Featured Artist Fall 2025
Featured Artist is Heather Hopman from the San Diego County Gourd Artists
Heather Hopman started working with gourds in 2005 with a $10 soldering iron. After attending a demonstration by David Snooks and selling a few gourds. I invested in a proper woodburner and started working in earnest, as a break from my normal work in lampworked and blown glass. I have been drawing my entire life and found it easy to apply my drawing and painting techniques to gourds. I enjoy testing different novel mediums on gourds to achieve new looks and textures, often involving many sealed layers. I like the challenge of gourds not being a consistent surface like a canvas, incorporating the curves and flaws of the surface into the work. After entering gourds in the local county fair and doing well. I started entering gourd competitions and the CA State Fair Craft competition and took Best Gourd in 2022-2024.
Over the past few years, I have been teaching my techniques at gourd meetings and conferences and found out I truly enjoy it and plan on expanding my teaching events in the future.
