Are you an artist, arts organization or venue?

artist

What town do you live in?

Leeds

In which disciplines do you work or exhibit?

Fiber, Other

Artist Statement/Bio

Jaynie Barnes
Gourd/Fiber Artisan, Instructor
Earth Spirit Designs

Jaynie has been growing and crafting gourds for ten years and teaching for six. She has previously taught gourd crafting classes and workshops at Smith College and Holyoke Creative Arts Center. Her work has been exhibited at the Smith College Art Museum and the Smith College Campus Center; and will be featured in two Gourd Art books to be published in fall, 2010 by Schiffer Publishing. Jaynie is a member of the Hilltown Artisan Guild, The Shelburne Arts Co-op, The American Gourd Society, The Pennsylvania Gourd Society, and is a longstanding member of the Northampton Community Gardens. She currently teaches at Hill Institute. Jaynie’s work reflects her love of nature and her Native American ancestry. She finds it rewarding to begin the process of planting a seed, nurturing it into a gourd, then transforming the gourd into a piece of aesthetically, functional art. Although, she grows her own gourds, she mostly uses hardshell gourds for the majority of her work. She holds a B.A. in Education, with 23 years experience facilitating groups and workshops. She is passionate about bringing awareness to gourdiculture and gourd art to local communities and to the New England area. Jaynie is known by her friends as “The Gourd Gal”.

Describe your organization or gallery

Earth Spirit Designs is a small business offering handmade, functional Gourd/Fiber Art. Some of the gourd items available are vessels, percussion instruments: Shekere's & rattles, vases & gourd baskets.
Earth Spirit Designs also offers classes and workshops for adults and children. See website for more information.

Website

http://www.earthspiritdesigns.com