Meet Our Instructors
Instructors marked with * have upcoming classes
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Sherry Briscoe * 157 Kelly Road
Ever since we found our first misshapen, dirt & mildew covered gourd at a local farmers' market, our imaginations have run wild! So many possibilities, so little time. Then we found the NC Gourd Society's Annual Festival! Wow, there's just no end to the things you can do with gourds - bowls, baskets, masks, carving, burning, etching, dyeing, painting, weaving, coiling, inlay, Kumihimo braiding, jewelry...who knew?! We have been teaching classes and doing demos at each gourd festival we attend, and we have even won awards for our work. "Gourdness Gracious!" we are totally hooked on gourds and gourders!
In 2008, we decided we would branch out a bit and added the FL and Cherokee festivals to our schedule. Then in 2009 we added PA...we had so much fun that we decided to extend our 2011 travels to an additional 6 states: AL, KY, OH, SC, TN, and VA. We started 2011 intending to visit all these fests and weed out the ones that weren't productive; but we haven't been able to trim our list at all, as a matter of fact we added MS in 2012 and IN in 2013. Gourders are so much fun and the hospitality has been beyond anything we could have imagined! Guess our schedule will continue to be very full, as we plan to add several more stops to our itinerary in the coming years.
We are currently members of the American Gourd Society, as well as the AL, FL, IN, KY, MS, NC, OH, PA, SC and TN Gourd Societies. |
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Jan Banta-Briseño * Taylorsville, Kentucky I am a self-taught artist and have always enjoyed making things whether from fabric, fiber, clay or wood. I have painted wooden folk art, ceramics, murals, theater sets, furniture and just about everything else. In 1996 I happened to see a sign announcing the KGS show. At that time I was unfamiliar with gourds and was amazed by what I saw. There seemed to be no end to the different techniques that could be used to decorate them. I was hooked. |
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Judy Burkett, CZT * Judy Burkett, CZT Judy K. Burkett is an award winning gourd artist and certified Zentangle® teacher. Judy is relatively new to the gourd world, but has been an artist her entire life. Gourds have become her favorite medium for expressing her unique artistic visions. She is known as “The Gourd Lady” by her Zentangle peers, “The Zentangle Lady” by her fellow gourd artists, and lovingly as “The Gourd Hoarder” by her children. She is a member of the Huntsville Gourd Patch in Huntsville, Alabama. |
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Nancy and John Chlpka * Nancy & John Chlpka of Wet Dog Studios Nancy and John Chlpka have been gourding for over twenty years. It all started when Nancy received one as a gift. Already being artistically inclined, she was intrigued with the gourd as a medium. Pretty much self-taught early on, she discovered Gourd Societies, and the rest is history. John joined in when he found that many wood carving techniques would also work on gourds. The pair has participated in festivals, gourd shows, and presentations to garden and art clubs. They teach classes on gourding at their studio in Western Pennsylvania, and at the Kentucky and Virginia Gourd Shows. Their studio was aptly named since dogs are a big part of their lives, and, as we all know, "There's Nothing Friendlier Than a Wet Dog! |
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Bonnie Gibson Tuscon, AZ I am a self taught artisan. I prefer this term over "artist" because to me it denotes a person who works with items that can be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. Since I was a child, I was captivated by working with my hands and creating things. I took art classes in high school, but I always felt more comfortable with 3 dimensional creations instead of the traditional paintings and drawings. I have experimented with almost every craft possible, usually focusing on ones that take some degree of technical skill. Lots of trips to the library enabled me to learn the basics and time and practice took care of the rest. Some of my favorites include scale miniatures, woodcarving, scrimshaw, and lost wax casting. In the late 90's, I discovered gourds, and it was an immediate addiction! Here was a craft that combined many of the skills that I had developed over the years.
