It was the very first time I had carved a pumpkin (or any other vegetable, for that matter). Most of my housemates chose to carve Halloween-related themes, but I really wanted to carve a rose on my pumpkin. Some of my housemates thought I was crazy, but I did it anyway. :)
It took me over 3 hours to do it. First, I used a whiteboard marker to draw a rose on the pumpkin (I had a photo of a rose on my laptop that I used as a reference), then I used my lino-carving tools (I did a short course on lino printing a couple of years ago, and I had some tools leftover from that "hobby") to cut away the skin of the pumpkin. After that, I used a sharp paring knife from my LCB knife kit to cut out chunks of the pumpkin flesh.
Voila! Here is the result:
I decided to put a white light inside the pumpkin to see what it would look like. I think it looks nicer as a white rose. Don't you agree?
This is what my carving looks like in total darkness. (This photo is courtesy of a housemate.)
This morning, I got up and felt like doing another pumpkin carving, so I did. One of my housemates didn't feel like doing hers, so she said I could carve her pumpkin. After 4 hours at it, this is what I came up with:
Before I put the light inside the pumpkin, some of my housemates thought I (the "crazy" one) was carving a pineapple (an "angry" pineapple??). :-D However, once the light went inside, it was obvious that this was a great horned owl (albeit one with a quizzical look on its face).
(Aside: I dedicate this carving to my sister, who loves owls, and all creatures great and small.)
I really enjoy carving pumpkins! I think this won't be the last time I do it. I find it so meditative... I actually gave up a lunch outing with friends today to carve this owl. It was so much fun!!!
