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The great pumpkin carver

Nadia Arandjelovic
Updated: Oct 21, 2011 02:54 PM
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Photo by Tamell SimonsTERRIFYING-LY GOOD: Ray Villafane a pumpkin carver who has been featured on Food Network on Island to share his skills at Sousa's Lancaping Pumpkin Carving Even held over the weekend.
Pumpkin carver Ray Villafane has made a career out of sculpting spooky creations for Halloween.His three dimensional carvings are so lifelike he's been invited to the White House, New York Botanical Gardens, Martha Stewart Show and Food Network Channel to showcase his skills.The celebrity carver was recently on Island to shock locals with his talent. Brought in by Sousa's Landscaping Management Co he was aiming to stir up some bone-chilling excitement over the holiday period.

Less than ten years ago Ray Villafane was working as an art teacher at a school in Bellaire, Michigan.It was Halloween and a young student caught a glimpse of one of his carvings before he knew it a dozen or so pumpkins sat in front of his classroom each morning waiting to be sculpted.“The kids just started to bring them in for me. I got nothing done but carving pumpkins.”He said the creations look nothing like they do today “but they were good enough for the kids to like them”.The budding carver decided to try selling some of his Jack-o'-lanterns to restaurants and hotels in the area for $35 to $50.But the business wasn't profitable considering the time it took to drive from the rural area to get fresh pumpkins each week.He decided to put down his carving knife for a while.“After that there were maybe one or two years that I didn't do any, maybe only two or three pumpkins per year.“When I was driving around to the restaurants I did maybe 50 or 60 every two weeks before Halloween.”His career took a dramatic turn in 2003 when he began to sculpt professionally with wax.Mr Villafane said he was inspired by an old friend from college who was a sculptor for Disney, working out of New York.He decided to challenge himself, and started creating three-dimensional wax sculptures of comic book characters, such as Wolverine from the X-Men.When his first project was complete he posted a picture of Wolverine online; soon after he was contacted by the owner of a Marvel-licensed company.“They called me up and wanted me to produce it and it was so nerve-racking because I was so new to it and I had already been commissioned for my first piece.”He said they took the sculpture, sent it on to factories to create figurines and other items, then distributed it all over the world.“That led to another job with them and other companies seeing my work and asking to see pieces of my portfolio within the first year.” He ended up working with renowned companies Marvel, DC Comics, MacFarlane Toys and Sideshow Collectibles.For a few years he was juggling his sculpting with teaching full-time, but he later resigned from teaching to perfect his craft. He then decided to use the same sculpting techniques on the pumpkins.“When I turned my attention to the pumpkins each fall they immediately started to get better,” Mr Villafane said. “What I noticed happening was I was gaining a global following of the pumpkins more than anything else.“In the commercial sculpting [business] there is a group of professional sculptors that I am just one of many, but when I went from that to playing with pumpkins and taking that skill level to pumpkins, no-one had ever taken that amount of effort or time into pumpkin carving.”His career quickly began to build momentum.He said he was getting thousands of hits on the website Villafanestudios.com from people as far away as Moscow and Mexico. Food Network also got in touch with him to compete in their Outrageous Pumpkins Challenge, which he won in both 2008 and 2010.This year his schedule has been jam-packed with television and public appearances including four episodes for the Food Network.He said he has also had calls from shows hosted by Gail King and Rachael Ray. He is also preparing to release a coffee table collection of some of his best carvings called ‘The Art of the Pumpkin', next year.“Going from how things have gone in the past I don't think I have gotten to where it could go. Things have picked up momentum in the past few weeks,” he said.“As far as my pumpkins go I am confident that they are still at an infancy level. I am limited by the amount of time that a pumpkin stays fresh, but when it comes to any other barriers I have now realised that if I plan to take this to the next level I can't have any barriers.“The hardest thing is trying to juggle and find the time to do that.”He stays motivated by the prospect of creating bigger and better carvings and says the job is still fun for him. Today his creations, which can take between five and ten hours, sell for $400 to $700 each.Mr Villafane is extremely busy in the autumn and doesn't get much down-time until Christmas.“I always stay up the night before a big event. Half the time I get no sleep, I go to these events and my eyes are baggy.”He said the meaning of Halloween has changed a lot due to his growing business. “Halloween has evolved in the last few years to mean nothing more than pumpkin carving, but I love it so much that on the surface that statement might seem like I diminish it a lot.“But to me working with the pumpkins is like playing around and it's very enjoyable.“The actual trick-or-treating with kids is fun as well. The Halloween season as a whole is great because I get to push the boundaries in my carvings.”Useful website: www.villafanestudios.com

