Artist Freddie Oakley of Burnet holds one of hundreds of gourds she has turned into works of art over the past 30 years. The painted section in the front of this piece is removable, cut out with a palm-size jigsaw. Staff photo by Suzanne Freeman
She’s known as “The Gourd Lady” among family and friends, a fact made evident as soon as she opens the front door to her Burnet home. Freddie Watson Dunlap Oakley has filled every wall, tabletop, display case, dish cupboard, and bureau with adroitly decorated gourds.
“I do fine art gourds,” Oakley said. “These are not craft gourds.”