Grenada: Painting the Calabash

Painting a calabash bowl is fun and a great souvenir to bring home from Grenada.

This year I attended the 6th annual Grenada Chocolate Festival. This was my 5th consecutive year of attending the festival. Each year the organisers try to think of new and exciting events to get you immersed into the local chocolate culture.  One new event was How to Paint a Calabash Bowl hosted and instructed by local artist and illustrator Stacey Byer.

Stacey had already penned the images we would paint on our calabash and after a brief introduction we were about to begin.  Stacey told us about the calabash plant (Crescebtia curette) grown all over the island and on many other West Indian islands.  The fruit of the tree (a flowering plant) is cut in half and hollowed out.  It is then left out in the sun to dry and used as bowls and even small ones are used as cups or little bowls for spices.  The calabash are all over Grenada, bright green orbs growing on trees.  The flowers are pollinated at night by bats!

We chose our calabash from a selection ready with the designs.

and each of us had a palate of  water soluble acrylic paints in a row of bright colours.

Stacey guided through the process of first painting the cocoa pods, then the leaves and finally the rest of the bowl.

Next we finished by adding the little ‘star’ dots on the top.

I was proud of my bowl but was amazed as Stacey varnished each one.  The colours just popped and turned our project into a vibrant, beautiful and useful piece of local art!

I thought my piece of drying paper was a piece of art in itself!!

Here are some of the other finished painted calabash bowls.  The all started the same but each one is individual! (mine is in the centre!)

Some of my friends attended the Chocolate Festival this year as well.  Binny from Binny’s Food & Travel Diaries attended the Chocolate Festival for the first time.

Want to read more about my Grenada experiences:-

Grenada: My 5 Favourite Things about the Island

Grenada: Like Coming Home

And for more just type Grenada in the search bar!

I was a guest of The Grenada Chocolate Festival held at True Blue Bay Resort in Grenada.  I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions and photographs are my own. No photographs may be reproduced in any manner without my written permission.