Meet Our Featured Artist
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Introducing Vicki Patterson
Our Featured Artist for the fall 2023 issue was Vicki Patterson. She believes that if you hang out with creative people, no matter what their medium is, something will catch your attention that can be applied to a gourd. The creation of her winning entry featured in the Summer Issue of The Gourd Magazine, “Hooty the Owl,” combines details and techniques that likely came from interacting with all kinds of creative people. Vicki had taken an Apoxie Sculpt class with Cara Bevan in South Carolina. Hooty evolved when she expanded on what she learned. She wanted to add feathers, but didn’t want to use real ones, so she decided to make them using watercolor paper, as it is heavier than other papers. For this she uses Strathmore Cold Press 140 lb. paper. Vicki shared her idea with a painter friend who told her, "You know, you can woodburn on watercolor paper.” Vicki loved that idea, and now makes all of her feathers that way. She likes using watercolor paints on them because she can make them any color she wants. After the feathers are painted Vicki uses copper wire and stitches x’s with wax linen across the wire. This gives the look of a shaft on the feather. She then makes a hole to attach them. On other feathers Vicki uses round reed to replace the copper wire. When creating a piece of gourd art Vicki starts out with an idea of what she wants to create. Most of the time she changes things as she goes along, such as colors or embellishments. Says Vicki, “One idea always leads to another.” Vicki enjoys woodburning on her gourds because it adds another texture. Although most of her gourds are painted, she uses colored pencils on some of them and finds that she has more control with shading and highlighting. Vicki doesn’t teach gourd classes, though she loves to share ideas with her gourd patch. The Old Pueblo Gourd Patch meets in the Tucson, Arizona area and has about twelve regular members. The “Show and Tell” portion of their meetings lets them share their ideas. If someone is having problems with a project there are always people who share their suggestions. The patch is currently working on a group project for the Arizona Gourd Festival’s game of chance. Vicki is a native of Arizona. She and her husband Steve quit their corporate jobs in 2006 and moved to Georgia. They wanted a change from the desert and their daughter-in-law said it never snowed there. They later found that was not true! While living in Woodstock GA, Vicki found a gallery further north in Blue Ridge, a tourist town. She sold her gourds to collectors for 15 years from as far away as Denmark and England. She also enjoys making gourd Christmas ornaments which are displayed and sold at her daughter’s business in Arizona, and to her own friends. Vicki and Steve loved being able to watch their oldest grandchildren grow up during their time in GA. In 2019 they retired for good, then moved back to Arizona in 2021 to watch their youngest grandchildren grow up. Their new house, “a fixer upper,” has far less space than the 36’ x 24’ shop they had in their back yard in Georgia. Vicki has reorganized all her art supplies to fit in her smaller space by installing paint racks on the walls, using plastic drawers, and loading bookcases with beads, colored pencils, weaving materials, tools, etc. With all these items collected over years as a gourd artist, Vicki rarely has to go to a craft store for supplies. Steve is Vicki’s biggest supporter. He travels with her to gourd festivals and is wonderful to share ideas with. They both love to visit galleries and antique stores together. Steve began collecting donkeys done in a variety of art forms. As his collection grew, a wall in their dining room, now referred to as the “Donkey Wall,” displays these treasures. Retirement allows Vicki to travel to various gourd festivals and see the creativity of others. She has been to festivals in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Arizona. She plans to travel to Carson City, Nevada, to attend their festival. Vicki has two pieces of advice for gourd artists. One is to join your local gourd patch. Members are great at sharing information on gourd art and techniques. The second is to take gourd classes. You always learn something from each teacher. ----------------------------------------- Photos
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