Balrog Pumpkin

I did this last weekend. I can't wait to see it lit up!

Millennium Falcon Pumpkin

This is one I did last week

Frodo Pumpkin

Here is one that I drew, but since there was a rush to get it out on display, somebody else did the cutting.  She did a good job!  I am very happy with how this pumpkin lit up.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind Pumpkin

My Brain While Drawing on Pumpkins

I probably would have this same idea of how my brain is working on pumpkins, even if I had never seen the movie "Inside Out."


Brain area 1: "All right, I need to use a two-dimensional medium to create an image that gives the illusion of three dimensions. And people have to be able to tell what it represents."

Brain area 2: "OK, I will work with you on this. I have some technical information on your materials."

Brain area 3: "Hold on. You are trying to create the illusion of the 3D image, but you are working on a rounded, lumpy surface. So the surface is already 3D."

Brain area 1: "Huh, you're right. Brain area 3, you be in charge of moving the head around and shifting the eyes and getting that parallax-stuff going to compensate for distortion."

Brain area 2: "This is effed up. I bet you could just use a can lid to draw circles."

Brain area 1: "Store that for later, area 2. Just keep track of the paper towels and rubbing alcohol and stuff. Hey, area 3, let's draw a long rectangle with a little bit of single-point perspective."

Brain area 3: "But this is a curved surface…and you want to taper it downwards, even though it is on the upward curve of the spherical pumpkin? Brain area 2 is right, this really is effed up."

Brain area 4: "Hey, what are you guys—oh, shit. I don't even want to know what's going on here. I'm going back to bed."

Brain area 1: "I drew the rectangle while you weren't looking, Brain area 3. Tell me how you think it looks."

Brain area 2: "I have some alcohol, want me to wipe it out..?"

Brain area 3: "Huh, that might work. Keep going and I will re-evaluate."


And so it goes as a committee process for three to seven hours.

The Shining Pumpkin

Here is a photo from before it was quite finished. I still had to cut around the bottom of the door and the lettering on the sides ("all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy")

Last of my garden produce

I picked these Sunday morning in the frost. I made some fried green tomatoes. There are still some cayenne peppers and little onions outside, so this might not be the last, but this us just about it for the garden this year. I am so busy with other stuff, but I need to divide perennials. When will I do that?

Wings on my desk

Wings of Glory

Martian Pumpkin, Flying Monkey Pumpkin

I cut these the night before last for the Jack o' Lantern Spectacular

Flying Monkey Pumpkin

Connie Moose

I was looking for some old paperwork in my cubicle yesterday, and looked in a binder pocket I had not looked at for a while. There was a piece of notebook paper with this note. I have been puzzling over it ever since. I don't know why I wrote it, and maybe I would be disappointed if I figured it out.