Part of any creative process is searching for ideas. In my experience, it doesn't matter if that idea comes from Mother Nature and the great outdoors, or a picture I see in a magazine or on someone's wall in their home, or on my computer. Since it was Halloween weekend, I took a break from painting to participate in some "spooky" events our friends had planned. This past Friday evening, my husband Dave and I were searching computer images for pumpkin carving ideas and stencils / templates. We found the number of categories to be almost overwhelming. Disney, scary, whimsical, x-rated, and highly unusual were just to name a few.
Since my husband is a car buff, his first choice was a classic VW bus, but unfortunately he wouldn't have enough time to fully finish the carving given the time frame we had this past Saturday afternoon. He settled on the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland. This was a good second choice since the pumpkin he was carving came from our youngest daughter who just happens to love cats and VW buses.
I scrolled on and on through well over 500 images of ghosts, cats, skulls, and who knows what else. I finally spotted one I really liked - a Tigger face. I had a small pumpkin to work with, so I needed a simple design. Dave printed out our templates and I traced the shapes onto our pumpkins with a Sharpie. We stopped at a local big-box store and purchased a pumpkin carving kit while on the way to a good friends house for her annual pumpkin carving party.
We were one of the first guests to arrive, chose our seating, and were given two large bowls; one for the seeds and one for the guts. Our hostess told us to help ourselves to some of the festive goodies she had put out. Dave and I also grabbed cups of coffee, sat down, and began carving in earnest.
Following some type of pumpkin carving protocol, I began at the top of the pumpkin with a large knife to cut the customary hole where the stem was. I began scooping out the seeds and guts with a large tablespoon as the hole was quite small. The regular scraper would not fit and neither would my hand. While scooping to the best of my ability, I noticed a growth (probably where a stem would have been), in the center of my pumpkin. I just kept working around it, because to me, it was no big deal.
Over the next 90 minutes, I used various carving tools making my design. During this time, at least a dozen other guests arrived and filled the other tables in the large living room. Despite everyone's best efforts, seeds and guts ended up in other places besides the bowls. But hey, I figured, this is another art form taking place. Sometimes art is messy.
Comments galore could be heard; everything from "Gooey", to "Yuck... slimy", to "This is so gross." In the end, I had a good facsimile of Tigger. Everyone guessed at what the design was, and they arrived at the correct answer on their first try. I was pleased. Others, including my husband, installed a candle in their creation and pictures were taken. It was at this juncture where events took a turn for the weird.
"Aren't you going to put a candle in your pumpkin?" the hostess asked me.
"I can't. There's a growth in the center of my pumpkin." I replied sheepishly.
"Let me see." She looked and was stunned. "Oh my God, it's got a pumpkin penis."
Everyone at the party put all carving on hold and came over to gaze at my unusual freak of Nature. One lady suggested I should take a knife and just cut it off. Of course, I couldn't - the center hole was too small. Another gentleman quipped that my pumpkin was "one happy Tigger."
What started as a family event turned into a PG-13 carving party with lots more male anatomy jokes and humor. For a brief moment I was a little embarrassed, but it was what it was - a go with the flow moment in the journey of life.
From now on, however, I'm leaving sculpting alone and sticking with my oil painting!
Until next time,
The CONFIRMED Painter,
Jill
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