Gourd Project

When I was still teaching Applied Design to high schoolers, my neighbor grew some gourds, well it turned out he grew about 200 of them and he gave me 160 of them to use for my class. Well that is great, BUT...it takes at least a year for them to cure and dry. Oh my! Anyway they did dry and the kids loved making objects (like bowls, bird houses, and ladels) out of them. I made several different things, but have given all of them away (no pics). I found a couple that I had cleaned and sanded and decided to decorate them......This is the one that I just finished.....

I drew some faces on it, then I used a wood burning tool to follow my drawn lines, then I drilled holes around the top and using some red cord to attach Pine Needles around the top edge. I strung some wooden beads to hang down at the point where I started and stoped the wrapping. I used paper pulp dye and permanent markers to color in the shapes(eyes, lips and hair). To seal the whole thing I brushed on acrylic varnish.