Meet Our Featured Artist
Amber Waves
|
Introducing Sammie Crawford
Our Crafted Gourd Featured Artist for the spring 2023 issue was Sammie Crawford of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Her winning entry for the theme “Gourds with Handles” was a beautifully painted tea set composed entirely of gourds, including gourd stems for the handles. Sammie started out as a painter and drew the attention of major painting magazines all of which have published her work. Her gourd ornaments have been included on White House Christmas trees 4 times. Ornaments are not retained there but passed on to the Smithsonian. Along with other master painters, the Smithsonian invited Sammie to create and submit a painting that offered a new twist on one of 70 images they provided. Sammie was drawn to a photo of a tiger. Her submission, a painting of a tiger eye, was a unique interpretation of the theme. For the Library of Congress artists were given a wooden “book” on which to paint a design that represented something about their state. Sammie painted the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker which had been declared extinct, but was sighted in Arkansas in 2004 and certified by Cornell’s Ornithology Lab. Crawford created gourd art for more than 30 years. Her work typically included very detailed painting with numerous gourds of various shapes and sizes combined to get the effect she wanted. She loved a challenge and was constantly dreaming up new designs to try, such as a boot, lamp shades, full-size birds, turtles, a 3’ ham & cheese Subway sandwich, etc. When asked to create a custom piece she was known to tell the collector, “I can make anything out of gourds… except soup!” While creating custom pieces was a pleasure, shipping them often was difficult. Despite being carefully padded and packed in wooden boxes, her gourds have arrived damaged, and even smashed. As a result, this devoted artist sometimes resorted to driving her newly completed pieces to collectors in other states. Sammie had 700+ pieces of her gourd art displayed in her home studio. An attached 10’ x 25’ room housed her power tools, and painting and crafting supplies. She didn’t need to advertise as word of mouth drew many visitors who enjoyed not only the variety of her artwork but also the attention to detail that enhanced it and often tells a story. One such example is her Shoe House. Her Her gourd didn’t include anyone living in the shoe, preferring instead to let observers use their imaginations and the shoe’s details, a pie cooling in the window, flowerpots blooming, and 3 cats perched on windowsills, to picture its inhabitant. A wicked sense of humor is evident in her basketball-sized Evil Clown, complete with a cigar and rotten teeth, and her bobble head Devil Dog. Phosphorescent paint was used to make the dog’s eyes glow in the dark. Her Jack-o’-Lantern was made from a giant bushel gourd and other smaller gourds and shards. Jack has a knob on top that turns another gourd inside, displaying scenes with ghosts, a cemetery and a haunted house. Some of her gourds are inspired by visitors to the Bed and Breakfast she hosted in her home. In just a year and a half her guests have included engineer scientists from Asia, a surveyor, an international bike racer, a professor from Paris, an ICU nurse, a park ranger, a choreographer, law clerks, teachers and deep-sea divers, among others. Examples of these projects include a life-size diving helmet and a ballet slipper lamp. Sammie enjoyed supporting charity fundraisers in her community with her gourd art. When contacted by CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, she donated 3 gourd Christmas ornaments to their fundraiser. When she saw their tree she worried that there were not enough ornaments to cover it, so she went back to her studio and made a dozen more. She was surprised and pleased to learn that her ornaments raised over $500 for kids in need. Sammie has published 12 gourd project books whose themes include clocks, wall pockets, birdhouses, and gourd bowls. In addition to her books she has also illustrated children’s books authored by her friend, Anna Boyce. Sammie also enjoyed teaching gourd workshops in her studio. Recent projects have included gourd Easter eggs and Christmas ornaments. To ensure her students’ success she offered projects that could be finished in the 2-hour timeframe. She took pride in making sure each participant left with a completed project. At home Sammie always has a paintbrush or a gourd in her hands. Creating her varied and unique art ensures that this octogenarian is always happily engaged. Sammie died in 2025 at the age of 87. 
|
