About

I created this website to share some of my creations, which happen to be mostly gourds. I also sew, bead, paint, carve and print – basically whatever technique or material I need to create what I’ve envisioned. I save wood, branches, vines and root balls from my yard and turn them into art. Influences and techniques that inspire me include nature, tribal art, plants, sea life of Hawai’i, Celtic knots, French beaded flowers, and found objects such as wood, shells, bones, fur, quills. I was born in California, grew up in Alaska – I am 1/4 Yup’ik, and spend a lot of time on the Big Island of Hawai’i, where I would one day like to.. grow more gourds.

The gourd decorating style that is my absolute favorite and closes to my heart is a carving and dyeing technique called ipu pawehe, developed on the island of Ni’ihau many moons ago by the Hawaiian people. The technique requires a fresh gourd with smooth, unmarked skin, a carving tool and a dye, like coffee. Weeks later, if all goes well, the smooth, dried gourd shows the carved design. I have provided these links for those wanting to learn more about ipu pawehe and its lost history. To see how I practice it, please visit my pawehe process page for a detailed tutorial.  When I am not carving and dyeing ipu, you might find me working on.. more gourds (growing, drying, cutting, painting).

To leave a message please visit my contact page.

Okay, but why gourds? And what are ipu?

In 2010 I bought my first fresh gourds around Halloween at a local market for their sheer beauty, and I was hooked. Pumpkins are great, but they don’t have hard shells, and ultimately rot and collapse if you don’t eat them. I found the green and white swan neck gourds particularly stunning, and was excited to see what happens when they dry.

Ipu, from the Hawaiian language, often translated as the word for gourd or gourd instruments, such as ipu heke or ipu heke ‘ole. I learned about ipu and the pawehe technique almost 2 years later when I was researching Hawaiian art. Thanks to the world wide web and the generosity of people sharing this process, I was able to develop a practice that works reasonably well on locally grown gourds since I can’t bring fresh Hawaiian gourds to California.

See my process page for more on pawehe and ipu, or visit my links page for more information on gourds.