Isn’t it amazing how one of your hobbies can spill over into your work life and it is considered to be a good thing?! Two years ago, my co-worker Erica Deale approached me to be a part of the Park series that she developed. This meant that I could share one of my favorite crafting mediums: GOURDS! Yes, gourds! Not those colorful ones you see everywhere in fall decorations, and which can rot after a few weeks. I mean the ones that have been known to last for years!
葫芦是葫芦科家族的成员，包括：黄瓜，壁球，甜瓜和西葫芦。它们可以是装饰或硬壳，有各种形状和尺寸。几个世纪以来，世界各地的文化已经将此礼物从大自然中转变为水杓，碗，面具，篮子，珠宝和乐器。今天，您可以看到葫芦转变为使用卷曲，胶水，珠子，粘土，剪纸，面料，油漆，木牌等等的鸟类和创意杰作。您只受想象力的限制！
Thus, two workshops were created for the Museum, giving participants an opportunity to create their own masterpieces. Our first workshop was titledIt’s for the Birds!Using markers, paint, stencils, wood burning tools, and even pine cone scales, attendees created birdhouses that could be kept ornamentally inside or used outdoors in their backyards making a number of bird species very happy.
During the second workshop last fall, participants tried their hand at creating a drum.
However, two young people who attended with their grandmother, decided that they wanted a drum without a drumskin. Recognizing that one type of gourd that was provided looked like an instrument that they saw in a book, they were eager to begin decorating. The instrument was an udu, a percussion instrument, typically made from clay, used by the Igbo People of Nigeria. This instrument is shaped like a pot, has a hole on its side, and is played by slapping the side or bottom with the palm of your hand.
Everyone walked away with their finished projects and smiles! As I mentioned, gourds are a great canvas to get the creative juices flowing! I am looking forward to creating more fun workshops like this! I’d love to hear if this sort of program would be of interest to you.
所有图片：紫藤佩里/海里斯博物馆和公园亚博平台网址
多么有创意。这是对博物馆教育焦点的真正致敬，你应该非常自豪。
Hi, Wisteria,
Thank you for sharing your love and knowledge of gourds. My children have attended two gourd workshops with you and really enjoyed them. Your creativity is inspiring. In fact, the green painted gourd pictured above was painted by my daughter, Carlin Murray, aged 10 at the time. Her NNPS art teacher will be thrilled to know “she’s published” now!
Hi Belinda,
I am so happy to hear that your children enjoyed the workshop! Their finished gourds were fantastic! Your daughter, Carlin, should definitely share this with her art teacher. She is now a “published artist”!
Sincerely,
Wisteria