Gourdal eptitude

Though I’ve always loved craftsy activities, there is one that I had never really gotten into.  ...Until this year.  Pumpkin carving!


Last year was my first real run-in with carving, and it showed.  My ineptitude with gourds shone forth in my sad excuse for a lantern:

First off, yes I did put my number on a pumpkin.  Sad #1.  Sad #1a, it didn’t even work.  Probably because of Sad #2, which was that I couldn’t carve it to save my life.  Turns out 5s are a crazy shape and when you cut out the outer part of a zero, the middle part comes with it.  Same goes for 9s.  Something about science or something. 


But this year was a little different.  After intense failure, one learns a thing or two.  I have learned a large number of things.  My first pumpkin opportunity came at an activity I went to.  There was a pumpkin carving contest and they asked for representatives from each of about 8 groups that were present.  They hadn’t picked them beforehand, so it was essentially on a volunteer basis.  No one offered themselves from my group, and after a while they were getting impatient.  I was near the carving table and a friend volunteered me.  So I went to work and this is what I came up with:

Pumpkin#1!  


My second opportunity came later that night wit some peeps.  Pumpkin #2 ended up being:

A monkey with a chainsaw!  What else?  I learned some cool techniques on this one.  First was that of tracing.  You draw what you want to carve on a separate piece of paper, tape the sketch to the desired side of the pumpkin and trace it on by poking through the paper into the workable surface of said pumpkin. The next one was gradient.  Depending on the thickness of the pumpkin, it gives your carving the appearance of shadedness when lit up.  Apparently these technologies have been around forever.  News to me.  


Next opportunity was time for something epic:

And last but not least, a big toothy grin!

….kind of.  


I now very much enjoy carving pumpkins.