I've been asked to teach a gourd art class, but we are moving. I think we will end up getting rid of many of our gourds. We just won't have room. At this point I don't even know where we are moving or if there will be a yard or a garage or storage space of any kind, so it's hard to downsize. I'm not really fond of getting rid of stuff. I worked too hard to buy it to begin with.
I told them maybe I would teach the gourd class at the same event only a year from now. They don't pay their teachers anyway. I need the money so I probably would have said yes if it was going to help me pay rent on the new place. Of course teaching has side benefits, like publicity and maybe someone would buy some of my gourd art. But too much volunteering and not enough income earning leads to starvation and no one likes that. It's sort of a double whammy because I have to pay to get into the event and then work for free. That's why I haven't taught much for that organization. If anyone out there wants to hire me to teach a class, I'm all ears.
Gourds are the perfect medium for me. I can carve them, use pyrography, paint, weave, dye or write on them. I can do tribal art, primitive motifs, cutesy stuff, patriotic themes, goth looks, or whatever suits my fancy. So far I haven't run out of ideas! Text and Photos Copyright Fayme Harper 2012.
