Don Edmonds

Artist Information
Don Edmonds
- Medium: Painting
- Style: Western
Education and Academic Honors:
Graduate of Quanah Public Schools, Quanah, Texas — 1954.
Freshman letterman on North Texas State College debate team — 1954–55
President of Theta Chi National Social Fraternity – NTSU — 1956–57
Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities – 1956–57
President of Student Body – NTSU — 1957–58
Recipient of Colley Memorial Trophy, as the outstanding undergraduate
member of Theta Chi in nation — 1958.
Member of Blue Key, Phi Eta Sigma, and Alpha Chi National Honor Societies.
B.A. degree in Government – NTSU — 1958.
Professional:
Administrative Intern — City of Lubbock, Texas — 1958–59.
City Manager — Texas Cities of Rosebud, Donna, Monahans and Hurst — 1959–68.
Private Business — Associate, Consulting Engineering Firm, Realtor and Land
Developer — 1968–70.
Executive Director — East Texas Council of Governments — 1970–80.
Member — State of Texas Rural Development Commission — 1973
City Manager — City of Martinsville, Virginia — 1980–85.
Executive Director — Republican Party of Virginia — 1985–86.
Campaign Manager — Ratliff for Texas State Senate — 1988, 1992 and 1994.
Executive Director — Sulphur River Basin Authority — 1991.
Consultant for International Executive Service Corps with projects in
Bulgaria (1993) and Romania (1994.
Director of Transition — Office of Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff — January, 2001.
Home Rule Charter Consultant — Various Texas Cities — 1998 to Present.
Civic Honors:
Named Outstanding Young Man in Community by Hurst Jaycees — 1965.
Recipient of Annual Preservation Award by Historic Tyler, Inc. — 2005
Current Memberships:
Texas City Management Association.
Family:
Wife, Bonny, and daughters, Amy Rice and Cassie Edmonds.
Hobbies and Other Interests:
Travel, Art, Radio Controlled Model Airplanes.
My fascination with gourd art was inspired about 20 years ago during a visit to Peru. I was blown away by the Peruvian natives work on hard shell gourds. Self-taught back at home, I have been involved with this art form since this time, along with other art works in pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor.
The name of my studio, Quanah Gourds, is a result of growing up in Quanah, Texas, a small west Texas county seat. Quanah Parker, born of a Comanche Indian and a kidnapped white settler girl, gained fame in Texas history as the last Chief of the Comanche tribe.
Many of my art gourds feature traditional North American native motifs. But I also work with Mexican, oriental, Celtic, floral, animal and modernistic designs. Also, I do a lot commissions featuring high school and college logos.
These designs are burnt into the surface of the gourd, colored with acrylic paints and sealed with polyurethane. Then they are embellished with such things as cabochons, sea shells, mineral formations, fossils, silver trinkets, mille fiori beads (from Italy), jewel beetle wings (from Thailand), and leather lacings.