Gourd art celebration marks 10th anniversary in Fallbrook

By: JOEL D. AMOS - For the North County Times | Wednesday, May 17, 2006 12:22 PM PDT ∞

Tradition dictates tin or aluminum as the appropriate gift to mark a 10-year anniversary. For the Art Center at Fallbrook, the more fitting gift each May would be the gourd.

Now in its 10th year, the National Gourd Fine Art Show has grown from a three-day weekend affair one decade ago to the monthlong celebration. Started by gourd artist Robert Rivera in 1997, the Fallbrook show has also grown in numbers of participating artists. Now with 15 artists from across Southern California, Helene Ross, executive director of the art center, believes their exhibit is the place to see gourds.

"The artists have become phenomenal over the last 10 years," Ross said.

Mary Perhacs, the center's director of exhibitions, is most appreciative of the work Ross has done to bring the exhibit to its current stature in the industry.

"This show is really her brainchild," Perhacs said. With two new artists this year the field continues to develop. "There aren't that many gourd artists out there at the top level, and we seem to get them."

Ross herself has acquired 18 gourd art pieces and considers herself a collector of the art form. She inherited her position at the helm of the gourd show. "The lady they had hired to run the show walked out right before and they asked me if I would be interested," Ross recalled. Fate could not have chosen a more qualified individual to lead them into the future a decade ago.

A volunteer at the gallery, Ross is proud of her juried exhibition and how it got to its 10th incarnation. Rivera has left his creation in the hands of not only a trusted curator, but also a gourd connoisseur.

"Itís an amazing art form. I'm dazzled by them," she said.

Her collection ranges from the whimsical to the beautiful. Ross believes gourds' appeal goes beyond their beauty to incorporate functionality in art.

"They are not like sculpture or glass ---- very fragile. You lift them easily and move them to be exhibited different ways. They are really fun."

Gourd art begins in a manner that is to be expected. The piece's original form originates as the vegetable that dates back to ancient Africa. Botanists believe gourds traveled across the oceans to various corners of the globe. These scientists could never have predicted this item of subsistence in the ancient world would evolve into an appreciated fine art. With their potential for brilliantly colored blossoms, gourds such as the pear and orange varieties do seem quite conducive to artistic endeavors.

Ross appreciates the artists behind the gourd. She has refined her appreciative eye for her collection through the artists she has come to know for the past decade.

"I am just fascinated by the techniques they use," she said. "Jim Russell, for example, works with geometric figures. He does these amazing things with cubes. And Larry McClelland does the most wonderful work ---- this year he created a butterfly. It is so cool."

This year's gourd exhibitors include Jim Russell and Betty Herrington of Fallbrook; Keely Berry-LeBlanc and Donna Meyer of Escondido; Jeanne Ames of San Diego; Don Weeke of Julian; Diane Piccola of Vista; Linda J. Stryker of Bonsall; Robin Przbysz of Cardiff; Pat Boyd of Lancaster; Angela Briggs of Westchester; Judy and Larry Cunningham of Redondo Beach; Lisa Gatz of Visalia; Cindy Lee of Folsom; Larry McClelland of Carson; and Sally Rosenberg of Mission Hills.

For a decade now, there exists a venue for artists in a developing genre to showcase their talents. Ross is so appreciative of the work the artists produce each year, she mentions one perk of working as a volunteer at the gallery all these years.

"I get a first look," she said like a true collector. "You see one that you don't have and you have to have one. This is so phenomenal."

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Also celebrating its 10th anniversary this year will be the Welburn Gourd Farm's annual Gourd Art Festival, also in Fallbrook. The popular weekend event, held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 24 and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 25, will feature more than 55 gourd art exhibitors, a hands-on gourd-making craft area, gourd art competitions for adults and children, a microbrewery/wine garden, gourd art demonstrations and classes, live entertainment and gourds for sale.

Admission to the Welburn event, at 40635 De Luz Road, is $7.50 for adults and free for children 12 and under. In honor of the Welburn gourd festival, the Art Center of Fallbrook will extend its hours until 8 p.m. on June 24.

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