He Turns Gourds Into Works Of Art

He Turns Gourds Into Works Of Art FARM HOME Miscellaneous Tom Gogerty likes to hand craft painted gourds and he’s really good at it He’d like to develop his hobby into a sideline business but says that based on his experience so far it won’t be easy “It takes a long time to paint gourds with as much detail and quality as I put in and so far I haven’t found much profit in it They can’t be mass produced ” says the Madrid Iowa man who has a full-time job as a letter carrier in nearby Ames Iowa He has sold a few gourds and is now checking with farmers markets and craft shows for potential markets Farm equipment dealerships banks and agricultural groups are other possibilities as well as wedding and birthday anniversaries The bowls can contain anything from nuts and candy to artificial flowers His first step is to drill a small starter hole in the gourd shoulder and then use a jig saw to remove the upper portion He cleans and sands the exterior thoroughly then sands the interior with a sand ball attachment to his drill He stains the interior with 3 coats of dye and covers the interior and exterior with clear polyurethane to cover blemishes He measures a 1/2 to 1-in strip around the lip of the gourd then brushes on 3 coats of black or other dark-colored acrylic paint He paints the rest of the bowl tan Designs and decorations are mostly done free hand with check marks circles and so forth He uses a wood burner to make major lines and the outlines of decals He sometimes stretches a rubber band around the gourd’s bowl to keep major lines straight A variety of logos figures and art work is available online but he free-hands the final art work with a small brush That might include everything from a baseball team’s logo to flowers to a family name or crest Gogerty grows many of his own gourds and buys others from commercial gourd farms and suppliers He says hand-crafting gourds is an excellent year ’round hobby and requires little equipment Time and talent are the 2 major inputs Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tom Gogerty 216 E 21st St Madrid Iowa 50156 ph 515 795-2685; tomgogerty@aol com

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