Sala Faruq

Accessories – Charlotte

I was always artistic as a child. I could draw realistic renditions of the human form in elementary school. I won a cash award in my high school art competition for a figurative piece I drew and studied art in college. After graduating from college, there were long periods of time when I did not create art. These periods coincided with my struggle to find the meaning or value in art, specifically my art. The drive to create art was always inside me and I tried a number of different art forms such as drawing, painting, screen printing and etching. None of those forms resonated with me until I took a gourd crafting workshop in the late 1980s. I was immediately hooked and knew that I had found my true medium. I fell in love with gourds. As I learned about gourds, I discovered that gourd crafting is a traditional art form practiced by many peoples in Africa, Asia and the Americas. It was and remains exciting to know that I’m carrying this tradition forward. In 2003 I fully understood and accepted the gift I had been given – that my art had value for it had the power to transform peoples’ lives for the better. I re-affirmed my love of gourd crafting and have been producing gourd creations ever since.