Cool Cat Gourd Show- You Be the Judge

The Gourd Gallery of 1364 Kings Highway in Sugar Loaf, NY, will host the First Annual Cool Cat Gourd Contest during Sugar Loaf’s Annual Fall Festival on October 7th, 8th, and 9th (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Gourd artists from around the world have entered their feline creations. Their main interest is to be the “Coolest Cat,” a title determined by ballots cast by visitors to The Gourd Gallery. Cool Cat entries will be offered for sale to the public, and proceeds will be donated to area humane societies.

(PRWEB) September 20, 2006 -- Cool Cats--indeed many of the Gourd Gallery’s offerings--are fashioned from hard-shelled gourds. Though related to cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash, hard-shelled gourds have the strength, durability, and look of wood. They are thought to have been domesticated for use as a lightweight “container crop” thousands of years before domestication of food plants. They have been used through the ages to store grains, hold liquids, play music, purchase goods, catch fish, and, of course, create cool cats.

The Gourd Gallery was born from Gourdaments LLC, a wholesale company founded by prize-winning Middletown artist Devon Cameron in 2002.

“Gourdaments got its start in my Circleville home,” she remembers. “But it quickly grew to where I had gourds rolling out of every corner. My kids (5 and 6 years old) couldn’t play without tumbling over a large Santa or rooster. I feel fortunate that I found this wonderful old farmhouse in a growing artisan community.” She gestures around the cozy gallery with its central cedar tree adorned with colorful birdhouses and ornaments. Pod people march across the old fireplace mantel; flaming rocks, masks, and folk paintings cover the walls; a huge assortment of musical instruments, including exquisitely handmade “Gourdalins,” fill floor-to-ceiling shelves. “We offer gourd art from all over the world as well as my own work.”

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