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The cut-out method is the method people have
been using to carve pumpkins since the dawn of time. The pumpkin is hollowed
out, then holes are cut in the rind. I used the cut-out method to create
all of the pumpkins I carved from 1992 to 1997.
Creating the image
It all starts with a drawing. When designing an image to be used on a
cut-out pumpkin, I have to be careful not to draw any dark areas completely
surrounded by light, because this would leave a piece of pumpkin floating
in space, and I haven't figured out how to do that yet. I try to think
of the image as a building. The dark areas are the girders holding the
whole thing together, and the light areas are the windows.
Transferring the image
When the drawing is finished, I turn the paper over and place it on a
light table so I can see through the paper. I use a soft pencil to trace
the image on the back of the paper. Then I tape the drawing to the pumpkin
and rub it with a burnishing tool. This transfers the pencil drawing onto
the pumpkin. Finally, I go over the transferred pencil drawing with an
indelible marker.
Carving
First, I drill a hole in each of the areas to be cut out. Then I poke
a thin, flexible coping saw blade (removed from the handle) through the
hole. Holding one end of the blade inside the pumpkin and one end outside,
I start to saw. A couple of hours later, I've got two sore hands and a
finished pumpkin.
Advantages
- Cut-out pumpkins are easy to light. Any candle will do.
- They're easy to photograph. With the pumpkin lit in a dark room, just
leave the shutter open for a second or two. The camera should be anchored
(on a tripod, for example), and it helps if you use a cable release
to trip the shutter.
- You only need a couple of tools, and they don't have to be as fancy
as mine. Nowadays, you can buy an inexpensive pumpkin-carving kit at
the drugstore which includes a special little saw that can handle fairly
tight curves.
Disadvantages
- Designing the image is very tricky.
- You can only get two shades: light and dark.
- Sawing all of those little holes is hard on the hands.
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