Shouse House Gourds

Hi! Thanks for stopping in for a visit!  I'll grab us a cup of coffee so you can look around.  Don't worry, the cat will only be curious for a few minutes!

For my new friends that I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, I'm Leighandra.  I'm finally discovering, at age 43, my heart and imagination bring me joy and with my attempt at being true to myself, here I am!  It has been a journey from the first day I picked up a paint brush until today...tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that, I will continue.  This is what I Love!

I'm probably no different from you!  I'm a wife and mom - two of the greatest things imaginable!  My faith in God and my family are the two strong holds in my life.  When you add the most amazing friends, a pile of gourds and a bunch of paint, I know I HAVE IT ALL!

My husband Harold and I have three daughters.  Sara Kate is almost 15.  Twins, Rachel and Rebecca, just turned 13.  Its always loud at our house!  Softball reigns!!  Tripping over a duffle bag or a pain of cleats isn't an unheard of scenario!  As busy as it keeps up, and as demanding as our schedule may be, I wouldn't change it for a million dollars!  My children are my joy and my prayer is that they will someday look and say, "yeah, my parents may not always have been the coolest, but they sure loved us!"

I've always heard, "Necessity is the mother of invention."  Well, thats why I picked up a paint brush to begin with.  The story is a long one but in essence, I didn't have the money to buy the pretty thing that I enjoyed, so I decided to improvise and try to make pretty thing for my own home.  I was a hairdresser, so my logic was simple.  If I could mix haircolor and apply make up, how different could painting be?

When I was introduced to gourd art I was hooked! (Thank You Barbara!) Being a "Square - Peg", I was more impressed with such an odd medium.  NO FLAT CANVAS for me!  I love to let the gourds introduce themselves to me.  They let me know what they need to be when I look at their bumps and imperfections.

Gourds have been such a big part of who I am and what I love doing for the past fifteen years.  It feels like God dropped a talent out of the sky right onto my head, but I never knew where it fit into my life.  Now, after hundreds of gourds that I have painted have been adopted into homes around the country, I finally see what and why!

Thanks again for stopping by! And please, come back often! You never know what you might find!

Blessings,

Leighandra

P.S.  Harold, Mom, Dad, Sara, Rachel, Becca and Shannon - My wonderful family - Thank you for your support! I love you!

Jennifer, Gail, Linda, Rita, Rosalee, Mary and Patrick - My awesome friends - I finally did it!

And Uncle Chuck, I miss you! Thank you for believing in me!!