It's been about 20 years since I started working with gourd art. It began as a small hobby and then, with gourd bowls in every room of my home, I began to sell them! As sales grew I looked for outlets outside of the small shows in my central Arizona area. Then I discovered Etsy! I soon decided to grow from part time hobbyist to full time artist. Today my small house in Camp Verde, Arizona, is still filled with gourds, but now they travel to all parts of the US and Canada. My studio space is my living room and front porch with added support in the spare bedroom, dining room and back porch. It's a tiny house, but with wonderful scenic views. The front porch serves as storage for the raw gourds and is where I do the dusty work like carving, sawing, sanding and cleaning the insides of the gourds. The materials I use are chosen with an eye to using local sources and natural materials. I try to make sure dyes are colorfast and select plant material that will stay intact for years. You will note a definite Arizona slant to many of my pieces. My gourds are grown in my large backyard garden or sourced from Wuertz Farms, a small family owned and run farm in Coolidge, AZ. They sponsor a HUGE gourd art show each February, and in 2015 I was honored to receive 1st and 2nd place in the Advanced Category at the show.

My sister-in-law helps me manage my Etsy store, posting the pictures, writing the descriptions. and making sure everything is working. I'm not sure I'd manage it as well on my own. . . I'd rather be working on gourd art!

A big priority for me is to send my customers their order as quickly as possible. I know how much I dislike waiting overlong for ordered items, so I usually get the packages in the mail on the day of order or the following day. To save on shipping costs for my buyers I use US Parcel Post, and have found that most orders will arrive in 7 days or less.

I've spent my entire life living in the west and its landscapes and history have been an inspiration for my works. You'll note that my gourd art can be wildly different, because I like variety in my art pieces and my life. Variety adds spice and creating new and different pieces is definitely my style!