An Historic Look at Doodling

Continuing on our crackling gourd time of doodling, let's have a look-see at another time when doodling was popular, and now collectible. Delft pottery is a blue on white design that originate in the city of Delft, Holland in the 1700s when potters made imitations of Chinese porcelain with earthenware fired with white glaze and painted with blue designs. Only one factory remains in Holland that makes Delft designed pottery, Royal Delft. Today the blue/white designs are still eye-catching and highly collectible.

How did we get to this area of study? One of the Crackles is a member of the Guild of American Papercutters and in preparing to do an egg project, located a wonderful Ukranian egg YouTube with Lorrie Popow. At a recent gourd patch meeting, as the group was discussing the contrast of blue and white we noticed our snack of the day was in a Delft-inspired bowl from Dollar Tree -- what a cowinkiedink!

By reviewing the YouTube, the snack bowl, and various Delft auction items on eBay, we found there are some basic lines similar to all. By repeating those lines in various combinations, and maintaining the blue lines on white background concept. The flower is built, as you see, from a center circle, by adding more and more petals. The petal tops can have different finish tips as shown. The basic long, curved line and scallops can have infinite variations. Why not apply Delft to gourds?

The first trial started as an exciting exploration until we found out using white gloss spray paint to produce the background made the surface too slick, and the Sharpies we were using would not always be clear so lines had to be re-drawn to strengthen them. Using a satin spray made that problem much better.

Once done, spraying to protect the design became a real challenge because of bleed. Krylon and Rustoleum clear acrylics made the Sharpies bleed, no matter how light the misting was applied. Using paint to do a one-stroke painting would have been far better -- if only any of us knew how to do that!  [Another skill to investigate!]

One lesson learned, and only  hindsight made this real to us, was the fact that applying spray paint to a gourd in a cold garage -- even though it dried hard -- did not keep the paint on the gourd!  When trying this at home, spray a room temperature gourd with room temperature paint. Otherwise, everything can be flaked off with even a minor fingernail scrape.

So, lessons learned and explorations complete, we have a gourd bowl with a variety of Delft-inspired designs around the belly. In the next project attempt, we would choose one design and repeat it around the bowl for a more controlled and deliberate look. As of now, it has the look of a doodle. Eventually, this bowl will have a silk ribbon rim sown onto it after the edge has been cut to mirror the edge of the design for an uneven, dynamic top.

Great exploration Crackled Apples!