Every few weeks, art teacher Sharon Scharf assigns her students different projects such as watercolor painting and mobiles. This week students begin gourd pyrography using gourds Scharf harvested and dried in her own garden, April 26.

Similar to wood burning, students are required to use a burning tool to draw designs on their gourds. Due to the smoke and odor the burning tool causes, Scharf decided that students will work on their projects outside rather than in the classroom.

However, before they start burning designs, Scharf lets her students wash the gourds in order to get all dirt and spider webs off, allowing a smoother surface for drawing.

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