I have to admit I never heard of sculpting using gourds, but I was pleasantly surprised when I attended the event. I have always loved anything created to arts. As a child, my favorite pass time was arts and crafts. I have multiple of my various artworks just hanging in awkward locations around my house and I am glad I was able to gain another artwork to add to the collection. I found this event to be very relaxing. I was very stressed the whole week due to academics and really needed something where I could channel that stress. The gourds really allowed me to get rid of any tension that I had and I found to be overall more relaxed after the event was over. This event inspired me to take more time during the day for myself and to do activities that allow me to destress. I even bought myself a coloring book that I could use to continue expressing my creative side and have a helpful, artistic way of de-stressing. This event really showed me the importance of taking the time to care for your mental wellbeing and to reconnect with my artistic side that I have forgotten due to focusing on school.
Category Archives: Explore Cornell: Gourdlandia: Make your own nightlights 10.30.18
Keeping it light
I loved this event! Especially because nightlights made out of dried gourds is something that I’ve never seen before! I had so much fun working on mine that I completely lost track of time. It was such a unique experience, I’ve never done anything like it. I would love to do this again. I hope that I can visit Gourdlandia sometime in the future and try another craft or another light. There are so many exciting directions to go in with these alone.
I also enjoyed meeting Graham Ottoson and looking at the beautiful creations that she had made. She was a kind and patient teacher.
Gourdgeous Nightlights
This event was one of my favorite events of the semester! Using a gourd for a nightlight sounds like a really strange concept, but I found out that because of their hard shells, many artists enjoy carving and drilling out designs. I was at first a bit hesitant about using the drills and messing up the design I had carefully drawn out, but after some time, I got used to them and was able to easily switch between the different sizes used for different hole sizes. Under the guidance of Graham Ottoson, all of us newbies were able to have a lot of fun and learn a new skill. I really enjoyed hearing about Graham’s love for her craft and received some great inspiration from the past designs she bought in. I ended up with a sun at the top of my gourd, and dandelions made of many different sized holes on the bottom. This event helped to take my mind away from the prelim earlier in the day and all the stressors I had and allowed me to mindlessly enjoy drilling holes. I know some of my friends were unable to attend to this event due to their own prelims; I would love to see this event come back next year so everyone gets a try.
My Gourd I Loved This Event
I was not sure what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this Rose Activity. Some of my friends had signed up to do it so I thought it would be fun to sign up as well. For some odd reason I thought we were going to be making a string of lights not a night light. But, I am so glad that I signed up for this event. My night light is on display in my room and I have it on constantly. It’s so pretty and so nice to look at. Surprisingly it was also very fun to make and the process was quite therapeutic. It was nice to take a break from studying and to take time to be creative. It was fun doing it with friends too and seeing what everyone designed. I had so much fun with this event and I would love to do it again!
Gourdlandia Nightlight
This was the coolest thing ever. The nightlights that we made were beautiful and so unique. I didn’t even know that something like this existed. I love how we got to know more about the Ithaca community at large. Sometimes it feels like we live in the Cornell bubble, but there are so many amazing things right off campus. I loved getting to know about the gourd place, and I was really happy with how my night light came out. The drilling process was very relaxing!
Oh My Gourd
As the semester progressed I had become so overwhelmingly invested in completing my work on time, that I completely forgot to participate in the activities that bring me joy. I remember reading religiously every night before falling asleep; however, now I usually fall asleep with my Organic Chemistry textbook still open on my bed. I had brought so many books from home and my camera as well, but I am now realizing that both those things have remained largely untouched over the course of the semester. This activity was not only one of my favorite Rose Scholars events but also was such an amazing outlet to destress, as we created stunning nightlights from gourds. This outlet has allowed my creative ability to run free and that was something I had deprived my self of, as I became overwhelmed with the amount of work I was trying to keep up with.
From Gourd to Gorgeous
The gourd art activity was one of my favorite Rose Scholars events thus far! I was amazed by the fact that we could take something so simple and turn it into a nightlight. It was very enjoyable and relaxing to create a design and use new tools. I spent over an hour drilling holes into a gourd and the time flew by. My gourd nightlight now lives in my room and has come in handy. I recommend that Rose do this again next year because everyone seemed to really enjoy it!
Gourlandia Creations
Somewhere along the semester, we sometime forget to do the activities we take joy in. For me that includes art activities. Even though, I brought my painting supplies with me this year, since arriving to Cornell I have not had the chance to work in more canvas paintings. Therefore, the making my own nightlight activity caught my attention. The one thing that stuck out to me was that I did not know what a gourd was! As I later learned, they are mostly used for ornamental purposes due to their hard-shells that are effective to drill on. The first time I began to drill on a gourd, I was scared to mess it up since it was my first time drilling. I began drilling the design I had outlined on the gourd, but eventually I grew comfortable enough to let my creativity go on its own. The end result, taught me that feeling confident holding a drill was a key part to make clean holes on the gourd. I also learned that planning out the layout for a design can also be helpful to have an idea of where things should go, but to not let it limit my creation.
Gourd Night Lights
This was one of the most unique Rose Events I have attended so far. Not only was it very fun to learn how to carve gourds into night lights, but it was also interesting to learn about a type of art that I had not heard of before. I think it is a really cool and creative to use dried gourds to create something beautiful. It was also amazing how enthusiastic Graham Ottoson was about her art. There was true passion in her voice when she talked about her creations and the practice of carving gourds. When someone has found something they really love, it’s fun to listen to them talk about it. It is clear that Graham has found something that she cares about that makes her very happy, and it is always interesting to hear people share their passion. Overall, this Rose Event was very interesting and a lot of fun.
