Gourd Lantern Carving Workshop

Learn to Carve a Gourd!

September 13, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

November 1, 9 a.m.-1p.m.

In this workshop, you will learn to craft a gourd lantern while learning the lore of our ancestors’ first storage container, provided by Mother Nature herself. From the dawn of civilization, humans have found endless uses for gourds– beautiful and functional members of the squash family. True gourds are extremely strong and lightweight. Over the centuries, humans have selected varieties for specific shape and size to create an astonishing number of useful items: musical instruments, water bottles, yogurt and cheese-making vessels, honey storage, alcohol fermentation and storage, bowls, cups, bird houses, floatation devices, grain storage and even cooking vessels.

In this class, you will start with a natural, cured gourd and learn the steps of carefully cutting it open, removing seeds, cleaning it, drawing patterns that, in turn, will be carved out to allow the glow of the lantern to light up an outdoor area or indoor space. In this class, you we will learn to use rotary tools, scrapers, rechargeable drills, and handheld jigsaws. Each student will install a low-wattage LED light on the interior of the gourd, along with a lamp cord complete with a plug end. All materials and tools will be provided.

This class is designed for the beginner as well as more experienced carvers.

There is no prerequisite for this class.

All of the necessary tools and materials will be available to students for this class.