To Zville MT
Posted By: gourdpainter on 2008-09-09
In Reply to: OMG - an American Gourd Society! - Zville MT
I am a great fan of Sammie Crawford. http://www.fairygourdmother.net/index.html
I started with her book Gourd Fun for Everyone. It has 19 projects for painting and decorating gourds which have step-by-step instructions. I just got a new book Birdhouse Gourds & More by Aurelia Conway which has some interesting art. If you join the Gourd Society ($15 I think), they will send you a whole package of stuff, booklets with ideas for gourd art, how to grow gourds and lots and lots of information. It also includes a subscription to their magazine which is packed full of ideas. Amazon.com also has several books. Your local library may also be a good source for ideas.
I tell ya, you couldn't pay me enough to go back to MTing!!!!! We're all intelligent and all of us have something we can do to get out of this degrading profession.
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To Zville MT
Check out the American Gourd Society's website. They have lots of free information. There are a lot of books available and it's really easy to paint the gourds. Many books have patterns for painting which makes it pretty much like paint by numbers painting, good for beginners. A painted gourd birdhouse, that might take 15 minuteus to make will sell for about $15 and up. It isn't unusual for a nice design to fetch $45 or more. You might Google gourd art. That should bring up lots of ideas. I am totally self-taught. I am currently learning to make exotic gourd vases and other forms of gourd art. I'm really excited about my new business.
I also plan in the future to give lessons. It doesn't take much space to grow your own gourds which makes the art nearly 100% profit. The American Gourd Society has free information how to raise gourds.
Depending on what you have in your area, I've found craft shows and farmer's markets to be a great place to sell. There are also gourd shows if you happen to live in an area that has them, none in my particular area. There are a lot in California, a couple in Indiana I think and maybe some in Georgia.
Good luck.........it's a stress free occupation and with a little work one can make a better living than doing MT. Some people even sell on the internet. I don't know how successful they are but I intend finding out in the near future.
Good luck and happy gourding!
P.S. to Zville
It will take a growing season but you can easily grow your own gourds. One plant can produce up to 100 gourds but if you wanted bigger ones you would need to cull them. You can learn all about growing gourds without spending a penny and the seeds (lots of them) will cost you less than $5. You don't need a lot of space either, you can grow them in your backyard. They are much like cucumbers and squash, easy to grow and very prolific. Like anything else, they do require some work and care but not a lot.
The MT business was good to me for many years and I've loved it. It reached the point where I didn't love it any more. Time to move on. When the gourd business isn't good to me anymore....well, I'll move on again. I'm thankful that I've always had a hatful of ideas for making money. Most (not all) have been successful.
One good thing, a seasoned MT can type with the right side of her brain and think with the left side (or whatever) so use that time thinking how you can outsmart corporate elites and control your own life.
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