About the Artist

Ann Skidmore studied art while majoring in Journalism at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. It was there that she met her husband, Bud, who introduced her to Edisto Island. There wasn' t a lot of time in her life for art or even for herself as she raised a son, worked a variety of jobs to help sustain the family, and traveled from various places to Edisto helping Bud build the family home there.

From time to time she would venture back into watercolors, oils, a variety of crafts from tin punch to muscadine vine wreaths, and later into web design. But nothing really appealed to her until one year, as part of Bud's daylily farm, she convinced him to grow gourds. She began to play with them then, teaching

herself. From day one she was determined not to do the usual bird houses, penquins or Santa Claus figures which you see everywhere.

As chance would have it about that time the Edisto Island Museum held a festival,"An Evening At Prospect Hill Plantation". Bud was in charge of rounding up the artisans and one of them was a wonderful gourd artist from upstate South Carolina.

That encouraged Ann, and she began looking out on the web to see what others were doing. The rest is history. She has developed her own unique style centered on masks; bowls; vases; fanciful snakes and an an occasional sculpture. She works in her "gourd shack" etching designs with wood burning techniques, cutting shapes with a variety of power and hand tools, sanding, dying, staining, painting and eventually creating one of a kind pieces which will never be duplicated. Most items sell almost immediately, some before they are even finished (which she really doesn't like to do. She also will NOT do commissioned works.) She has now been enjoying her art for nearly eight years.

Every piece is unique, every piece is completely hand crafted, and they are finished with light coats of durable polyurethane. Even so they are not recommended for outdoor use, they should be treated as the artwork they are.

Keeping a careful eye on it all for many years was our farm cat "Miss Kitty" who shared the "gourd shack" which on sunny winter days is the warmest place on the farm. Occasionally Bud is allowed to visit. And with Miss Kitty's passing a new resident has come to live with us...Shadow, a 5 year old calico who is fascinated to be able to watch the squirrels, birds and a pair of twin raccoons who frequent our birdbaths and feeders there.

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