MY HUMBLE GOURD GETS 5 MINUTES OF FAME ON HAWAII FIVE-O TV SHOW!

My Humble Gourd Now on Hawaii Five-O TV Show!

I had to share this with other gourd enthusiasts, as I'll bet they will be encouraged by this surprising turn of events!

I live in Tucson, Arizona, and love Southwest petroglyph designs. I grow my own gourds and like to hand-paint them with Native American, African and Southwest tribal designs. This particular gourd had some spots that weren’t perfect, so I first painted it all black and then penciled this design on the gourd. I took a small wood carving tool and carved out the design. It was my first attempt at carving.

I was happy with the finished piece (above) and, just for the fun of it, listed it on my Etsy shop, (www.Etsy.com/shop/WitchesHammer).

Whooeee! Much to my surprise, I got an email from a very sweet Hawaii Five-0 TV Production Assistant who wanted to buy my gourd as a prop for the set on their TV show! It was a rush order! She said they “needed it by Monday” (last week), so I boxed it up and shipped it off to Hawaii! It arrived on time and, the next day, they submitted a very nice "review" in my Etsy Shop for the gourd! I was ecstatic!

Since the design has a "Tiki Hut" look, I’m guessing it will appear in a future episode on Hawaii Five-0, as a prop for a restaurant, or perhaps a bar scene. Please let me know if you see it on their show. I'd hate to miss it!

I'm so happy that my humble little gourd will have earned its 5 minutes of glory!

Here are a few other gourds that I have had fun carving and painting, all grown in my humble little garden in sunny Tucson, Arizona!

Mischievous Thoughts! - Virginia Vivier

Mimbres Inspired Design - Virginia Vivier

Started out to be a Clock! - Virginia Vivier

Among the Ruins - Virginia Vivier

Shaman's Ritual Brew

I love hanging gourd planters in my kitchen, filled with realistic looking plants! They are easy to maintain and adds a nice touch of greenery in our sunny desert climate.

I must admit that I have been carried away painting everything I can find with African, mystical Shamanistic, or Southwestern designs. I made tiny earrings using baby gourds, painted bamboo wind chimes, wood spice jars, and even painted clocks, furniture, boxes, an Ironwood tree branch fetish, a bird house and an old steer skull ! I guess it's a form of therapy because I enjoy every moment doing it.

One started out to be a clock face, but it became "so busy" that I decided it looked better, without any added clockwork parts. I was so surprised when the author, who was publishing a book about African Designs, contacted me asking for permission to use this design in his book!

I DID get carried away. But love doing this! I even painted all my wooden spice jars and made a coordinating Africanized spice rack.