The Cypress Gourd Patch meets the first Tuesday of the month at a member's home in Sumter. We've found that a four hour format didn't fit our needs, so we meet from 9 a.m. until about 3 p.m. Members do pot-lunch and we conduct a business meeting over lunch. For education, our topics vary. We've done several classes on InLace, the inlay resin. We've worked on items for the Orangeburg Fair and also for the local Art in the Park event held in September.
At Orangeburg, our members showed extremely well. Betsey Sloan took the top award, Best in Show, with her Zuni Ceremonial Bowls as well as Best in Open Class, four first, one third and two second place ribbons. Carol Boyd took a second in the novice class. Jackie Jurecek took a first and a third in the open classe and Linda Barrett took three firsts in the intermediate category. Congratulations to them all.
The Art in the Park, our first event together hosting a booth at this annual Sumter event, was a success. While attendance was lot, overall we felt we sold well. Jackie, Linda, Paula and Betsey all had pieces for sale.
Our meetings for November and December are put on hold due to various medical and personal issues with the members. We are a small patch, only six active members right now, and we are taking a breather until January.
In January, we will start meetings again. The topic for that day be Gourd Jewelry. In February, we will be reviewing various colorants available to us as gourd artists. March will be used to create/discuss what we need as a Patch for the Ghost Creek GourdFest day in April. We are expected to have a tent and to sell our gourd art and have literature ready for the public.
Cypress Patch News
