Originally from Sunnyvale, California I am a recent transplant to Rio Rancho, New Mexico. I first found my love for gourd art in California when I took my first gourd class, that was about three years ago and I loved it. But like most people in the Silicon Valley, I worked long hours and had no large extra work space that gourding requires. So I put it aside until now.

The Land Of Enchantment has an amazing power over a person that inspires the creativity in us all. In all my past art and craft pursuits, I have had a love of Native American and Southwest themes. So, it only seems fitting that I find myself in the heart of the Southwest dreaming of and creating the art of gourds, that I discovered only a few years ago. Since I arrived in New Mexico and attended my first open studio featuring Lynne Kottel's and Sue Jordan's gourds art work, it's all I can think about. I dream of gourds all night and work on them all day. My husband says that I am obsessed, just because all I do is think about gourds. Sure, I think about growing gourds, cleaning gourds, carving gourds, painting gourds and any other number of healthy verbs that involve gourds. But obsessed? Me, I am not the obsessive type. Ya, sure, I'm not!!!!

When I first began to get back into gourding I couldn't find anyone involved with gourding in the Albuquerque area and then I came across Lynne Kottel. Lynne is an amazing gourd artist that takes her years of experience and teaches others to open their creative outlets. Thanks to Lynne, I found the New Mexico Gourd Society. The NMGS is a group of local gourd artists that like myself share a love and a healthy obsession for gourd art. I look forward to a long and healthy passion of gourds in the future.

To see Lisa’s artwork, please go to http://home.earthlink.net/~wiccer/.