Gourd Central Bookstore

• The Complete Book of Gourd Craft

  
  Written by Ginger Summit, with excellent photography by Jim Widess. Far and away the best current book on gourd craft, covering curing and cleaning, finishes, paints and pigments, pyrography, basketry and more. Hundreds of color photos of contemporary and traditional work, with 22 step by step projects. Paperback.
  
• The Complete Book of Gourd Craft; $18.95
  

  Afro-American Arts of the Suriname Rain Forest

  
  Afro-American Arts of the Suriname Rain Forest; by Sally Price (1980). Catalog of the UCLA Museum of Cultural HistoryÍs collection of Maroon (escaped slave) art from Suriname. Extensive coverage of calabash (tree gourd) artifacts and design in their cultural context, as well as textiles, woodcarving, etc. Profusely illustrated.
  
• Afro-American Arts of the Suriname Rain Forest; $24.95

Gourd Kids

Gourd Kids-Let's Grow a Birdhouse; $3.00

Gourd Notes

Send your best gourd wishes to friends and family with Gourd Notes. An African gourd vessel on the cover, blank inside; 8 notes with envelopes Cards are 4-1/4 x 5-1/3 inches BR>

• Gourd Notes; $4.00

An Afternoon with Minnie Black

Videotape by Jean and John McClintock. Minnie Black, Kentucky gourd artist, gives a tour of her museum, plays some of her gourd instruments, and gives a glimpse of her creative vision. Minnie passed away in 1996. 35 minutes, VHS
An Afternoon with Minnie Black. $14.95

CDs

Gourds are natural resonators and are used in musical instruments of all sorts. We hope to carry cds representing gourd music from everywhere.

 

 

The Richmond Indigenous Gourd Orchestra

 

We first heard them at the Ohio Gourd Show and went nuts. They're the state of the art in gourd percussion: chekeres, water drums, electric kalimba, friction drums, you name it. From Richmond Virginia.

CD Refuge in a Gourd $12.95 Tape $8.95

Mbira Dreams

Music of mbira dzavadzimu by Erica Kundidzora Azim. "The mbira dzavadzimu consists of 22 to 28 long narrow metal keys mounted on a hardwood soundboard...often played within a large calabash."

Mbira Dreams CD $12.95

 

 

The kora

is a 21-string harp-lute from West Africa. These two cds represent widely different styles by two kora masters.

Kaira

Solo instrumental CD recording by Malian Kora virtuoso Toumai Diabate.

CD-Kaira $12.95

Vieux Diop (Via Jo)

Traditional and modern arrangements of West African music featuring kora by Vieux Diop. CD.