Chung-Ah Park

I was born and raised in South Korea and moved to the States to study engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. I moved to Cambridge NY in 1990 and I have been making crafts ever since. I started with sewing simple clothing and then learned to weave. That’s when I joined the Valley Artisans Market.

After a few years of weaving my interest shifted to making objects with gourds which my husband and I started growing. With gourds I make vessels, lidded containers, lamps, masks, and little “gourd houses”. I use mostly natural materials to embellish gourds such as pine needles, philodendron sheaths, seagrass, hemp twine as well as beads, yarn, paper.

“Gourd houses” are furnished with furniture which I make from scratch with gourd pieces, bass wood, toothpicks, fabric, and yarn. The miniature paintings and rugs are made by me as well.

In terms of aesthetics I like to create objects that are reminiscent of things in the natural world and my creations are always inspired by nature.