The late Aurelia Conway, TDA, was a longtime member of the Society of Decorative Painters as well as the American Gourd Society. She painted for over thirty years; taught painting for more than fifteen years at a wide range of conventions, expositions, seminars and private retreats; and authored a number of popular painting and pattern booklets. Her patterns were featured in Decorative Painter and Painting Magazine. A former school teacher, she understood the importance of teaching both style and preparation. Aurelia Conway focused on the use of acrylic paints on gourds, and designed her projects for beginning and intermediate painters.