Cockeyed Moon Designs - Hand Painted Furniture and Decorated Gourds by Susan Droz

About the Artist

Susan Droz began her business as Cockeyed Moon Designs in 2001. She is a self-taught Arizona artist whose talent has been honed over the years by numerous art classes and workshops. What started out as a simple painting project to restore an old, neglected glider bench has now become a successful business. Her clientele base comes from all over the Southwest and California. Many are repeat customers who, after purchasing their first custom piece, have commissioned her to create another, either for themselves or to give as a gift. Although the company has grown, all of the color schemes and designs are still created by Susan.

Susan Droz

Her inspiration and ideas originate from numerous sources ranging from ideas passed down from her grandmother and mother, both accomplished artists, to the bold and vibrant colors found in nature, particularly the Southwest.

From its inception, the goal of Cockeyed Moon Designs has been to offer clients quality hand painted furniture and decorated gourds with imaginative, colorful art that is unique…definitely not the country or tole painting approach.

At Cockeyed Moon Designs, we use both old and new furniture to showcase our art, depending on our client's request. If you own a piece that needs a makeover, we can renew it with a bright new color scheme and a hand-painted decorative finish using your ideas or creating an innovative, custom design ranging from simple to complex according to your requirements. No stencils or "prefab" designs are ever used. You can be assured that the artwork on your furniture piece is one-of-a-kind and unique.

The gourds that we decorate are hand-picked directly from the gourd farm. They are chosen for their durability and their unique shapes. Decorating a gourd is labor intensive but, because the results are so beautiful, we are committed to offering you this unique art choice.

Cockeyed Moon Designs uses environmentally-friendly nontoxic artist grade acrylic paints and varnishes. All paints and glazes are applied by hand to all furniture and gourds, not sprayed. Each piece is signed by the artist.

To show an example of a Cockeyed Moon Designs refurbishing project, before and after pictures are shown below.

bench before

BEFORE:
A simple bench with clean lines ready to be transformed

hand painted bench

AFTER:
A Maori-inspired hand painted work of art with beautiful and authentic designs and the Maori proverb, "Turn your face to the sun and shadows fall behind you."