Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Such exciting new goings on!

I have had some major changes in my life lately! I must say they have been some really remarkable ones.  As many of you know, I've taken lessons from an extremely talently and nationally known gourd artist by the name of Joyce Campbell. Well we've become very good friends during this past year. I spoke to Joyce a few weeks ago and she let me know that she was going to be moving to California to be close to her mother who is 86 years old now. At that time she asked me if I would like to take over her business so to speak here in Arkansas where I live. I was soooo honored that she choose me to replace her in her classes here!! Of course I said yes and it's been a whirlwind ever since. I will be having classes every Saturday just as Joyce does at Hill Country Gallery in Mountain Home, AR. I'm also now an Associate at that Gallery and am trying to put many Gourd Art pieces in there. Therefore I've been very busy because I've got Gourd Art in several other places too! Here are a few of my current works:

Somehow I managed to cut off a little bit of most of the pictures but hopefully I will get better at doing this, and hopefully you can see enough of the picture to realize what I'm doing. I've been working on several other pieces lately plus I'm making a trip to purchase uncleaned gourds for me and also for my classes tomorrow. It's a 10 hour drive round trip plus some time to pick out gourds so it makes for a very busy day. ( at least 12-14 hours) I've been purchasing a lot of tools and mediums for the classes. Here's a pic of one of the classes and one of the ladies who made a couple of gourd art masks last week:
The classes are so enjoyable and you don't have to be an expert to take a class. The students just really have fun. I even have an 80 year old man who is really good. He and his wife spend the winters in the area and this will give them something to do. He also does stained glass and you should see what he's done with the glass and gourds! I will do my best to get more posts on my blog and do it more frequently. LOL Hope you enjoyed today's post.

Another very exciting and proud moment for me is the fact that I am now a part of the Artsy Bloggers group!! Every week we link you up to everyone in the group so that you can check out what's going on with everyone in the group. Here's my linkies for this week (there are three new bloggers in the group including myself):

8 Fun Easter Cake and Cupcake Ideas


Easter's just around the corner, so here are some yummy treats to get you started.



Beading Arts

Cyndi posted a tutorial to show how she made her Bead Soup necklace!



Creative Dreamer

June shares a background technique for the visual journal journey going on!



Eileen - The Artful Crafter

Most silk scarf painting/dying is done with a stretcher frame. But if you don’t want to spend the money on a stretcher and are not planning a detailed design, this easy dye method can yield beautiful results as well.



Kim's Flowers & Art

Kim's goal: 30 journal pages in 30 days. Take a look at her progress.



Made by Nicole

What to do when paint smears ... troubleshooting mixed-media meltdowns.



Moore Gourd Whimsies

Barbara has some exciting news to share!



Yet More Ways to Use Up Rummage Sale Fabric

Cherie makes the third project from the fabric she bought for a quarter.




Barbara

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Good for you Barbara !You sound so happy. And isn't that what we all aspire to ? Being happy in what we do ? Anyway congratulations !

Cindy Adkins said...

Oh wow, this looks totally FUN and AMAZING, Barbara!!!
XO

Eileen said...

Barbara, how exciting for you! Congratulations.

Your latest gourds are beautiful and so diverse!

I was just about to send you an invitation to a blogging group when I saw this news.

What the heck, the worst you can do is say no.

Watch for my e-mail ;-)

Anonymous said...

Barbara,

I'm so happy for you and I know you will make the best teacher ever!

Love you,
Tamara

Chain Stitch Crochet said...

I wish I had half of your talent! How wonderful for you to teach class.

Carol said...

Congratulations. All of your gourds look so interesting.
I'm sure your students will have a lot of fun with you.

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

I still can't believe you make those gorgeous things out of gourds.

Nicole Maki said...

Hi Barbara,

Congratulations on this new venture. I can just hear your happiness bubbling over in your post.

I'm unfamiliar with gourd art - it's breath taking. What an interesting hobby.

Can't wait to see more.

Warmly,
Nicole

jinxxxygirl said...

I'm so excited for you Barbra! Good things are coming your way! Congratulations! On both the gourd classes and being added to the Artsyblogger links! Good for you!
Hugs! deb

ACreativeDreamer said...

How fun and exciting for you Barbara! Congrats! I hope it stays fun for you forever!

Tink's Tinkerings said...

love the gourds so beautiful,, i know it's lots of work,, but worth it :)

Kim said...

Hi Barbara! What exciting news! Congrats!!! I love your work. I have some birdhouse gourds in my craft room from last years garden- now I am feeling very inspired to do something with them- wow your work is beautiful!! Really nice to meet you :)

Cindy Adkins said...

Hi Barbara,
How did the trip go? I hope you got some great gourds. And your collage is magnificent!!! I love all those amazing pieces your made...I know that class is going to be so great for everyone...it is a blessing!
XO

Cyndi L said...

Your gourds are WONDERFUL Barbara! I've never seen anything like them before :-)