Michigan Gourd Society - Blog

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

1/13/2015

We hope everyone is having a good start to the 2015 - even tho the weather has been pretty darn cold. Just a quick reminder that Jan is all ready to receive your membership dues for this year - still only $12. The Membership Form is on this website as well as over at Michigan Gourds group on Yahoo - or you can just shoot her a note with your check. The address is MGS Membership, 4541 Petosky Drive, WIlliamston MI 46904.
Tammy is getting a newsletter ready to go out before the end of this month so be on the lookout for that in your email!
Hopefully February will be a month where people can safely travel on the hiways to get together to play with gourds and to plan for events etc for the rest of the year.
Keep warm and safe!

Merry Christmas

12/23/2014

23 December 2014

Dear MGS Members,
magickiwi1@yahoo.com (magickiwi1@yahoo.com) has sent you a Jacquie Lawson e-card. If you haven't heard of us, you'll be pleasantly surprised! Our e-cards are known for their artistry and gentle humour.
You can view your card here.
If you'd like to reply to the sender, simply click "Send a Reply" at the bottom of the card. And if you enjoy this e-card, you can learn more about us here.
With best wishes from us all,
Jacquie Lawson and team.

November 09th, 2014

11/9/2014

Here are photos of the Jackson Patch meeting on 8 November, 2014. Also two photos of the painted and clay spoons. Enjoy.

JACKSON PATCH - NOV & DEC 2014

11/1/2014

Our next Jackson Library gourding on Saturday, November 8th.
I hope we have more gourdings this time, and that we can welcome a few new ones to our group. The techniques we will do are Air Dry Clay Faces on Spoons, and something fallish. If you have something fallish to bring and share, or you can bring along something that you have been wanted to get to or have already started. For Lee and Christine, bring the supplies for the Open Coiling done on a cannon ball gourd. If you are coming let me know and I will resend the supply list, and hopefully Tammy can teach you two together on that rimming technique.
Supplies for the Clay Faces on Spoons.
Spoons, any kind will do, leave as is or spray paint with rust-0-leum paint. I used aged copper, and Carrie used metallic bronze, both look good. I also drilled a hole in the top of the handle to hang, but you don't have to. I am also going to bend the handle on some to make them into shelf sitters. Use your imagination on this Air dry clay or Kwick Wood epoxy. I buy mine at Menards.
Beads for eyes and mouth
Paint: Black to paint faces if you wan.
orange for nose
Antiquing paint to make them look old.
Please let me know ASAP me if you are coming or NOT so I have an idea of how many gourders we will have.

December 13th. CHRISTMAS PARTY.
Bring something for a passing dish and munchies.
Exchange gift. This can be something gourd related, gourds cleaned, embellishments, feathers, all ready finished gourd with your special talent... :)
We draw numbers to see who picks first. Its a really nice time. Hope the weather is nice so we can all enjoy the last of the year, then we meet again in Jan, 2015 weather permitting.
Thank you.
LuAnn Alexander
Patch Director

2015 SCHEDULE: JACKSON GOURD PATCH

11/1/2014

JACKSON GOURD PATCH
Meetings are held at the Carnegie Library
Schedule for 2015 is as follows:
January 10
February 14
March 14
Apr 11
May 9
Mark your calendars now and start getting your gourds cleaned and ready to work on. LuAnn will be posting each patch project and list of supplies needed.
Everyone is welcome!
SEE YOU THERE!

!!! MARK YOUR CALENDARS !!!

11/1/2014

Here are some of the EVENTS that you will be wanting to put on your calendars for 2015.
Indiana Gourd Show - May 2-3.
Mattaei Botanical Gardens Show - Ann Arbor May 16-17.
Cherokee Gourd Gathering May 28-31, Cherokee NC.
Michigan Gourd Artists Gathering - July 24-25
Gourds at Meijer Gardens - September 19-20.
Ohio Gourd Show - October 2-4.