Photo by Tamell SimonsCREEPY CARVING Ray Villafane an expert pumpkin carver from the United States, who has been featured on the Food Network Channel and the Martha Stuart Show, was on Island this month to share his skills with locals at Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpkin Carving Event.
Photo by Tamell SimonsCREEPY CARVING Ray Villafane an expert pumpkin carver from the United States, who has been featured on the Food Network Channel and the Martha Stuart Show, was on Island this month to share his skills with locals at Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpkin Carving Event.
Photo by Tamell SimonsCREEPY CARVING Ray Villafane an expert pumpkin carver from the United States, who has been featured on the Food Network Channel and the Martha Stuart Show, was on Island this month to share his skills with locals at Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpkin Carving Event.
Photo by Tamell SimonsCHILLING CREATION Ray Villafane an expert pumpkin carver from the United States, who has been featured on the Food Network Channel and the Martha Stuart Show, was on Island this month to share his skills with locals at Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpkin Carving Event.
Photo by Tamell SimonsCHILLING CREATION Ray Villafane an expert pumpkin carver from the United States, who has been featured on the Food Network Channel and the Martha Stuart Show, was on Island this month to share his skills with locals at Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpkin Carving Event.
Photo by Tamell SimonsCHILLING CREATION Ray Villafane an expert pumpkin carver from the United States, who has been featured on the Food Network Channel and the Martha Stuart Show, was on Island this month to share his skills with locals at Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpkin Carving Event.
Photo by Tamell SimonsSCARY SKELETON Ray Villafane an expert pumpkin carver from the United States, who has been featured on the Food Network Channel and the Martha Stuart Show, was on Island this month to share his skills with locals at Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpkin Carving Event.
Photo by Tamell SimonsCHILLING CREATION Ray Villafane an expert pumpkin carver from the United States, who has been featured on the Food Network Channel and the Martha Stuart Show, was on Island this month to share his skills with locals at Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpkin Carving Event.
Photo by Tamell SimonsSCARY SKELETON Ray Villafane an expert pumpkin carver from the United States, who has been featured on the Food Network Channel and the Martha Stuart Show, was on Island this month to share his skills with locals at Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpkin Carving Event.
Devil is in the detail: Expert carver Ray Villafane created this lifelike image from a pumpkin. This was one of the masterful pieces he made while on Island for Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpking Carving Event
What lurks beneath: Expert pumpkin carver Ray Villafane created this lifelike image during his recent visit to the Island. This was one of the masterful pieces he made while on Island for Sousa's Landscaping's Pumpking Carving Event.
Creating your perfect pumpkin

While your pumpkin won't necessarily look like celebrity carver Ray Villafane's, there are some simple tricks online to help you carve a decent Jack-o'-lantern.1. Gather a few basic tools to get started: a large spoon or ice cream scoop, thin-bladed knife and some newspaper.2. With the knife cut the top of the pumpkin around the stem. The hole should be big enough so you can scoop out the guts (seeds and stringy membrane) with the spoon. As you cut the hole, angle the knife so the life will be somewhat cone shaped, to prevent the lid from falling in the hole.3. Use the large spoon to scrap the inside walls of the pumpkin clean.4. Find the best side of the pumpkin to carve the face.5. Visualise the face you want to carve and use the knife to cut out the individual parts of the face. You can also use a crayon to pre-mark the face.6. When finished cutting carefully push the pieces to see the final result.Note: If you are planning to use a candle, make sure you have scrapped the bottom of the pumpkin flat so it is level. It is also best to use a plain white candle, preferably one in a clear glass candle holder, which is safer and will last longer.Tips found on www.pumpkincarving101.com.