Loading... Please wait...Valerie LaVake
Valerie LaVake Gourd ArtistMy first exposure to gourds was in 2004. A friend in New Orleans, who carves fine decoys and dabbles in gourd art, showed me his work and gave me a gourd. Back home I went on the internet and found books on gourd art and begin working on my own.
I wanted to learn more and attended my first "Gourd Retreat Southern Style" in Georgia. Since then I have been to Georgia several times for seminars and have met some really talented and enthusiastic "gourders". I have taken summer classes at the Fletcher Farm School in Vermont, taught by gourd artists from Vermont and Texas.
My gourds have sold at the Connecticut Creative Store in Hartford, Tapestry Rose in Rocky Hill, Indigo Blue in Colchester and Shamai in Nashville. I'm a member of the American Gourd Society and the Georgia Gourd Society.
