Featured Artist Summer 2021

Sue Fuller of Orange County Gourd Society

Written by Debra Zimmerman

Sue Fuller’s first gourd project was inspired by a dance around the campfire with rattles. She discovered the beautiful sounds of the rattles while she was camping with friends from her RV group, “The Bus Nuts”, and decided then that she wanted to make her own.

Sue was familiar with gourd art, having been to the Welburn Gourd Festival several times to shop, but had never attempted to make anything. She began with a basic class at a Tandy Leather store, followed by a fundamental carving class at Piecemakers, a craft store. That was when she fell in love with carving and began gourding seriously.

Sue has been a member of the Orange County Gourd Society for the last three years, and before that, she gourded for many years with her sisters, Claudia and Molly.

In 2000, she moved to her present house and set up a space for gourd work. Her open studio is an artist’s dream, with generous storage and lots of fresh air. She has a separate area for applying spray paints and raised garden beds for growing gourds. Best of all, she has room for friends to come and play, which has been great for our patch. Sue willingly shares her space and hosts classes, including Bonnie Gibson for three full-day workshops.

Sue retired in 2010 from a restaurant supply dealership. She loves to travel and explore new places and is always on the lookout for gourd farms on her journeys. When she’s at home, Sue is dedicated to her art and works in her studio every afternoon.

She has continued to take on increasingly difficult carving projects and experiment with a variety of mediums. Her dedication has paid off with a first-place for carving at Wuertz and the Orange County Fair. Sue’s carving is inspired by the works of ceramic and woodcarving artists, and her subjects often come from nature. She is challenged by painting and pyrography and wants to grow more in that area.

Sue and her sister Claudia share ideas and techniques when they gourd together via Facetime. Claudia is involved with a gourd group and gallery in McMinnville, Oregon, and Sue enjoys seeing the influence and ideas from a different area.

Sue has been busy this year working on her new website with her gourd partners, Maggie LeDuc and Reetsie Fuller. You can see more of her work there at www.GourdDivas.com