Out of their gourds comes fine art

It was a trip out west that got Dave and Rosie Claus of Naperville interested in turning garden-variety gourds into exquisite works of fine art.

"We were in Frisco, Colorado. We were in a little shop there," Dave said.

Dried gourds painstakingly painted and adorned with intricate, woven pieces, caught their eye.

Both retired educators, the pair had just the right combination of talent between them to try to replicate what they saw.

"My wife has always been a weaver," said Dave, who taught architectural drawing at Downers Grove South High School. His wife was an aquatics director at the same school.

"We came back and tried one and we liked it," he said.

That was about nine years ago. Since then, the Clauses have turned their fascination with nature and art into a burgeoning business, doing commissioned pieces and bringing their inventory of finished pieces to art shows throughout the area.

This weekend, the Clauses will exhibit a selection of ornamental gourds at the Riverwalk Fine Art Fair, which runs Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20 and 21, in downtown Naperville.

Dave readily admits that gourds and fine art don't seem a natural pairing. And in the Midwest, he said, it's a rarely encountered art medium.

In places like Arkansas and Mississippi, artists can easily find raw materials, he said.

"The gourds we work with have been out of the field for a year. Farmers raise these gourds just for artists," he said. "We're finding that there aren't that many in this area."

"A lot of people associate gourds with Southwestern (art). We're trying to keep a Midwestern flair," he said.

"He does the preparation of the gourd," said Rosie, adding that Dave usually begins by cutting an undulating opening in the top of the fruit, cleaning out the interior and drilling holes in it.

Dave said gourds don't need to be cured or treated in any way.

"Once they've been out of the field, they get very wood-like. Once a gourd is dry, it's a vessel," he said, adding that ancient civilizations used gourds to carry water and store grains.

Dave then uses flame to etch designs into the gourds, a process he calls "pyro-engraving," before he turns the pieces over to his wife, who attaches woven pieces, beads and clay.

"I'm the weaver. I use Danish cord and I use a thread that has a little bit of wax in it," Rosie said. "It's the finishing of the piece that I like the best."

"Everything is sewn," Dave said. "We don't use glue at all."

The result is natural-looking artwork that Rosie said blends well with any décor.

"Everything we do comes from nature. We're both avid gardeners," she said. "The colors are all natural."

For information about Dave and Rosie Claus' artwork, visit offthevinegourds.com.