The light chord runs through a hole in the bottom of Tyrone, up through his neck and into Chon, where it hooks up to an extension cord with three plugs. Each gourd has a hole in the bottom slightly larger than the bulb (to allow for easy changing) and sits nestled in a piece of tin foil. Not only does the foil keep the bulb sitting upright, it reflects the light for extra illumination. Pretty nifty, huh?
So, I realize not everyone has some hollow, dehydrated gourds sitting around the house…but you might see some on sale at the market this week, right? So why not pick one up and dry it out for next year? Just hang it up or sit it some place dry with lots of circulating air, like on top of a turned over basket or something. This guy goes into some detail on proper drying techniques (and, as it turns out, he also sells dried gourd jack-o-lantern kits if you want to get a jump start on this. He also sells boxes of dried mini gourds in bulk, which has me rather intrigued come Christmas. Hmmm….)
Many thanks to Dale for making these amazing creatures and letting me share them here. One day I’ll go over and take more pictures of Dale creations…banjos made from cigar boxes…key hooks from wooden spoons. It’s pretty impressive. I should mention, Dale is married to Nancy, aka Aunt Nancy, an amazing painter and artist extraordinaire. In addition to being my mother’s college roommate, Nancy is the person who gave me a rhinestones bezel setter at age six, which, now that I think about it, probably explains a lot about the stuff you see on this blog. Needless to say, she has great taste! Between the two of them, the house is like a candy store of artistic coolness. We should go back for a visit…
Dale has his own blog, Loitering Dog, which I highly recommend to all those who love stories of weirdness and wonder (and gourds). He doesn’t update it nearly as often as I would like (I’m greedy that way), but you can cruise the archives for a good time.
Thanks, Dale!
Oh wow! These are pretty awesome. I might have to try this at some point. They just look so unique!
These really are cool. My grandma always has some enormous gourds by the end of fall . Now Ill know what to do with them!
I.love.those.gourds! Tyrone is my favourite 🙂
Sokru
sokerimursu.blogspot.fi
I was going to comment on my drying gourds and the great idea of carving BUT now I must bow down and thank you instead. Your link to your friend Dale has made my morning. I drank two cups of coffee while reading his stories and can’t wait to read more. Lean on him please.
I’m with you , Anne. We all need to lean on him some more!
You got the coolest friends
Banjos made from cigar boxes! I have some cigar boxes! I have one from the 1930s that was my dads. Please, write a box. My friend my trainer, has an interesting father. The father found a dead cat on the side of the road. He took it home and made a banjo from the skin. It has been shown in several museums in Michigan.