Increase Halloween happiness by carving, sculpting and preserving pumpkins

METRO DETROIT — In October, pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors are set out on porches to decorate for the spookiest time of year.

After you pick the perfect pumpkin at the local pumpkin patch, it is time to start thinking about how you want to carve it.

A pumpkin is a blank canvas, and there are several different ways you can design it for the season.

“I am amazed now with how pumpkins have changed from triangular eyes and a toothy grin to some of the phenomenal designs that come out now,” said Patrick McKay, manager of the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, where the Stone Wall Pumpkin Festival is held.

The Stone Wall Pumpkin Festival is an annual family-friendly pumpkin carving event that was held on Oct. 8 this year.

From seeing people carve pumpkins each year at the event, the one piece of expertise McKay wanted to pass along was to keep the walls of the pumpkin thin to make it easier when cutting into it.

“We always encourage people to scrape the inside of the pumpkin to get that wall as almost paper-thin as possible. This just helps with tracing really intricate detail on the outside,” McKay said.

Some people go above and beyond with pumpkin art and partake in pumpkin sculpting.

Pumpkin sculpting is an advanced form of pumpkin art that involves using a thick pumpkin to create a 3D sculpture.

John Angevine is a Royal Oak resident who visits several metro Detroit festivals to show his work. He was recently at the South Lyon Area Pumpkinfest.

Angevine’s talent comes from his background in sculpting clay and his family’s long tradition of going over the top with pumpkins, which started with his father.

He has been pumpkin sculpting for about 30 years, since he realized he could use some of the tools he used for clay on pumpkins.

Angevine said the biggest question he gets from people is how to preserve pumpkins once you carve or sculpt them.

While Angevine said there is not a perfect way to preserve a pumpkin, he does have some recommendations to help extend a pumpkin’s life.

“Once a pumpkin is open, it is exposed to any element,” Angevine said.

He said the thing that preserves a pumpkin the best is bleach; however, he does not recommend this for families with children.

Another technique that can be used is applying a mixture of lemon juice and rubbing alcohol. This will prevent it from oxidizing as quickly.

As for trying out pumpkin sculpting, there are various products available on the internet for sculpting that are good for beginners. There are also many tutorial videos available online.

Angevine has a YouTube series called “pumpkin sculpting 101” where he talks about pumpkin sculpting. In these videos, you can see Angevine at work and learn about his process.

Angevine will be at the Zoo Boo events at the Detroit Zoo, which take place 2-6 p.m. Oct. 15-16 and 21-23, as well as other events throughout the metro Detroit area.