ArikArt member McKenzie Birnie continues to demonstrate her wide artistic flair with her paintings and gourd art. Over the last few weeks she exhibited a selection of her gourd art at the recently opened "Packing House" in downtown Claremont, CA as part of the "Gypsy Sisters" exhibition. The focal point of the exhibition was her work "Kalibaru".This magnificent work of gourd art by McKenzie represents a village in East Java at which she and her brother stayed during a trip to Indonesia to visit the land of their Dutch grandfather and Indonesian grandmother. McKenzie recalls the simple life of the village as representing "perfection" in its simplicity of lifestyle. The idyllic village even has a small hammock. Complete with small containers of rice and basic staples, the work becomes a shrine to simplicity and subsistence, and McKenzie comments that the artwork expresses her desire to pare back the attachments of life.
McKenzie uses a pyrographic etching tool to burn the pattern into the surface of the gourd and leather dies to apply color. The work is finished off with a UV-resistant varnish.
The work is offered for sale at $750. Use our contact link if you are interested in this work.
Slideshow of gourd artwork "Kalibaru" by McKenzie Birnie
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