The first evening movie is entitled "Saturated Wet Technique" by Cheng-Khee Chee.

Please call or email me and let me know if you are interested. As soon as we have a "group" I will schedule an evening to get us started. Let me know what night of the week would work best for you.

FREE

Feel free to bring a friend and join us for a fun evening.

CALL AHEAD SO WE CAN BREW ENOUGH TEA!