Fine Gourd Art

Season 5 • Episode 8

Chickasaw Culture Keepers

Chickasaw artist Donna Welch recounts her two-decade journey of crafting art from gourds. From the very first gourd she crafted Welch has held a passion for this unique artform. "It was like a connection I couldn't explain," says Welch. Also known as Dancing Star, Welch describes the different types of gourds she works with and the various types of art she transforms them into, including rain and thunder gourds. At the core of Welch's work is a combination of beauty, utility and history. Obvious beauty as shown through her meticulous designs. Utility in the forms of drums, storage and other sundry uses. And a purposeful history aimed at keeping tradition alive, with a new modern twist. "Our ancestors would have used the gourds for drums or rattles, however, this is a new take on what our ancestors would have done," says Welch.

EPISODES

3m 30s

Fine Gourd Art

EPISODES

Pottery

Stickball Sticks

Beading

Regalia

Metalsmithing

Shell Carving

Weaving

Horticulture

Baskets

Traditional Foods

Quilting

Flutes

Beaded Collars

Drum Making

Storytelling

Bow Making

Brent Greenwood Art

Beaded Jewelry

Flint Knapping

Stomp Dancing

Beadwork

Turkey Calls

Traditional Stories: How Day and Night Were Divided

Woodturning

Bead Artisan

Textile Art

Quilt Making

Jewelry

The Legacy of Bow Making

Bead Artistry

Painting

Woven Mats

Metalworking

Photography

Pashofa

Deer Toe Shakers

Stickball Sticks

Shell Carving

Medicine Bags

Natural Dyes

Twinning

Bladesmithing

Fish Nets

Porcupine Quillwork

Pottery Burnishing

Shell Carving

Duck Decoys

Traditional Arrows

Fine Gourd Art

Traditional Flutes

Turtle Pottery

Turtle Shell Shakers

Pucker Toe Moccasins

Chunkey

Tattoos and War Paint

Leggings and Breechcloths

Hide Brain Tanning

River Cane Harvesting, Splitting and Peeling

Stories of Kullihoma

History of Beads