Local artist trying to carve a name for himself in a different medium
Trick-or-Treat the one you love this Halloween by having a picture of their face carved into a pumpkin. Jay Ball of Smithfield has been carving pumpkins for the past 10 years and specializes in creating custom carvings made from patterns he designs himself.
Ball started carving pumpkins about 10 years ago when he moved to Smithfield from California with his family. He said he went to the North Logan Pumpkin Walk and noticed the pumpkin displays didn’t have many carved pumpkins. He contacted the people in charge of the pumpkin walk and asked if he could volunteer to carve pumpkins for the next year. Ball has been carving pumpkins ever since.
What started as an act of service now has grown into a business. Pumpkinglow.com is Ball’s Web site where people can order a custom-carved pumpkin or one of his books on carving pumpkins.
Ball, a graphic designer, has a knack for creating pumpkin-carving designs from a photograph. He can carve the designs into real pumpkins or foam ones.
“The foam pumpkins are nice because they can be used year after year,” Ball said.
Ball takes orders for custom pumpkins through his Web site and said some orders come in as early as June.
“It starts to get really busy about Oct. 1 – that’s when people start thinking about Halloween,” Ball said.
He has also authored two books about carving pumpkins and has two more on the way. His most popular book is titled “Jay Ball’s Secrets of Creative Pumpkin and Watermelon Carving.”
In his books, he describes the techniques for successful pumpkin carving and includes patterns for people to copy and use as a guide.
According to Ball, the secret to successful pumpkin carving is to start with a pumpkin that has a smooth surface. Pumpkins that have a thick shell are more difficult to carve, so Ball recommends finding one that has a thinner shell.
To carve the pumpkin, Ball first cuts a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin to scrape out the seeds. He said he also likes to carve a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin so he can light it with an electric light.
“Using an electric light helps the design on the pumpkin to show up better,” Ball said.
When carving, Ball recommends using a simple pumpkin carving kit such as the Pumpkin Masters kit sold at Wal-Mart. He said you can also make a homemade carving tool using an Exacto knife handle and a jigsaw blade. Another important tool used is a gouge, a woodcarving tool that is used for removing skin from the pumpkin without going all the way through the shell – a process known as shading. Even with all of these sharp tools, Ball said he hasn’t ever cut himself. Ball uses a dremel tool to carve the foam pumpkins, which he said makes the job a little easier. It takes about an hour and a half for Ball to carve a pumpkin, real or foam.
Ball said his carving patterns come in easy, moderate or advanced skill levels so people of all ages and abilities can participate and enjoy carving pumpkins. His daughter Denise Ball carved a German Shepard into her pumpkin this year and it only took her about 30 minutes.
“Yep, I did it all by myself.” Denise said.
The theme for this year’s Pumpkin Walk is “Comedy Central.” Ball’s pumpkin display will include various comedians such as Bill Cosby, Jay Leno and Rodney Dangerfield. The pumpkin walk runs though Tuesday the 25th.
The walk runs from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is held at Elk Ridge Park.
-nnaylor@cc.usu.edu
Professional pumpkin carver Jay Ball explains how he got into pumpkin carving. A portait of a friend of his stands in the foreground. (James Schultz)