I grew up in Metairie, LA. Where I learned to love working with my hands from my Mother. I went to college in Lafayette, LA where I met the love of my life. We married and made our home in Lafayette. We have raised a great son. I became a florist in 1979 and worked for many years in the florist industry. I worked my way up to Master Florist by taking classes and learning from other florists. I always had a love for creating, especially when using things found in nature. For example, I love creating art with gourds. I grow them and then use them to create many different and interesting things.

I started working with gourds in the fall of 2005. My father-in-law grew over 50 gourds from a pack of seeds that I gave him. From then on, I have had a passion for working with gourds. They give me a lot of joy and a kind of peace when I work with them. I am always learning new ways to create useful and decorated art with my gourds. My gourds are sold in nursery's, retail, antique stores, at art and crafts shows and on line.

If you have a gourd with my initial, (KW) and a year etched on the bottom , it could be one of mine . I hope you will enjoy your gourd as much as I did, when I was working on it.

Karen Willingham