Tucsonan Matt Harper keeps a pumpkin patch in his front yard and uses his kitchen counter as an art studio.
Six years ago, Harper, a sales professional and a father to three daughters, began carving 3D sculptures into the faces of pumpkins on a lark.
At the time, he didn’t have any particular reason for using produce as his canvas. Harper minored in sculpture in college, and working with pumpkins served as "a release from day-to-day life."
His hobby turned into something much larger when Harper was tapped to be a contestant on the latest season of “Halloween Wars.”
The Food Network series, which started in late September this year, pitted teams of candy makers, cake decorators and pumpkin carvers against each other in a series of challenges for a $50,000 grand prize.
Harper said his family would watch the program and were instrumental in getting him on the show.
One of his daughters secretly submitted a casting application in his name. He received a call soon after.
“I’m glad she did it, I am ecstatic,” Harper said. He and his team, the Buttercream Beasts, managed to make it to the final episode earlier this week, but lost to the Frosted Freakshow.
Harper said the show challenged him artistically, but most of all he enjoyed working with others.
“I was sculpting pumpkins maybe a third of the time on the show," Harper said. "I was doing fondant and modeling chocolate, and building armatures, and pouring sugar. It exposed me to media I would have never even touched otherwise.”
Harper didn’t walk away with the $50,000 prize, but said he wants to make bigger and more elaborate, detailed works this fall. He loves the form, but won't be taking up his passion full-time.
“If you look at the art like a means to an end, it becomes a job, and once it becomes a job, the pressure to get something perfect and done heightens," he said. "Every time that happens, it takes away a little bit of joy of the creative process from you.”
Harper said he does carve pumpkins for events from time to time.
Last year, he carved at Tucson Botanical Gardens, for the University of Arizona’s Homecoming, the Arizona Bowl and corporate parties. He likes giving demonstrations at schools, too.
Harper said the hobby also helps him connect with his kids. The family has gathered on Saturday afternoons for the last three years to listen to music, talk and create art together. The girls, however, prefer painting, coloring and digital art to pumpkin sculpting.
“It is so much better than just sitting, watching a TV show, or staring at your phone," Harper said. "At the end of the day, you made something. You are adding to the world instead of just taking from it.”
Tips from Matt Harper on how to carve the perfect pumpkin:
1. Go for fresh pumpkins
“The stem should be nice and green," Harper said. "The pumpkin skin can have green spots, too.”
But most importantly, Harper said, the pumpkin should be heavy: “When you lift a fresh pumpkin up, it is extra heavy, which means it has very thick walls.”
Harper buys his pumpkins from Brian and Kelly's Pumpkins And Trees. You can also go to a local pumpkin patch. For jack-o'-lanterns, a more traditional take on pumpkin carving where you cut holes into the face, look for lighter pumpkins with thinner walls.
2. Imperfect pumpkins are perfect for carving
Harper said he prefers lumpy pumpkins or pumpkins with one side bigger than the other, with vines and deformities as they “have more character.” Harper rarely creates sketches. Instead, he looks at the pumpkins and tries to see their potential shape.
3. Bigger is better
Harper said he likes pumpkin in all sizes, but larger pumpkins can be especially interesting to carve as they have thick walls and a large surface that allows for more complicated sculptures. The downside: They tend to be damper and, as a result, harder to deal with.
4. Use clay tools and explore your kitchen drawer
“I wish I had better tools earlier,” Harper said. He used kitchen knives to carve his first pumpkins. His faces were crude but made him proud.
Clay tools, however, make the work much easier.
Over the years, Harper has collected different clay tools that allow making very sophisticated carvings, but he still starts his work by opening the face of the pumpkin with a cheese peeler and finishes with polishing the pumpkin surface with scouring pads.
5. The clock is ticking once you start carving
As soon as you start carving the pumpkin, you are racing the clock. The pumpkins start drying up. You need to finish your masterpiece before going to bed, as the pumpkins will change overnight, even if you refrigerate them.