Carving pumpkins is a festive fall tradition that I always enjoy participating in. It allows me to be creative and meticulous with design details, a task that I can appreciate in any project. There’s no real urgency when carving a pumpkin, so I can take my time and experiment with different shaping techniques. In 2017, I tried something new and instead of carving a face into a pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern, I carved multiple layers out of the surface of the pumpkin, forming a cartoon character. Carving off the outer layer of the pumpkin shell leaves behind the translucent structure which glows in candlelight and adds another layer of accentuation to a carving. I learned this time around that tracing out my design on paper first, mounting it on the face of the pumpkin and then puncturing the skin through the lines to form a sort of connect-the-dots puzzle works well for transferring complex designs. Using the dark skin for some sections, the translucent layer for some other parts and carving out entire holes for the remainder, I formed the character Ice King from Adventure Time after four hours of tracing and carving.