Monday, November 3, 2008

Dancer Gourd

Dancer gourd



Hoop Dancer


Jingle Dancer


Four Directions




Close up-Eagle Dancer

Bottom 4 directions design

A gourd art project.

This comes from my love of the Native American dance that one would see at a Powwow.

The dancers in their regalia dancing to the heartbeat of the drum.

All designs and pictures are first drawn on the gourd with pencil, then wood burned into the gourd and then dyed with leather dyes for color. I also cut and inlaid real turquoise into the gourd and ground and sanded it down flush with the gourd surface, then polished it to a brilliant gloss and did some relief carving around the "Eagle Dancer" to make him stand out.

I repeated the drawing, burning, dying process for the other pictures and designs. Some paint was used here and there for certain colors on the dancers.

I hope you enjoy looking at some of my work and don't find me too wordy in my descriptions.

5 comments:

jyamamo said...

Thanks - I enjoyed seeing these!

Sage Ravenwood said...

Wonderful work. I've found I don't wish for a card. We don't need to prove heritage to anyone but ourselves. I think it's strange that Native Americans are the only ones required to have a card proving heritage, in a land that was originally ours. Your works is truly magnificient. I love the detail you display. (Hugs)Indigo

Light and Voices said...

As an gourd artist, you are excellent!
Joyce

Connie said...

Love Love Love your artwork/
connie
http://conniesphotos.blogspot.com/
http://windsweptwhispers.blogspot.com/

jun said...

your work is beautiful and very inspiring. whats this about a card/ i am half black and half japanese. if i do anything creative I consider it authentic black american or japanese.who cares what anybody else says? maybe its because of the reparations native americans are entitled to?or the fact that they can have casinos on their lands and any body who can prove membership is entitled to some of the proceeds from these casinos? my grandmother is native american but i have never tried to claim ancestry because i am adopted. But i have always claimed her with pride.she was a remarkable woman who i am proud of.