craigdailypress.com

When Terry Doherty gathered a group of friends and introduced them to gourds, some weren't sure about what to do with them.

Now, a year and a half later, a core group of six women, known as the Girly Gourd Gang, gathers every couple of weeks to make unique creations with the fruit.

"To me, it's the process," Annie Nelson said. "You just don't know what you're going to get. I like the surprise of the whole process."

The women scrub, dry, cut open and smooth out gourds before beginning to decorate their projects. They use anything from nail polish to ink to wood burners to create designs and unusual finishes on the gourds' smooth exterior.

"This is a terrific excuse to be creative," Nelson said.

Debbie Sherman-Hurst said the gatherings are also an excuse to get together with friends.

"It's a nice way to spend an evening when you otherwise might be alone," she said. "We come together and share stuff. By sharing, it maybe helps us cope with whatever's going on, and it becomes positive."

Sherman-Hurst said the Girly Gourd Gang helps each other learn the process of preparing a gourd and then shares tools and media to decorate them. The women rotate going to each other's houses and enjoy dinner and a few drinks while they work.

"They're my touchstones, and everybody can be their own person," Nelson said of fellow group members. "And we love each other for who they are.

"It's what life is all about -- real joy."

Nelson said she enjoys the time she spends with friends, as well as using gourds as a creative outlet. Nelson, who has an art degree, said she never before considered decorating gourds as a possibility.

Now she enjoys trying to grow her own gourds, though Craig does not present the ideal climate for the fruit.

Instead, the women get many of their gourds from Doherty's mother, who lives in Moab, Utah.

The Girly Gourd Gang attended the annual gourd festival in nearby Castle Valley, Utah, last year and plan to return this October. The women might even sell some of their creations at a booth there.

For more information on the Girly Gourd Gang, call Debbie Sherman-Hurst at 824-3370.