CLINTON - Betsy Davis-Parker thought she had stumbled, entirely by accident, upon a new form of art.

Already a wood-burner and an artist in pen and ink, six years ago Davis-Parker came upon the idea by experimenting with wood-burning on a shard of a gourd.

"This is awesome," she thought.

"I went about two years before I found out that this was one of the oldest arts there was," she said, after investigating the history of wood-burning on gourds.

"It made me feel kind of silly," admitted the outgoing president of the Illinois Gourd Society.

But it didn't daunt her creativity.

"Wood-burning, it's what I like to do. It's where I'm the happiest," she said. "I like the smell of burning gourds."

One of Davis-Parker's earliest wood-burning tries on a gourd depicted a cat staring at its reflection in water, according to her daughter, Libby, 13. Libby has turned to gourd art herself, creating a horn from a long-neck dipper gourd. The extra-credit school project had to be able to play six notes, she said.

While Davis-Parker will tell say her favorite piece is whatever she's working on at the moment, there are a few creations she considers special. One is a commissioned piece for a Chicago blacksmith who is helping restore much of the ironwork for which historic Chicago is famous.

"It's a good example of form and shading," said Davis-Parker of the creation featuring his forge.

Davis-Parker's work in creating the forge gourd drew acknowledgement from Bonnie Cox of Peoria, who is the society's treasurer. Cox said that gourd, along with ones created as memorial urns with personal memories wood-burned on them, are among her favorites.

Another special one for Davis-Parker features William Blake's poem, "The Tiger."

Just one gourd tells the whole story in both art and script, in Davis-Parker case featuring the Bengal tiger and the night sky as well as the poem. Davis-Parker estimates she has roughly 150 hours in its making, a lot of the design work being created by making tiny dots with the wood-burning device.

She's also fond of a gourd featuring "People of Ice and Snow," featuring the reproduction of a mask that is hundreds of years old.

One of the things that make wood-burning on gourds so easy, by her description is, there's no constant arguing with the wood grain as the gourd surface is already smooth and hard.

While she never works on a green gourd, Davis-Parker finds them a sturdy surface, though she does admit, "They are not good to drop on concrete."

Davis-Parker shares her knowledge in schools, children's programs and extension offices and will lead workshops during the Illinois Gourd Festival and Competition in Clinton later this month.

Her workshop will feature a wood-burned Celtic knot. Cox said that at that event she'll be leading a workshop in woven walnut slices. Using waxed linen thread, an opening created in a gourd will be filled with a woven design, she said.

MOREONGOURDS

They may be among the first cultivated plants. Humans have cultivated them for such a long time that no definitely wild gourd has ever been found in nature.

They held water and were used in cooking and storing foods long before metals, pottery or plastics took those roles.

Before poetry, before basketry, before woodworking, artists were using them in creations.

Sources: www.naturealmanac.com, wwwo.judyarrigotti.com and Betsy Davis-Parker

IF YOU GO

WHAT: 2008 Illinois Gourd Festival and Competition

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, and Sunday, Sept. 21

WHERE: Clinton Junior High School

SCHEDULE: Workshops for projects with gourds including Halloween decorated gourd, pins or necklaces, ocean drum, painted Santa Claus, wood-burned Celtic knot and woven walnut halves. Workshops' cost varies from $15 to $40, depending upon class. Registration information is available on the site but will be taken at the door.

WEB: www.americangourdsociety.org/ILGS/

amannlein@herald-review.com|421-6976