Show Schedule

My name is Sheryl Jones and I live in Kuna (pronounce Q nah) Idaho, about 12 miles southwest of Boise.  I have been crafting gourds for about three years now.  I grow my own gourds and buy from growers from all over the United States.  I use mostly bottle, canteen, bushel and kettle gourds, but I have done some bannana, apple, coyote and egg gourds.   The gourds are crafted using saws, wood burners, oil pencils, leather dyes, wood stains and some acrylics.  Each gourd is unique, no design is ever repeated.

I have often been asked how long it takes to craft a gourd.  The process starts in the spring when the gourd is planted.

The gourd is left on the vine until after the first frost in the fall.  It is brought into a cool dry place where air can circulate around it, there it is left to dry and mold.  Yes they are supposed to mold, don't throw them away because they have molded!!!

When the gourd has cured it becomes much lighter in weight than it was when it was picked and the outside shell becomes very hard.  Now the mold must be scrubbed off