Vicki Beard is a gourd artist living in Guelph. She has worked with gourds for twenty years.

Starting with the natural shapes and colours of a dried gourd, she sculpts the gourd then uses drawing, colouring and weaving techniques to produce the finished product. Her techniques range from pen and ink drawing and wood burning to colouring with dyes, inks and paints and creating accents with waxed linen coiling, glass and wood. Materials such as handmade papers and dried plant materials are applied to the interior of her gourds using a decoupage. The exteriors are finished with stable UV resistant sealants.

Nature is a prominent thyme in her designs. Native plants, tree leaves and dragonflies are commonly used images. If leaves are on drawn the outside of the gourd, real leaves from her garden are then often used to decorate the inside. Other commonly used themes include vibrant flowing shapes, undulating areas of filigree cut outs and fields of layered translucent colours that are combined to create compelling patterns.

P: 519 821-4856

E:  vbeard@sentex.net

OAK TREE GOURD: Red Oak leaves depicted on a Snake Gourd.  Botanical Name: Quercus rubra L.  This gourd is a seasonal depiction of Red Oak leaves. Red oaks similar to this would have grown in the Yorklands area before settlers arrived and cleared the land for farming. This gourd interpretation shows the spring leaves changing to mature leaves and the flowers maturing to fall fruit, which are acorns.

TULIP TREE GOURD: Tulip Tree (also called Yellow Poplar) leaves depicted on a Snake Gourd. Botanical Name: Liriodendron Tulipifera L. This gourd is a seasonal depiction of the Yellow Poplar. These trees grow along the north shores of Lake Erie.  They were used to manufacture core stock for furniture. They are too scarce to be of use in the making of furniture now. In 1886 a popular heart stimulant was extracted from the inner bark of the root. Please don’t try that at home.

Care of Gourds and Hanging Instructions:

Gourds such as this were grown and used as vessels for storage and as musical instruments. The paints are colour-fast and the gourd has been sprayed with protective finish to reduce fading, but to ensure no fading occurs please don’t hang them in an all-day full sun area.

This gourd is ready to hang, they have a backing with a hanger attached, the hanger has a string attached to facilitate ease of hanging. To hang hold the string to lift the holder in place above the hanging hook and slide the gourd down the wall over the hanging hook.