My current emphasis is on educating other gourders. I travel extensively to teach power carving and many other gourd subjects. While I still enjoy creating my own art, I also love getting new people excited about gourd crafting. It is important to take advantage of your natural talents. Some people will excel at cutting and carving, while others might be more comfortable with painting or weaving. Don't be afraid to try something new or different. Experiment, and don't be afraid to fail. Some of my most spectacular failures taught me the most... |
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Marla Helton * 3875 W County Rd 250 N Talking to Marla about her work she states: "Gourds are a medium that directly affect the approach I take with my weaving. Each gourd has a unique color, texture and shape that suggests a certain path that will bring forth a special beauty when woven. Exploring various weaving techniques and materials allows each gourd to become a unique sculptural piece that has a spirit and soul of its own." Marla's work has been featured in many publications including: Weaving on Gourds, Fine Arts Gourds, Coiling on Gourds, New and Different Materials for Weaving and Coiling, Fiber and Gourds, Sunshine Artist and the Crafts Report. In addition, she has written numerous articles for several publications. |
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Karen Hundt-Brown * 7190 Thornapple River Court I was born and raised in Southwest Michigan. My folks stuck me in 4-H when I was 9 and let me take any classes I wanted to, just to keep me busy. I learned how to knit, sew, crochet, embroidery, garden, raise animals, train dogs; and took all kinds of art classes. So why would I want to limit myself to just one thing? I moved to Grand Rapids in the late 70's to attend Kendall School of Art and Design to study illustration. I quit after two years and went walk about till I met and married my husband and we moved into our home. I found out that I have ADD and that's why I couldn't finish college with a degree as an illustrator - the thought of doing the same thing, like drawing, all day every day was horrific to me. I planted my first garden and grew a free packet of gourd seeds and the rest is history. I found the medium I had been looking for. Gourds provided me with the way back into art, by letting me try all the different art forms out there on a gourd. I was hooked and never so happy as when I found gourds. They have taken me on an amazing journey around this great country of ours and I hope to spend many more years enjoying this great art form. I spend most of my time now prepping gourds for my students to use during one of the many classes I teach around the mid-west at gourd shows, wood carving events, and seminars. I find teaching to be very rewarding and a way for me to give back to a group of people who have given so much to me. A gourd in every home by 2024!!! |
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Mary Lou Payton * 885 Stillhouse Hollow Rd. Mary Lou has always been interested in art, drawing and crafting as a child and began in ceramics, graduated to china painting, discovered decorative painting in acrylics, oils, watercolors, batik and then on to gourd art. She is a member of Kentuckiana Decorative Artists, 1st. VP, Bluegrass Tolers, past president, Lake Cumberland Decorative Artists, Kanawha Valley Decorative Artists; West Virginia, Capital Area Artists Guild, treasurer.; She has been very fortunate to have had opportunities to paint with numerous nationally/internationally known “Big Brushes” in the industry over the years. She has taught at KGS, TGS, and at the Gourd Gathering in Cherokee, NC. Mary Lou and husband, Willie, both retired state employees, raise Angus cattle on their 90-acre farm in Peaks Mill, outside of Frankfort. |
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Alex Preston * 3048 Bardstown Rd. Alex Preston is a visiting demonstrator for the Jacquard Co. Inc. He teaches and lectures at leading retailers, art materials expositions, and universities in the United States. His degrees in biology and organic chemistry provide a more complete presentation of how to manage color application to a range of surfaces to maximize creative results.
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Joan Reynolds * 180 Eldorado Drive Joan Reynolds has been involved in some kind of art most of her life. From pottery, ceramics, painting, basket weaving etc. She's about done it all, but not until she started working with gourds could she say “this is it”. Joan has won numerous blue ribbons and others in Alabama and Tennessee Gourd Shows. She is both a member of Huntsville, Alabama Gourd Patch and a member of the Joan loves coming up with new ideas and techniques for classes. She loves to watch people's faces when they say one of her people birdhouses look just like a family member. Joan and her family live in Madison, Alabama where she & her husband have a studio. When not working in the studio, Joan serves as a volunteer with the Huntsville police department as a Domestic Violence First Responder. |
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Judy Roberts * 5210 Layne Road My artistic background started at an early age. While I have no formal art training, as a child I was allowed to experiment with different mediums...including mud pies. For years, most of my artistic time was spent in fabrics and textiles and I continue to incorporate these mediums in my gourd art. After 30 years teaching in the classroom, I retired and became a "Gourd Head." My experiences allow me the freedom to experiment and try new ideas and approaches. In 2001 I began teaching gourd classes in Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Missouri...what a wonderful learning experience! |