Carvers turn gourds into art

In an annual rite of autumn, anyone can carve a pumpkin.

But gourds? That requires patience and a passion that goes far beyond Halloween.

Ask any serious "gourder." This curious vine has wrapped around their hearts and taken hold.

In gourds, retired teacher Leann Cooke of Elk Grove found an outlet for her creativity.

"When I retired, I thought I'd go nuts without something to do," said Cooke, who started carving gourds nine years ago. "Then, I found this special place where I can fill up my soul."

Working hundreds of hours on some gourds, she painstakingly creates delicate works of art — burning, carving, etching, dyeing, painting and polishing to perfection.

"People think it's like carving a pumpkin, which is another kind of gourd," Cooke explained. "But they don't appreciate the amount of work that goes into the process. Pumpkins stay soft; gourds are hard as wood."

Gourds are a lot of work — both for grower and carver.

Known as the Gourd Farmer, Greg Leiser grows 30 varieties on 10 acres at his Knights Landing, Calif., farm, which is open to the public.

"We used to grow pumpkins for Halloween sales and pumpkin patches," he said. "Then, we started growing some gourds for decoration, then a few more and a few more. Before we knew it, we had 6 acres in gourds. Then, people started to find out about us.

"It's not like wheat farming, where you only meet other wheat farmers," he added. "When you grow gourds, you meet a lot of interesting people."

Leiser ships gourds throughout the United States. Many of his best customers are in Hawaii, where gourds are used to make musical instruments.

Gourds are graded and sold by circumference. A good carving gourd can cost $10 to $15, uncleaned. Sizes range from micro-minis barely 2 inches long to giant Zucca gourds, 3 feet long and 30 inches around.

In the Sacramento Valley, gourds are planted in June but aren't ready for harvest until the following April or May. That gives them time to dry and harden.

"We leave them in the field," he explained. "We stretch big 38-by-100-foot tents over the gourds to protect them from rain and sunburn. It makes a big difference in the quality of the gourds. But you can still lose 30, 40 percent of your crop to rot."

Each plant can grow hundreds of feet of vine, which travels up trees and across fields in tangled webs.

"Pumpkins, you can plant in a row, and they pretty much stay there," Leiser said. "But gourds go everywhere."

Because gourds grow well in the Sacramento area, there's also a lot of interest in gourd art and crafting in the region. With 500 members, the California Gourd Society has 20 "patches" or chapters statewide, including Amador, Folsom-Sacramento, Eldorado County and Galt. Society president Sylvia Nelson lives in Sacramento.

Once cleaned and preserved with coats of urethane, a finished gourd can last a century, according to the gourd society.

At area farms, Cooke hand-selects her gourds, mottled with mold. Part of the curing process, the mold helps toughen the rind to woodlike hardness. The mold also leaves an indelible pattern on the surface that she incorporates into her art.

Cooke scrubs the gourds clean, then lets her imagination take over.

"They speak to me," she said. "They tell me what they want to be a giraffe, an elephant, a penguin, a bird feeder, a bowl. Each one is unique, but each one is special."

CARVING TIPS

Choose your favorite gourd to decorate for fall.

For pumpkins: Choose a fresh but ripe (fully orange) pumpkin. The larger and smoother, the easier to carve.

Boning and paring knives work best. Make sure they're sharp. Ice picks or a long nail are handy for scoring the surface or poking holes.

Spread newspaper over a flat, level work surface (this helps with cleanup). With a boning knife or other large knife, cut a circle around the stem big enough to fit your hand. Remove the pumpkin's "lid," then scoop out seeds and pulp. With a spoon, scrape out stringy insides. Wipe outside of pumpkin clean.

Create a face pattern on a piece of paper, then tape it to the pumpkin. Use the ice pick or nail to trace the pattern onto the pumpkin, scoring the skin. Or draw the "face" directly onto the pumpkin with a felt-tipped pen. Then carve out the sections with the paring knife.

If using a candle, make a circular indentation inside the pumpkin to help keep the candle upright.

For gourds: Choose a well-aged gourd covered with mold. Shake it. You should be able to hear the seeds rattle inside. Size and shape prompt imagination. Wear gloves, goggles and facemask to prevent exposure to mold. Outdoors, scrub the gourd clean with a mix of bleach and soapy water. Soak the whole gourd to remove traces of outer bumpy skin, then scour off. Let dry.

Gourds may be left whole for carving or decoration. With pencil, draw outline of design and carving areas.

If the finished product is going to be hollow, drill a hole to puncture the gourd. (Again, wear a mask, goggles and gloves.) Then, using a reciprocating blade saw or jigsaw, cut around the gourd to create an opening. Be careful: Mold may explode out of the inner gourd. Scrape out the seeds and interior mass. With tools and sandpaper, smooth the inside as much as possible.

The mature gourd is like wood, tougher than pine but lighter than balsa. The wall is 1/8- to 1-inch thick. Most gourd artists burn their outlines onto the gourd with a wood-burning tool before carving or painting. Gourds can be decorated like wood with paint, decoupage or other treatment. Leather dyes may be rubbed onto the surface with rags for see-through color. Wood carving tools, routers and edgers are used to create detail.