kyart

Creativity After Christmas
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Creativity After Christmas

While working on my next big piece, I’ve been contemplating the art I’ve made during January in the past few years. Not only did I find that the pieces were some of my best, but three of the past four have won an award of some sort! 

2014 – Date Night (formerly Colored Pear Illuminated) – 1st gourd lamp, won 3rd place in sculpture at 2014 Celebration of the Arts

2015 – Teddy’s Balloon – made for my little man – 1st place in Gourd Magazine Spring 2017 Craft contest (resulting in featured artist for Summer issue)

2016 – Ascension – Honorable Mention at 2016 Artworks Members Only show

2017 – Dream – My largest piece to date – sold during my first setup at the Kentucky Crafted Market

Stay tuned for this year’s creation 😁

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Ascension (2016)

Ascension (2016) (9″ x 9″)  Hand drawn over Christmas break (2015) and completed in January 2016.  This gourd features various patterns, ascending upwards with contrasting designs and divergent directions, symbolizing the varying paths I’ve taken while growing my skill and ability with gourd art.  Embellished with pyrography, cutting, and carving.

This piece has been in two juried shows, while being awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Artworks Members’ Juried Show (sponsored by the great Cheree Federico Photography).

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Lamp Stand

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Some really cool things come out of necessity. I made the newest lamp for a special someone, but also wanted to enter it into the 2015 Celebration of the Arts show at the Kentucky Museum. While the lamp is a hanging lamp, I wanted a nice way to display, resulting in the lamp stand.

There are may firsts for me here, including concrete work, tile work (with broken glass), and grouting. The lamp stand is made from a full sized shepards hook, with a custom built and designed base. I poured concrete around the base of the hook, then applied broken glass using tile adhesive, and finally capped it off with grout work. The result is a 7 foot, 60 pound base, created to hold a 1 pound gourd lamp.

Check out the 2015 Celebration of the Arts show at the Kentucky Museum, on WKU’s campus in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to see Teddy’s Balloon, as well as many other great artworks from the Bowling Green area. Opening reception is Friday, March 6th at 7:30pm. Show runs until April 4, 2015.

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New Year, New Projects

2014 was another awesome year of learning, growth, and achievement. My main goal was becoming a Kentucky Crafted artist, which I’m honored to have achieved.

With the new year comes a time of new projects and some experimenting. So far I’ve started about 4 projects, and hopefully I’ll finish them eventually. Be on the lookout for a checkerboard, a wizard, and a cool lamp.

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"Merlin" in collaboration with Nick Mantlo-Coots

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2015

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Halloween 2014: Part 2

Here’s a look at the next two 2014 Halloween gourd lamps: Jolly Qualls & Gourd-o-Lantern 1.

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Jolly Qualls gourd lamp

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Jolly Qualls gourd lamp (night)

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Gourd-o-Lantern 1 gourd lamp

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Gourd-o-Lantern 1 (night)

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Gourd-o-Lantern 1 (night, back)

Happy Halloween!

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Halloween 2014

It’s that wonderful time of year again! Well, at least second most wonderful. Fall is here, and with it is Halloween! The biggest things right now are the Halloween gourd lamps. Here are the first two, Halloween Gourd Lamp no.2 & Arachnogourdia 1. * http://www.facebook.com/snpcrafts

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Halloween Gourd Lamp no.2

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Halloween Gourd Lamp no.2

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Arachnogourdia 1

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Arachnogourdia 1

Enjoy the season 🙂

August 90th

Help me wish a very Happy 90th Birthday to my awesome Grandmother! She’s a great strong woman.  As a special birthday present, she’s getting my most recent gourd piece.

This one is called August 90th. As we enter the great autumn months, leaves will begin falling all around, mixing with the patterns of the world, just like in this piece.

Happy Birthday Grandmother!

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Garden of Fire

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This piece features a lid inspired by the bush, Firepower Nandina. The supporting design brings elements of symmetry, cutting, carving, and the burning art of pyrography. A piece of art inspired by the garden, with material from the garden. Created June 2014, by Paul R. Buhrmester.