Margaret McGarry is an 18 year resident of Northern Nevada, primarily Storey County, and came to Nevada by way of Lawrence Kansas and Placeerville, California. 

In the words of the artist:

With a long background in arts and crafts, spanning textile arts to wheel thrown pottery, I discovered gourds about eight years ago and have found the medium I had been searching for.  Hard shell gourds have been used both as vessels and as decorative objects in most cultures dating back 5000 years.  After carefully drying and cleaning, each gourd is individual and one of a kind.  Although my culture is primarily Celtic, I have traveled and spent time in the Southwest, Mexico, Central America and China.  I am influenced so much by both the variety and similarity of the art and symbols and meld all these influences in my work.  Each gourd is transformed with a variety of methods, such as pyrography, various dyes, polishes, inks and paints. I also chip carve and inlay various materials in some.  I use many embellishments, such as shell, feathers, silver, hand made paper and bone, to further individualize each gourd.  My work covers a wide range, from vessels to jewelry, spirit dolls and kaleidoscopes.

Neal McGarry works with Margaret on the gourds.  He in interested in masks of all types and fashions them from gourds, metal, bones, feathers and other materials.  Says Neal, I spent several years working in my favorite medium, hand thrown pottery, specializing in Raku firing.  I have also worked in stained glass and metal sculpture.  I grew up in San Francisco, of Irish descent, and have lived in various places in the United States.  Having spent time in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Southwest, I try to bring all these influences into my work.