Josephine (Jo) Cooley

I’ve been working with gourds for the past 10 years, after working with pottery for 20 years. My gourd creations have been more exciting than my pottery work. I don’t really know where all the ideas come from but they keep coming. I started by taking a gourd mask workshop. I made over 50 masks before I made other objects such as chickens, bowls, shore birds, teapots and dolls. I have shown my work at Gallery House in Palo Alto, Elemental Arts Gallery in Los Gatos, 6 years Open Studios, numerous Art and Wine Festivals with a group of gourd artists, a show in New Mexico called the Faces of Women and presently at Gallery Saratoga, Saratoga, California.

I have a BFA from the College of Ceramics at Alfred University and an MA in Counseling from the College of Notre Dame. During the summer, I teach gourd workshops at my home studio.