Pumpkin Carving
Submitted by: Ken Rohrer, University of Phoenix faculty
Title: Perfect Pumpkins
Grade level: Advanced high school
Time Period: About 5 - 6 hours for large pumpkins, 2 - 3 for small pumpkins
Last year (2013) we carved our first Jack-O-Lantern after watching a video on YouTube from Villafane Studios. It had never occurred to me that pumpkins made good subjects to carve. As you can see yourself by visiting the link, there are many ways of carving your pumpkin. You can carve it like a regular sculpture like the one on this page or put the traditional cut on steroids by removing layers and making intricate cuts.
Last year the sculpture appeared too flat and "wooden." However, from my experience this year I discovered that not all pumpkins are the same when it comes to carving. Last year the pumpkin was firm and was easy to carve all the way down to the deepest cut. This year when I got farther down, the pumpkin became "mushy" and was very difficult to carve and still have firm edges. I actually had to compress parts with my fingers. I later read that Ray Villafane abandons some pumpkins when he discovers they are more difficult to carve.
I was surprised to hear Ray say he sells his pumpkin sculptures for over $1,000. This is surprising because the sculptures will only last for a month at most. There are now many resources on the internet, both from Villafane and now many others. People are posting their work online on Facebook and on blogs. This should provide you with many visuals for your students. Below I'll include a few I found that were different from last year.
Materials:
Long, sharp knife to cut top
Large spoon or Pumpkin Scraper
Newspaper
For a classroom of 20-30 students, you will need to get fairly small pumpkins. Another option is to have your students get them on their own so they can choose both the size and the shape. In my area, a few local growers sell small pumpkins in bulk. They cost around 40-50¢ each. You have to let them know far in advance, however. If you want large pumpkins, then you will have to pay a higher price. The cheapest large pumpkins I found in my area were at Sam's Club.
Scholastic has a page that shows how you can integrate other subject areas into your pumpkin carving. You can have students figure out the mass of the pumpkin, for example. There's even a document that explains how students can grow the pumpkins in the classroom. For some of your more inexperienced students, you may want them to design their pumpkins ahead of time by sketching them on paper.
Below is the step-by-step process on creating your pumpkin carving sculpture. Click on the images for larger views:
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Preserving your Pumpkin Sculpture
Last year I didn't do anything to preserve my pumpkin sculpture. Four days after finishing, it was already changing colors and shape. This year I decided it was worth it to make it last longer so I put regular bleach in a spray bottle (One tablespoon of bleach per quart of water) and sprayed the area that was carved out to kill any bacteria. After the bleach was dry, I rubbed regular Vaseline into all the carved areas. Experts say your pumpkin will last longer if you keep your pumpkin out of direct sunlight and in cooler temperatures.
Resources:
Links:
House of the Zombie Pumpkins - This site shows another way to carve your pumpkins. If you have your students do these, they will need to create stencils first. Some websites sell stencils.
Thumb Press' ideas for pumpkin carving - WARNING! Strong language on this page.
See the winners of this pumpkin carving contest by Blizzard Entertainment.
Video
Books
For more books, see the previous lessons
Ray Villafane's Pumpkins - Acclaimed by the Wall Street Journal as the Picasso of pumpkin carving, Ray Villafane's Pumpkins celebrates some of his most "ghoulish" creations.
You Too Can Create Stunning Watermelon Carvings - Although this book is about carving watermelons, it certainly applies to pumpkins!