Dolls from around the world can easily be made using gourds.
If you're an artist looking to explore a versatile medium or are interested in making dolls with a remarkable heritage, look to nature's bounty. Learn a variety of classic techniques - from carving to sculpting - as you create a Kokeshi believed to protect children; a green man with four faces representing the seasons; a Matryosyhka set based on the typical Russian nesting figures, and more. Complete with a gallery of inspiring work by talented artists, this unique guide will ope your eyes to the design possibilities for a beautiful object.
Excerpt
For centuries, artists around the world have turned gourds - humble, hardy fruits related to melons and pumpkins - into not only vessels and jars, but also dolls for play and figures designed to ward off evil spirits.
Professional Reviews
Library Journal
Crafts
By Constance Ashmore Fairchild, formerly with the Univ. of Illinois Libs., Urbana-Champaign -- Library Journal, 10/15/2007
Summit, Ginger & Jim Widess. Making Gourd Dolls & Spirit Figures. Sterling. 2007. c.224p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-4027-3220-1. $24.95. CRAFTS
Summit and Widess (coauthors, The Complete Book of Gourd Crafting) continue their creative treatment of gourds with this book of projects for human and animal figures loosely adapted from traditional dolls and fetishes in other media. Naturally formed gourds are used for a set of Russian-style matryoshka (nesting dolls), while other gourds are shaped during growth to form grotesque faces and corkscrews. Photos of finished objects by many artists are used as chapter illustrations. This book does not duplicate material in the authors' previous books; recommended for public libraries
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