Portfolio of Works

Ornaments (or Mini Gourds as I like to call them) are just plain fun.  They stand alone or you add them to a decorated Christmas tree.  I have gone through many generations of styles of ornaments over the years.

Working on gourd ornaments with my 90 year old father has increased the fun factor.  My father helped me wash some mini gourds and threw a broken gourd with compost onto his garden.  A strange vining plant took root in the garden and was a mystery until the fruits appeared.  Dad harvested 80 mini gourds that year, dried them under his watchful eye, washed the dark dirty outer coating off of them and did the two tone base coat painting on them.  I finish them with the black Mimbres Style design.

Birky Lane Creations

Julie Birky, gourd artist and Kay Lane, potter, have combined their talents in creating these collaborative pieces. Lane makes the base portion with stoneware clay that is fired to approximately 1900 degrees and then glazed with earth tone matte glazes and fired again to 2300 degrees. Birky completes the pieces with pine needle coiling and often uses additional embellishments in a variety of patterns. Such work will add a unique decorative touch to your home and certainly prove to be a conversation piece.

These pieces are found at White Buffalo Gallery, Glen Rose, Texas,  and 219 Artisan Market, Clifton, Texas.