Making Gourd Dolls and Spirit Figures

Summit, Ginger, Widess, Jim

ISBN 10: 1402732201 / ISBN 13: 9781402732201

Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2007

About this Item

Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.

Seller Inventory # 9322920-6

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Making Gourd Dolls and Spirit Figures
• Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1402732201
• ISBN 13: 9781402732201
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Dolls that dance, dolls that protect, dolls that charm: these beautiful gourd dolls do that and more. Ginger Summit and Jim Widess?authors of The Complete Book of Gourd Crafting and Making Gourd Musical Instruments?pay tribute to an ancient craft in a volume both inspirational and instructional. It’s packed with images of dolls from different cultures and eras, filled with testimonials from the most creative artists working today, and brimming with advice and irresistible projects. Summit and Widess explain how to choose a gourd, mold one as it’s growing, clean it properly and safely, pyrograph and sculpt faces, create movable joints, and make such creatures as a simple, limbless Stump Doll; beaded Zulu doll; endearing Hobgoblin; and stacked Mother and Daughter dolls.

About the Author

I have always been interested in handcrafts of all types, since a young child. I drew upon this interest often in my career as a Special Education teacher. Soon after retiring in 1990, I discovered the world of gourdcraft. After a fruitless search for books on the topic, Jim Widess and I agreed that the time was right for a new book, and a whole new world opened up! Artists around the country responded with enthusiasm and creativity to our inquiries, and the resulting books reflect the tremendous potential that the gourd has provided humans since earliest times. The great appeal of gourds to the craft world lies in their flexibility: the variety of shapes and textures of this ancient plant always suggest new possibilities to the crafter. Gourds can be embellished and adapted to work with all mediums available to artists today, and can be enjoyed for individuals with all levels of skill. In addition to growing gourds, I have been able to explore cultures and unimagined areas of human activity, from very functional containers to highly artistic expressions of music, dance, art and culture identities. It has been a great satisfaction to participate in the great gourd world, passing on a traditiion that has been such an important part of human history.