A far cry from carving pumpkins in the fall, sisters Katya and Blanca Canto have mastered the art of gourd carving.
Featured in this summer's Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Peruvian sisters are not chefs, but rather artists who create magnificently detailed pictures using a gourd as their canvas. So far, the pair's work has been such a big a hit at the festival that they have even sold one of their creations for $800!
Katya, 29, asked her father to teacher her the art form when she was just 8-years-old. She said it requires much dedication and that, "You have to really want it, and you have to be persistent. With all the tiny details, most kids get bored." A complicated design can take up to two months to complete.
Her sister Blanca, 24, soon followed suit and the pair have been going at it ever since.
They determine the type of scene they will create based on the shape of the gourds. For instance Katya said a gourd with a long neck would make a good bird, while rounder gourds serve better for scenes that tell a story or a "world view."
With the pictures being so detailed it's hard to believe that they don't use magnifying glasses to work, although they admitted that their father now does.
The sisters plan on creating their next piece of art based on their adventures in Washington D.C.
Check out the amazing art for yourself as well as these other awesome DIY projects.
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