By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

March Gourd Madness is returning to the Chilton County Arts Council Rose Gallery.

This year marks the fourth year the art show has been held.

“We are trying to show people that art can be in all kinds of mediums,” Mack Gothard, gourd artist and Chilton County Arts Council member, said.

The show will be open every Saturday in March from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Artwork will be for sale.  Gothard said people will be on hand each weekend to answer questions. The first Saturday (March 4) kicks off the event with an artist meet and greet.  Classes on how to get started in gourd artwork will be offered on the second, third and fourth Saturdays in March.

“If there is something you want to learn about the technique, we will be there to demonstrate,” Gothard said. “We do everything from pine needle weaving on the rims, to carving, to making sculptures, to making animals and creatures.”

Gourds vary in size from as small as an egg to several feet long, as do the art pieces created from them.

“Everyone has their own technique of doing things,” Gothard said.

Of the 15 artists that will be featured in the show, eight of them are from Chilton County.

“The problem with gourds is it is not a 2D surface, it is a 3D surface … you have to do your art on a curved surface, which it is very hard to do a straight line on a curved surface,” Gothard said.

He said many people are fascinated by what the artists are able to make.

Gourds will be available for purchase for those who want to do their own artwork.

The Alabama Gourd Society will be meeting at the Chilton County Arts Council for its meeting on the third Saturday in March.

“For March Gourd Madness, we are just demonstrating and displaying and selling gourd art. We are trying to promote our local artists. The last few years, its amazing how many people in Chilton County and the surrounding area that works on gourds,” Gothard said.

Previous years have attracted visitors from across the state.

“It’s becoming very popular,” Gothard said.

Gothard said he became interest in making art from gourds after a friend asked him if he could paint some gourds for him.

“So I started about eight years ago painting on gourds. Since then, I have stuck with doing gourd artwork … I got so fascinated with it,” Gothard said.

As his art with gourds grew, Gothard began growing gourds.