Selected Pages and Projects from:
"Making Gourd Dolls
& Spirit Figures"
By Ginger Summit & Jim Widess

 Making Gourd Dolls & Spirit Figures

Making Gourd Dolls & Spirit Figures - Dolls that dance, dolls that protect, dolls that charm: these beautiful gourd dolls do that and more. Ginger Summit and Jim Widess, authors of The Complete Book of Gourd Crafting and Making Gourd Musical Instruments, pay tribute to an ancient craft in a volume both inspirational and instructional. It’s packed with images of dolls from different cultures and eras, filled with testimonials from the most creative artists working today, and brimming with advice and irresistible projects. Summit and Widess explain how to choose a gourd, mold one as it’s growing, clean it properly and safely, pyrograph and sculpt faces, create movable joints, and make such creatures as a simple, limbless Stump Doll, beaded Zulu doll, endearing Hobgoblin, and stacked Mother and Daughter dolls.

Gourd Dolls
See the "spirit" in the gourd.


Spirit Figures
Find historical and cultural uses of gourds as spirit figures.


Making Gourd Dolls
Paint the whole gourd, without even cutting it or adding anything, to make a doll.



Grow a gourd in a mold and turn it into a doll.



Add simple appendages to give your gourd doll more life.


Making Gourd Dolls  
Add articulated arms and legs to make a puppet or poseable doll.


Create a wire armature as a body for your gourd doll.


Create beaded dolls similar to South African ones.


 
Carve a beautiful gourd with your high speed drill or Dremel tool.



Make a set of nesting Matryoshka dolls from gourds.




What readers are saying about this book:

"Far exceeded my expectations! Full of ideas from the best in gourd art. Couldn't put it down after I rec'd it. This book will probably be the most treasured of all of my gourd art books. I too prepaid. Well worth the wait. A must for any gourd artist." - L. Salomon "This book is a beautiful publication. It has concise, simple instructions to projects plus many wonderful examples of artists' work with comments from the artists. It shows the many things one can do with gourds. It's a must-have for your gourd library." - Quirky California
 "This is a great book! Lots of fun ideas and the book is very inspirational!" - C. Stowell
 "I should have ordered this book when it first came out. it is wonderful, and based on other books from these authors, I should have known. it is complete, informative, and makes the feel comfortable to do the work, as described. I highly recommend it to all gourd lovers..." - C. Weathers, Melbourne, Florida
 "As a gourd artist, I wasn't able to find much information on creating figural pieces with gourds when I first began. Ginger and Jim have done an incredible job of compiling work from a variety of artists with different styles." - Lisa Gatz, California "There is a great history on dolls in different cultures in the beginning of the book that I found fascinating. Different techniques for creating figures are shown in many styles as well as mediums. Probably the very best thing about this book is the abundance of pictures throughout. It will give you great inspiration to come up with your own creations!" - a customer
 "I am a doll maker who has not worked much with gourds, but I am inspired to do so now! I am especially fond of the whimsical and archetypal characters. Thank you for your contributions to the art world!" - Carole Henning Larson, Nebraska
 "As usual, Ginger Summit and Jim Widess have outdone themselves!! This book is a great one for the beginning gourder or the experienced." - Margaret L. Sullivan

Making Gourd Dolls & Spirit Figures - 224 pages with 506 full color photographs representing 109 contemporary artists. 8.5" x 10". #01550 - $24.95 (hardcover)

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