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“Little Gourd” is a story about a search for friendship in a world where not everyone looks the same. The story begins with our hero, Little Gourd, walking across the land and approaching other gourd creatures that look similar to him. While on an innocent quest for friendship, he asks every creature he meets if they would be his friend, only to receive not-so-kind responses that point out how different--and therefore unwanted--he is. Discouraged but intent on finding good friends Little Gourd presses on in his search. In the end, he discovers something far more valuable than finding a friend that looks just like him. “Little Gourd” is available in Amazon Books.

Konar's work is both light and dark in subject, approaching at every turn both the whimsical and the mischievous. He uses the canvas as a stage to capture moments of love and heroism, as well as times of human folly. His characters come from real life, from songs, from poems and from stories. All the stories take place under a starry sky with the drama of the constellations. Unexpected details are presented through the book on a shelf, the image in a mirror, the wallpaper pattern, an individual leaf, and many other visual gestures waiting to be unlocked by the viewer. His technique of using glaze upon glaze creates colors that are deep, rich and vibrant. There is a profound sense of mystery, nuance, symbolism and timelessness in the...