Tree Lamps

I have always loved trees. The first poem I learned as a child was Trees by Joyce Kilmer and ever since then I have always been drawn to them. Whether they are bare in winter or in full leaf of summer I find interest in their majesty. I spent may hours wandering in the forest on the farm of my youth, enjoying the cool canopy of leaves while we hunted mushrooms in the spring and fall. I got the idea to make my frist gourd lamp for a competition in a dream about the huge old maple tree at the farm and all the breath-taking colors the leaves turned in the fall. The Maple In Fall lamp was born. Since then each of the lamps has been me learning new techniques or pushing myself to try to make them look even more real. But as we all know, "only God can make a tree".

KAHB

Gourdberry Tree Lamp

The Gourdberry Tree Lamp was the first carved tree I made from gourds. The large canteen gourd I used for the shade was very thick for this size of gourd. It's also one of the featured projects in Beyond Basics advanced gourd art by Sterling Publishing Comany. This lamp took over one hundred hours to complete, the shade is carved and the outside painted while the underside of the shade is gilt in 24k gold leaf. The trunk of this tree lamp is made from the handle of a dipper gourd and covered in textured acrylic paint to give it the apperance of bark.

Price $1,000.00

White Oak Lamp

The White Oak lamp features a high relief carved shade made from a large tobacco box gourd with a dipper handle used as the tree's trunk. The surface of the shade was died white and the vanes of each leaf high lighted with gold and silver leaf. The underside of this shade is gilt in 24k gold leaf to give it a warm glow when lit. This lamp took over one hundred and sixty hours to complete and has won several first prizes at shows.

Price $2,000.00

Grape Vine Lamp

The Grape Vine lamp features a large canteen gourd shade covered with grapes and leaves that have been wood burned and painted. The undeside of the shade is gilt in 24k gold leaf and host a dual bulb socket. The trunk of the lamp is made from a piece of snake gourd that has been painted with acrylic paint that texture medium as been added to. The whole lamp too fourty five hours to complete.

The Grape Vine Lamp is now in the private collection of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Fredrickson of Caladonia Michigan

A Maple in Fall Lamp

My first tree lamp was inspired by a huge old maple tree that shaded the whole front lawn of the farm house I grew up in. In the fall you could see this tree for miles around and the colors it turned in the fall were amazing. This lamp won several first prizes, and a best in catagory ribbon, along with a picture in the book Beyond Basics advanced gourd art by Sterling Publishing Company.

This lamp is now in the private collection of Mrs. D. Westbrook of Wisconsin