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Myrna Hester

Member Since: 2007

Media Specialties: Mixed Media;

City: Elkin

State: North Carolina

County: Surry County, NC

Bio: I was born in Oklahoma and met and married my husband there. We moved to Louisiana in 1980 and then to North Carolina in 1988 due to his jobs. We have grown to love the people and the area we live in between Elkin and Dobson. We are both retired now and stay busier than ever.

A couple of years after I retired I gradually started spending time in my husband’s woodshop. I built and painted birdhouses and yard ornaments. I then progressed to painting animals and flowers on some of my husband’s antiques. To help me paint better I bought several painting magazines. One of them had a gourd Santa in it. I ordered an assortment of gourds. I immediately became hooked. Each gourd spoke to me and seemed to tell me what it wanted to be.

Through books on gourds and I discovered the American and North Carolina Gourd Societies. My husband and I attended two gourd shows in Raleigh and one in Cherokee. Surprisingly, though I get most of my ideas from gift catalogs, books and suggestions from friends.

I am now trying to grow my own gourds. 2007 & 8 were unsuccessful – the growing seasons were too short. Gourds have to mature on the vine and then go through several months of drying for which the time varies according to the variety and size of the gourd. If a gourd isn’t mature when pulled from the vine it will shrivel and cave in.

Gourds go through a very nasty phase as they dry. Then the gourd has to be cleaned and scraped to remove mold and dirt. Then if it is being put together with other gourds, clay, or wood it has to be cut, drilled or whatever to make the parts fit together. Then clay is added to cover the joints. This has to be sanded to smooth it out (a process I am not proficient at). Then the whole thing has to be sealed with an acrylic spray sealer. After that I sketch out what I want the item to be and start painting. After it is painted it is sealed again and then felt (or some other cushioning material) is sometimes added to the bottom to keep it from scaring whatever it may be set on. This process is very time consuming so you have to love it to be willing to do it.

I have two children. My son who is the oldest, just married recently. My daughter was married ten years before she had children. I now have three grandchildren. I am proud of being a “Granny” and that is what my closest friends call me. So naturally, I had to call my gourds “Granny’s Grand Gourds”.

Myrna Hester

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