Saturday, November 21, 2015

Doodling With Gourds

Inspired by another Crackled Apple, Glenda, we crackled gourd enthusiasts have been working with Sharpees to do relaxation and meditative exercises. Glenda, a psychologist, explained the psychological release that focusing on a repetitive, yet creative, activity could be and showed us what she had been working....egg gourds.

As you can see, they are random paisleys and rows of repetitive designs without any specific organization. However, the overall effect is just lovely!  Sprayed with several coats of of Krylon Triple Coat, and the glass-like surface make them irresistible!

It had to be tried!  Remembering the lessons we learned from an earlier post about Sharpees and the fading potential when using them on untreated gourd surfaces, a gourd was spray painted initially to give it a waterproof surface for the marker ink to rest upon (instead of absorbing into the gourd wall). In this case, it was lime green. It began with one image - the paisley you see in image one and then grew and changed around the circumference as whim and fancy directed. Once started, it was hypnotic!  She was right-this became a total tunnel vision activity that blocked out any other thoughts of the day. It WAS calming, and the result most pleasing in a carefree and random way. A few layers of Triple Coat should really glass it up!

1. The little blue paisley on the left side
is what started it all.
2. rotating to see the side


3. 

4. 

5. 

5. This is how everything came together
at the bottom....

6.  ...and how it met at the top.

Try it - you might have a Cracklin' good time!

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