Gourd creations show endless opportunities
Sandra Palmer holds one of the many gourds inside her Moses Lake home.
OTHELLO — Gloria Dittrick is a walking, talking encyclopedia when sharing her knowledge of gourds. The Othello woman started decorating the vegetable about two and a half years ago.
OTHELLO - Gloria Dittrick is a walking, talking encyclopedia when sharing her knowledge of gourds.
The Othello woman started decorating the vegetable about two and a half years ago.
Before that, she dabbled in different media, trying oil painting and acrylics.
But she found gourds alone provide her with a wide variety of art projects.
"Gourds give you the ability to weave, carve, paint, stain and inlay," Dittrick explained. "You can do anything you want with a gourd. If I get tired of weaving tops on a gourd, I might make a drum next. I can switch, or I can go carve for awhile."
"Now I'm working on a tambourine," she added. "The only thing that stops you is your imagination."
She grows most of the gourds she decorates, which she also enjoys.
If Dittrick needs a large gourd for a drum or a weaving project, she obtains the vegetables from California.
While Dittrick and others use gourds for their hobby, the vegetable has been used for more practical purposes.
Food has been cooked inside of gourds. They are part of the pumpkin family.
They've also been used for dinnerware, purses, canteens and food and drink storage.
Gourds keep forever and have been found thousands of years later in old tombs, she said.
At Dittrick's home, she stacks her gourds on a pallet in the winter, where they're also cleaned and dried.
The drying process lasts a few months, for smaller gourds, and up to six to eight months, for larger gourds.
When drying, they lose a large amount of water and weight. A 20-pound gourd can shrink to 8 ounces.
At the end of the drying process, they appear moldy. Then they're soaked and scrubbed, which takes away the moldy appearance.
The gourds grown this year won't be used until next year.
Gourds are edible too. Her friend, with Mommy Yum Yum's Asian Restaurant in Ephrata, grows and eats the vegetable.
Dittrick decided to try a recipe herself.
She cut a gourd into one inch cubes and stir fried it with green onion and sugar.
She served the dish to her friend.
"It was good," Dittrick said.
This year, she entered her projects in the Northwest Gourd Festival, where she earned two blue ribbons, a red ribbon and a white ribbon.
Her gourd creations are shown on her Web site, gloriasgourds.com.
In Moses Lake, partners Jack Miller, a former carpenter, and Sandra Palmer, an ex-city employee, also enjoy the hobby.
A large stack of gourds sit inside their dining room.
Palmer's daughter, Heidi Farmer, of Ephrata, got her mom interested in gourds.
"They're too much fun," Palmer said. "They're incredible. They have personalities, at least to me."
She's decorating one gourd with fabric.
Miller explains how he's used a chip carver to place interlocking circles on his gourd.
He's even seen a gourd with a warty surface used to create a sheep.
Miller has also found pictures of ornate gourds and wants to try painting them.
Other options include using the vegetables as light holders and sconces.
The couple may enter their creations into next year's show.
"You can do anything that's in your imagination," Miller commented.
For more information visit www.americangourdsociety.org and www.wagourdsociety.org.
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