This and That

11/1/2014

Michigan Gourd Society, along with the Michigan Herb group, had a good time up at Meijer Gardens in September. Some of our members had worked on musical gourds so there was definitely a MUSICAL GOURD theme going on. One table was featured for just the instruments and people coming thru were amazed at the different instruments but they had a great time as they were able to handle any and all of those gourds! The big hit of the day had to have been the Thunder Gourds as they were booming constantly. At one stage there was a huge storm that blew in and people were "blaming" the rainsticks and Thunder Gourds for causing that! Outdoors (when it wasn't storming!) there were setups for carving, drilling, cleaning etc and there were demonstrations of the different techniques going on indoors thruout the weekend. Once again the Kids Make & Take table was busy - constantly! They made necklaces, brooches and anything they could think of using beads, dyed gourd seeds and feathers. Thanks to all who donated items and shards for this very special part of the weekend! Imaginations ran wild and the art work was delightful ... the young kids as well as the old ones went away with their beautiful projects and big smiles!
THANK YOU to all who participated - our Volunteers were LuAnn Alexander-Jackson patch director, Tammy Goll-Braunscheidel, Pres. Bobbie Lee-VP, Charlie and Jan Rogers-Tres/Membership Chair, Sharon Berg-Sec, Chuck and Rita Heller-Web Master, Dixie Rosendall-new Rockford patch director, Joann Peltz-outgoing Rockford patch director, Lois Vissia, Dee Jones, Lisa Wierenga, Kathy Priest, and Sandy-family member of Sharon/non MGS member. Sharon, please pass on a big THANK YOU to Sandy for helping out!
Check out some of the photos that were taken during the weekend and plan to join us next year. Check the EVENTS page for dates.

Our day in Blanchard

8/17/2014

Blanchard Victorian Festival has come and gone, but Bobbie and Rita won't soon forget that wonderful day.
     We were greeted by Martha, and those who were helping her, and shown to our location - right on main street at the center of the event! Two covered sites with tables were provided for us and they had cleaned gourds on hand for birdhouses! Amazing. As always, it is the people who really make our time at events such a pleasure and this was no exception. Wonderful small-town hospitality for sure.   Martha (event co-ordinator) had special foods cooked just for the vendors - even a keg of root beer and lots of water available. Never had encountered that before.
     The gourds we had were greatly admired and we fielded many questions. The big hits were the musical instruments and every single one was picked up, tried out and thoroughly enjoyed! The thunder drums were probably the biggest thrill for people - and you should have seen the jaws dropped every time they heard them! The Water Drums were tried out - over and over and over again by both adults and children of all ages! We didn't have time to teach any classes or do demos as we were talking the whole time - both of us managed to get away from the booth a couple of times but never for more than 5 minutes at a time - we were busy!
     We look forward to returning and meeting up with our new friends and making more at their next festival!   Now - we turn around and get ready for the Flywheelers the first weekend of September.
COME AND SHARE YOUR TALENTS AND GIVE OTHERS A GLIMPSE INTO THIS WONDERFUL WORLD OF GOURDS!

Photo of Martha (on the left) at the end of the day. Did you notice her "wings"? She earned them! Such a wonderful hostess.

AUGUST & SEPTEMBER EVENTS

8/2/2014

In looking over the calendar we see that there are some gourd events that you can check out and, hopefully attend! We welcome your participation because this is YOUR gourd society and we know how much you have to offer. Come and share your knowledge and display your gourds when possible.

AUGUST 16th, 2014.
Festival in Blanchard Michigan
We will have two tents - one for displaying gourds and the other where we can have classes and demos. Blanchard planners will also be supplying gourds for classes on making birdhouses.

SEPTEMBER 4-5-6-7, 2014.
Flywheelers in South Haven
We will have tables for vendors - so if you would like to participate please email asap - Bobbie is the main contact for this one and we can of course use all the gourders to come out in full force for meet and greet.

SEPTEMBER 20-21, 2014
Herb & Gourd Fest at Meijer Gardens.
This is our largest event for the year, so come along and help with the meet and greet of guests coming thru. Share your knowledge and let everyone know that anything that can be done with wood can be done on or with a gourd!

September 13, 2014
Gourding in Jackson MI.
10am to 4pm at the Carnegie Library in Jackson.

September 24, 2014.
Kalamazoo Garden Club.
We have been invited to speak there and inform the members about the world of gourds.

If you'd like to come and help out at any of these events just drop us an email at MichiganGourdSociety@gmail.com

June 14th, 2014

6/14/2014

Tammy (President of the MGS), Bobbie (VP) and members Rita and Ann B were all the Gathering in Cherokee NC. As soon as we can we will get more photos put up as we are waiting for Bobbie's and Tammy's pictures. Meanwhile - here are some for you to check out! Enjoy.