Jenn Avery GOURD ART
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Calendar
  • Blog

Jenn's Gourd Art Blog

7 Tips for a Successful Art Commission

1/20/2022

1 Comment

 
Picture
Ornament commission of a pet Corgie.
New artists in the show circuit may be surprised, flattered, excited and then terrified when a customer asks for a commission.  Let me explain, as an artist, especially one just starting out, you have put a lot of work and time into your inventory, and it may surprise you when someone wants you to make a special piece just for them.  You feel flattered, that wow they like my work enough and trust my ability to make something so unique.  Then excitement, so much going through your mind as your customer enthusiastically tells you about their vision and you start to share in that enthusiasm.  Then comes the nitty gritty, what to do next and the terror ensues!

Read More
1 Comment

A Time for Reflection... And Looking Ahead

1/3/2022

8 Comments

 
Picture
​At the end of 2021 I took some much needed time off.  As the year came to a close, my commitments to finish special orders were completed, I opted to spend some time with my family, reading, playing music with my daughter, decorating, walking, and engaging in some “non-gourd” art pursuits. 

Read More
8 Comments

Elephant Family

9/1/2021

6 Comments

 
Elephants have long fascinated me.  The tight familiar bonds, high intelligence, ways of communicating with one another, and the apparent displays of emotions in these gentle giants make me in awe of the God who made them.  An elephant gourd has been in my mind to make for years but I wanted not just to feature one of these animals but a whole herd.

Read More
6 Comments

On the Lookout...

7/7/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
On the Lookout is the first in what I hope to be a series of African wildlife gourds.

It was completed first with pyrography then gone over with a light application of colored pencils.
​



Read More
0 Comments

2021 Classes

5/21/2021

2 Comments

 
Picture
I am happy to announce in-person classes! 

​I will be offering 4 classes at the PA Gourd Festival, which will be held August 12-14 at the Lebanon Expo Center and Fairgrounds.  
​
Registration opens on June 1.

Read More
2 Comments

The Monarch of the Golden Fields

4/6/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Several years ago my family and I visited Parker Dam State Park in Penfield, PA.  It is part of the region which is called the Pennsylvania Wilds, and we spend some time exploring the area of the Moshannon State Forest.  The big draw to this area is the elk herd in Benezette.  There were a few great viewing areas to see the elk and get photos.  And we even were able to hear the bull elk's eerie sounding bugle! 

I don't know why I waited so long to begin this gourd, as the photos were taken for this very purpose!  The bugling bull with his cow is on the one side, and as you turn the gourd you can see the rest of the herd with a few calves as well.  The "rival" bull elk waits alone, along with some wild turkeys and pheasants.  


Read More
0 Comments

5 Superpowers to Combat Creative Kryptonite!

4/6/2021

0 Comments

 
What puts us in creative ruts?  All of us go through at one point or another, that blankness, feeling like you may never have another creative idea again, actually was I ever really a "real artist" in the first place?  Who am I kidding?  Do you ever have these thoughts that just drag you down?  You are not alone!  

Let's go through 5 things that may be Kryptonite to the creative person, it could be one or a combination of them that halts us in our creative tracks and cause us to feel dried up.  But take heart!  There are solutions, think of them as your own Superpower to beat down that beast!

Read More
0 Comments

A Closer Look at...

1/13/2021

1 Comment

 
another 2020 commission titled Curious Bunnies.  ​
This tall body gourd made the perfect shaped vase for this garden rabbit design.  The entire gourd is extensively burned with lots of flowers and rabbits on both sides.  The pyrography was left natural, with only the addition on blue color on the butterflies.
Picture

Read More
1 Comment

I need glasses....

1/13/2021

2 Comments

 
You may not remember, but you can look back at my January post for 2020.  Here I talked about the classes I was planning and I prefaced the post with "Do you have 2020 vision?".  Wow did we all have such ideas for the year only to have them change so dramatically.  

In these next few posts I would like to share with you some of the projects I was honored to work on.  Had my 2020 gone as planned,  there just would not have been time for them and I would have to turn these projects down.  In these I met and worked with some wonderful people and was able to make their ideas come to life in these works of art now in their collections.  
Picture

Read More
2 Comments

Forest Solace Gourd

7/25/2020

1 Comment

 
My latest gourd venture, a forest scene in pyrography and carved bottom.  I am posting the views as the gourd is turned.  Let's go for a little walk...
Picture

Read More
1 Comment
<<Previous
Forward>>

    About me...

    Art has always been a part of my life, and I have worked in many different mediums. 

    My love of animals and nature, and love for God influences my work.   

    I hope you will be encouraged here.

    .........aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands.......................... 1 Thessalonians 4:11
    ​

    Archives

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    May 2019
    January 2019
    September 2018
    March 2018
    September 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Home

About

Gallery

Contact

Copyright © 2023
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Calendar
  • Blog