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Mixed Media Techniques used in Wood Spirit Gourd Art by Lora S Irish

Gourds provide a creative base for any art and craft media.  So whether you love colored pencils, work in scrapbooking paper, or enjoy acrylic craft painting there is a gourd just waiting for your decorative touch.  This is truly a craft where you can bring all of your other skills and talents to use.

This Wood Spirit Colored Pencil Gourd is worked along the same technique as our free online gourd art project, Wood Spirit Gourd Mask, an in depth tutorial that will take you through all of the steps to create your own acrylic paint and colored pencil face painting.  I had shared this photo online and had a request for my supply list, so I am posting it there.

Cleaning supplies:
9″ diameter kettle gourd
craft knife or gourd saw
sand paper
large kitchen spoon
dust mask
fine grit foam core fingernail files

Pattern supplies:
graphite paper or carbon paper
transparent tape
burnt umber acrylic craft paint
ocher yellow acrylic craft paint
titanium white acrylic craft paint
1/4″ flat sable shader brush
#1 or #2 liner brush
re-workable spray sealer
Golden Archival Matte Varnish
artist quality colored pencils
Prismacolor
black fine point permanent marker

Rim supplies:
3 yards of twisted seagrass
15″ strand of jasper nugget beads
1  large hoop copper earring
1 large necklace medallion
1 yard 1/8″ leather lacing

 This wood spirit gourd is worked from our Fun Wood Spirits wood carving patterns package at ArtDesignsStudio.com. 

Carving Session Preparation
by Lora S. Irish

Preparing to Carve

Before you begin any relief carving project, make sure you do the following:

Remove jewelry. Remove all rings, bracelets, and long, hanging necklaces that could become caught on a tool tip before you begin carving.

Tie back long hair. If you have long hair, use a hairband to secure it. Long hair can easily block your view of the tool tip and cut.

Wear shoes. Dropped carving tools fall point down, and the top of your foot is the most likely object to be hit.

Check your workspace. If you sit while carving check the seat of your chair for tools or interchangeable tool tips before you sit down again. Make it a habit to keep your tools on a nearby table or neatly laid beside your wood blank where they are always in view.

Secure the blank. Secure your carving blank using a terry cloth towel, nonslip matt, bench hook, or clamps. Well-secured blanks require less hand pressure to make cuts.

Lay out a towel. A terrycloth towel on your lap or on the floor will catch your waste chips. Check the towel for dropped tools before you dispose of the chips.

Take a tool inventory. Count your tools during any cleanup sessions to ensure that you do not accidentally lose one.

Make a kit. Create a carving kit with all of the common tools and supplies you will use for any type of carving—carving tools, tracing paper, scissors, ruler, masking tape, pencil, sharpening tools, and any other tools or supplies you feel you might need. Creating a kit means you’ll have everything you need on hand so you can spend your time carving instead of searching for a tool that may or may not have been misplaced .

Cover your nails. Long fingernails they can leave small dents in softer woods like basswood and butternut. A quilter’s plastic thimble can be used to protect both your nails and your project without interfering with your hand movements.