Moving out to the country with a pond and five acres was a life long dream of mine. Four years ago my husband and I built our home right outside of Columbia, Missouri. As a house-warming gift, four odd shaped gourds were placed on our doorstep. What was a gourd?

I really had not seen or paid attention to them. I left them alone on my doorstep while moving and settling my family into our new home. They got moldy as time went on, but I was too busy to fool with them. Until one day I thought, maybe it was time to get rid of these eyesores. I picked one up and to my surprise it was hard, light and rattled.

I scrubbed them up and a neighbor had told me about painting them. I was an artist selling various watercolor prints around the city and this would be a fun change. I painted them up and friends and relatives admired and wanted them. Maybe it was time to get some more of these and possibly sell them. But where do I find gourds?

The second weekend of October, every year, pumpkins line the streets and yards of a little town by the river that the Katy Trail runs through called Hartsburg, Missouri. The Pumpkin Festival was where my husband had spied gourds piled around a tree in someone's yard. He came home to tell me about it and the next weekend we went to Hartsburg.

What a Beautiful Sight! Hundreds and hundreds of gourds. We filled bag after bag and made wonderful friends with a farmer and his wife, Joyce and Russell Sapp. They invited me to participate in next year's pumpkin festival by selling my gourd crafts from their yard. Yes! I couldn't wait.

The next year came and I did my first "Show", the 1993 Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival. What a response! People loved my gourds. They were a hit and I did quite well. Well I now knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, besides a great mom and wife - a gourd head!

UPDATE to 2013 - Hi! I'm Melynda Lotven and this is my Etsy Store devoted to my gourd art and all that it has inspired. You are invited to follow my gourd adventures, purchase from my store, request custom orders, and ask many, many questions to soothe and inspire your curiosity about gourds.

Living in the country in Columbia, Missouri is my heaven on earth, a magical place where gourds come alive and whatever can be dreamed can be created. I turn moldy gourds into keepsake treasures. The gift of a gourd is a gift from the heart wishing all the best things in life. …thank you.