So, first, I had to leave the gourds alone to be dried. Depending on the humidity, it takes about a year or so for them to be fully dried. Every so often while they are drying, i would need to clean off some smelly moldy build-up on the surface.
You can see that on the bottom of the dried gourd (above) three dark spots where mold was starting to grow. If i didn't clean it off in time, it would have eaten through the gourd.
I have tried using gesso and acrylic paint but you can see below that both do not stay on very well:
So that is when i started thinking of other ways to treat the surface. And what better way than to use my beloved mulberry paper that i have neglected since taking a break from printmaking?
More on those paper-wrapped ones tomorrow...
coool. remember that pear i made back when we were taking art lessons with soygu? That was an awesome pear. where'd it go?
ReplyDeleteyes, i do! it should be at home somewhere. i guess that's where the idea of taping and wrapping things came from. totally didn't think of it until you mentioned it. it sure was an awesome pear.
ReplyDeleteThe bowl of preserved fruits, i liike. I like the bowl, tooo. Is it one of the paper hats?
ReplyDeleteyes, one of my first paper hats before i worked with paper pulp. i just used lots of paper strips and paste layers and layers of them onto a ball that i used as a mold.
ReplyDeleteDear Mien,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful, uplifting and inspiering blog you have. Hy hands starts itching when I see your art, giving me a STRONG desire to go do something creative myself...
THANKYOU!