Here are the Jack-O-Lanterns I created for the Minnesota Zoo in my third year on the show. The theme for the 2023 show included a lot of Minnesota-centric topics, and I got back in the groove of carving animals.
My favorite pumpkin this year was this super wrapped-around design of Lake Superior Agates — it definitely took the longest! Many of the pumpkins this year were absolutely mammoth. My availability didn’t allow me to complete as many carvings in the 2023 show. Going forward I’m going to aim to reserve some time off from my day job to make sure I can get in to the studio more.
Carving Collaboration
Some pumpkin show trivia for this year — sometimes, different artists complete the draw and carve stages of a single pumpkin! This is pretty rare, but if an artist has limited availability or isn’t able to return for the season, another artist may be asked to carve their pumpkin so it can make it to the trail. This year, my friend Lauren was able to come to the studio in the early season and draw a really nice chokecherry tree pumpkin, but work got busy and she wasn’t able to come back to carve it. So, I got to do it. It is a lot different carving someone else’s design, since everyone has unique styles and approaches to both stages of jack-o-lanterns. I think the back carve turned out nice on this one.
For more art from Lauren, check out her website!
If you want to learn more about the show and the process of creating these Jack-O-Lanterns, see my post All About Pumpkin Carving!