When meeting Sandra you quickly realise that she is a complex woman who is most at home with a wood carving knife in her hand and a gourd between her knees. She is a collector of embellishments and it is guaranteed when going through her pockets or purses you will always find something of great interest.
Since Sandra was a child she has been drawn to textures. At a very young age she began knitting and working with fabric; a skill she came by naturally as her mom was very creative with the needle and thread. As Sandra got older she turned to wood and has spent years refinishing furniture. She states "I love that brainlesss zone I get into when sanding and finding the beautiful wood under the layers and years of paint and grime."
Sandra accompanied her mom to a carving class and it was like a door opened for her. Wood, sanding, finicky little knives and no chemicals....she just loved it! Her friends joke that Sandra has a "head thing" going on meaning that she is always studying faces. It is just her nature so putting faces in wood was totally natural.
In the meantime Sandra also worked with glass and then three years ago, she discovered gourds. The thing that first struck her about gourds was the range of art that could be produced. It was staggering and the ideas were endless. She realized that anyone could create something of interest regardless of their artistic ability.
Initially intimidated by the fantastic painting and woodburning examples that she had seen, Sandra knew she wasn't quite ready to attempt anything too complicated. She admits that once she got started it didn't take long before gourds became an obsession, and since that time, has bought books, surfed the Net and looks for other like-minded individuals to share ideas, techniques and tips with. She loves introducing found objects such as fibres, beads and glass bits to her art and finds her carving tools are kept busy when there is a gourd in front of her.
The biggest influences in Sandra's art are the plants and textures that surround her. She is the type of woman that can't just look, she has to touch too! Sandra and her sister Joan joke that there is a lot of raven in them - that's why the brilliant colours of glass are so appealing.
Now that Sandra has discovered ground pigments she is really excited. Unlike paint the sky is the limit. She also loves to use repellent ink dyes. The effects created when one drop of dye pushes against another is beautiful and unpredictable.
New techniques are learned mostly by trial and error. Sandra sees every mistake as an opportunity. For example she recalls a project that could have been a disaster but it turned out to be beautiful. "The yearning celtic spoon was suppose to be a gourd carved so that the upper part was the handle. I took out the wrong section and it turned out I loved the effect. I do have a slight problem with that positive/negative image thing!"
When asked if she sells her work or does commissions she states that she has sold her glasswork but her carvings have been given as gifts or as donations to various fundraisers. Sandra and her sister Joan are trying to collect enough finished gourds to show at a local Winnipeg art gallery where they expect to sell lots. She adds with a laugh "Bet you wish you were on my Christmas list." I have to reply quite honestly "Yes I do!"
Sandra has three kids ages 21, 16 and 12. Both her husband and kids have all become use to her (at times) obsessive interest in various projects. When the weather got milder this month she was back in the unheated garage happily grinding the interior of a gourd. She overheard her youngest tell her husband "Looks like you've lost the garage again Dad." The dog Shilo loves to keep her company in both her workshop and in the garage while Marbles the cat couldn't really care less.
When thinking about the future Sandra gazes up at the picture above her desk at work. In it is a piece of land that is for sale. Half of it is tilled, there is a huge Quonset hut and room for a dream house. The gourd patch is already drawn in. Smiling she says "I can 'retire' from my work as a psychiatric nurse in 7 years and plan to do contract work in northern communities where you go in for monthly contracts. This would fund my other work - my hobbies - that way. And this is where I would like to live while doing that."
Sandra teaches informally and has given classes to groups. Her youngest son and his buddies have made a few projects in the garage and it is very rewarding when they go home with something they have made for their moms. For those kids and moms it is those moments that memories are made from. And for Sandra, she gets her reward by passing on that gourd glow to others.
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