Gourd Lights
When I read about this event, I did not realize that the gourds would be dried. I figured I would be able to have them for a couple days and then I would have to throw it out. So when I realized that they were dried and could last for awhile, I was pleasantly surprised.
First, we got a demonstration on how to design the gourds; there were different sizes of drills that we could use to get the design that we wanted. I’m happy that we were also given a practice part of a gourd so we could practice drilling the holes before actually making our night light. Our instructor also showed us a couple of examples of gourd night lights that she has made in the past to inspire us all. Everyone in this activity was fascinated and for many of us, this experience was entirely new. I had trouble brainstorming design ideas but finally settled on palm trees and a wave. I added the final touch by making sun rays at the top of the gourd. All in all, the experience was amazing and I was so happy to have learned a new skill. It also helped me forget about my prelim the next day which I was very stressed about. Like the previous couple of creative activities, I believe these events are very helpful for students as it takes them away from their academics and brings out their artistic side.
Turns out you can make Lights with Gourds!
Well last week was a first. I made a light using a gourd… I honestly never would have thought you could use a gourd for a light. Essentially, we used a dried gourd and drilled holes into it so that the light could come out of it in a design of your choice. It’s quite remarkable how drilling in holes into an object that I would have just thrown away can actually be turned into something quite beautiful.
I usually do my Rose Scholar events on weekends. This one happened to be on a weekday. I usually find art relaxing and that I’m not focused on schoolwork when I’m doing it. But, this time I felt really distracted while I was creating my light. Everyone kept commenting on how they feel so much better and how drilling the holes felt relaxing to them. I could not relate. I just kept thinking about how I need to be doing homework and studying. Maybe because it was a busy week, in which I had projects and papers due. When I reflect back on that day and how I felt incredibly stressed out when I should have been distressing through the art, I wish that I had honestly just “chilled out.” Since I ended up getting everything done that week in an efficient manner. What I learned is that I need to calm down about my work a little. This is because I have proven to myself time and time again that I can get all my work done.
Time to Relax.
After an extremely stressful week of classes, I got to turn a Gourd into a nightlight. I did not know what a gourd was before this workshop but it is similar to wood. As you can see on the photo, I got to drill tiny wholes into the gourd to make a picture. Due to my passion for music, I did a treble clef and some hearts. This is experience was so memorable because it allowed me to be creative and take a load of from thinking about school work. I hope that this event becomes a Rose House tradition because I really enjoyed it! Events like this are what makes being a Rose Scholar special.
The Art of Creativity
This event was by the far the most interactive Rose event I’ve attended. Not only was I able to acquire a new skill, I was also able to take it home with me! I learned how to carve my stress away into the form of a nightlight. We used drills of various sizes to punch little holes into gourds that formed a design of our choosing. The gourds came in different shapes as well. I chose the pear-shaped gourd and drilled a face into it, which it now resembles a snowman. I added green gems in the place of its eyes so it matches my own. This was a very fun experience and it also helped de-stress a little bit as the second wave of prelims came around. This was the best study break I’d ever taken and I hope to enhance my creative skills with similar crafty projects.
Amazing Nightlights!
This Tuesday I was able to go to the Gourdlandia Nightlight event! I loved it so much! Making that gourd nightlight was such a good destresser. I was able to use my creativity to decide on my design and then actually drill that design unto my gourd. I never really knew about this form of art until I saw it. There was so much to think about when deciding on our design such as the way we wanted the light to show on the wall. I can say that I appreciate this art much more after this event. Art overall is sometimes not given much credit but it truly is something great that not everyone can do and succeed in. Graham Ottoson was such a good teacher and the designs that she showed us were beautiful! I would love to do this again! My nightlight is now a beautiful part of my room and I thank whoever planned this event for planning it.
Gourd-geous Nightlights
I had a great time participating in the Gourdlandia event this past Tuesday. As with some previous Rose Scholars events, I had a chance to tap into my creative side and make a nightlight out of a gourd by artfully drilling holes into it. While I had a relaxing time, the event got me to think about and appreciate artisans of all different types. Before signing up for the event, I had never thought about gourd-crafting, but I now see it is an undoubtedly unique and beautiful type of art and expression. The example pieces that Graham Ottoson had on display were amazing and it is astonishing to think about all the other possible ways people practice artisanship and share their talents and passions with others. My favorite thing about gourd-crafting the nightlight was the fact that the pieces were not only visually appealing, but also functional. After having so much fun, I am hoping to visit Gourdlandia in Ithaca with friends or family to share this wonderful experience with them.
Carving Night Lights
Looking at all the Rose Scholar events that I attended, carving night lights out of the dried gourds was my favorite event. I think I learned a skill that can be used to create beautiful gifts for people I care about. When Graham Ottoson showed us samples of the night lights, I thought it would be difficult to make such delicate designs just using drilling tools of different sizes. However, when I started making my own night lights, I realized that even with simple designs, these night lights could make amazing patterns. Also, I really enjoyed observing other people’s gourd night light designs. In the future, I hope Graham visits Cornell again and introduce different skills that are used when carving the dried gourds.