Today we’d like to introduce you to Deane Arnold.
Hi Deane, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My story is pretty scattered because I’ve always had the attention span of a gnat. But I’m at least passingly curious about everything. I tend to try things that I find interesting or otherwise appealing. Sometimes I lose interest and move on, while other times I dig in for the long haul.
Until relatively recently, I was a graphic designer in the marketing and advertising world. My grandfather was an advertising executive with McCann Erickson, and I was brought up seeing everything around me in terms of composition and layout. The primary perspective has always been story narrative.
I’ve been a creative artist for my entire life. I’ve tried (and lost interest in) various things such as acting, writing, and other whims. But my “long haul” has been equal parts visual art and music. I’ve been drawing and painting since I was barely verbal. I’ve been musical since before that. I think that early on, it was easier for me to understand visual and musical communication. In many ways, the two are interchangeable for me: music conjures images, and visual things invoke rhythmic patterns in my mind.
As weird as it might seem, pumpkin carving has become my entire world. I’d dabbled in various sculpting mediums before pumpkins. I tried carving mahogany. I made classic ships-in-bottles. I managed to get most of those visual mediums out of my system, always returning to drawing and painting. I tried pumpkin sculpting on a whim that I expected wouldn’t last.
I was wrong. My first pumpkin was pretty bad, but it was good enough for me to try again. And again. And then again. And here I am. Pumpkins have taken over my entire life.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t know. Maybe? I only have my own experience, so I have nothing to compare it with. It’s probably not accurate for me to sum it up as either smooth or rough. Struggles are part of life. I try to learn from the rough patches. And everything is connected so that it all balances out.
That sounds overly profound. It’s probably a lot of crap. Let’s move on, yeah?
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Most of my work is carving for public events. I travel a lot each October, creating displays for large-scale Halloween events. I’ve appeared on Halloween Wars. I work in the art department as the pumpkin consultant for the Outrageous Pumpkins television show on Food Network. I set a Guinness World Record for the largest Jack O’Lantern. The 2022 season took me to New York, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The previous season has included events in California, Arizona, Washington, and Colorado.
I also teach classes in pumpkin sculpting, and I’ve discovered that most people are reluctant to try things if they think they might make mistakes or somehow fail.
I tell students that they won’t learn from effortless success. Mistakes are far more valuable in order to learning anything. I started pointing this out in grade school classes. The quiet kids tend to hold back, usually because they think they won’t be good enough, whatever that means. The boisterous kids don’t need much encouragement, but the quiet kids need to feel safe enough to come forward. I always try to connect with the kids in the back and let them know that mistakes are really opportunities to get better. “It’s only a pumpkin. It’s going to rot anyway. Go ahead and dig in, and if it doesn’t work, then you can try it again.” As I work on my own pumpkin, I point out each of my mistakes. I ask the class to suggest how I can correct those mistakes. As each mistake is addressed, the class relaxes and it becomes part of the fun.
It’s the same for adults.
For my own work, my main challenge has always been to make the next pumpkin better in some way. I started out with roughly cartoonish faces. As they became more realistic, I moved on to garish monster faces with exaggerated expressions. I’ve gradually worked my way to more natural expressions that give the viewer the impression that the pumpkin is looking back at them.
That required me to learn more about facial anatomy and how it relates to different expressions. It also meant that I’m motivated by examples of better artists. Most of the pumpkin carvers I know are happy with carving the way other pumpkin carvers work. I’m more likely to follow traditional sculptors and try the Greco-Roman approach.
Many pumpkin artists fall into three categories: chainsaw carvers/whittlers, culinary artists, and sculptors. The chainsaw and culinary artists use formulas, which tend to look very stylized. Both groups create great pumpkins.
But I’m most attracted to the sculptors. I like each pumpkin to have a different personality and mood. That means I avoid using too many formulas. I take inspiration from Renaissance and classical sculptors. Or special effects makeup artists. It allows me to create any face I imagine without falling back on copying someone else’s work. Even if I start a pumpkin by using a familiar character as a reference, I almost always abandon the reference and let it go wherever it goes.
I’ve come to realize that I disagree with the widely held belief that “the details are important.” Attention to detail means very little if the large forms aren’t well sculpted. In my opinion, details are the very least important part of anything. Does it matter if there are ultra-fine skin textures on a face to a viewer who sees it from 20 feet away? Or would a well-tailored suit or evening gown look great if no one was wearing it? Without a body to fill it out, any piece of clothing is just a rag. A face needs to look like a face, whether it has crow’s feet or not.
When I competed on Food Network’s Halloween Wars. I had fun, and I made friends. But I’m not competitive by nature. I dislike where art and music have gone as a result of becoming more competitive. American Idol and similar musical contests have given the world the idea that “this is the only right way to do it.” In order to win one of these shows, you have done it the way the judges have decided how they want it. That means the judges have made too many creative decisions that should have been left to each contestant. It devalued creativity, discouraged innovation, and replaced them with a need to please the judges in pursuit of winning.
The best new music is no longer popular. It’s gone underground, so to speak. The general public only hears formulaic unmemorable background noise that all sounds alike.
I’d much rather see showcases of different artists and how they create without singling out winners and losers.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I’d like to think that the pumpkin industry continues to push the limits of the medium. I’m not sure that’s realistic, particularly if the trend of formulaic approaches continues. Formulas by definition reduce things to simple and easy, rather than adventurous and bold.
Many pumpkin artists know each other, either personally or by reputation. We like each other. We respect each other. I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with some of the very best pumpkin artists in the world. I love seeing how they work and what they do. I’ve been able to work with people like Sue Beatrice, Dmitry Klimenko, Lenny Calvin, and many others. I also love seeing what they do on their own. It’s always felt like an extended family.
In the last few years, the community has rapidly expanded. It’s gotten to the point where there are so many new pumpkin artists, it’s impossible to keep track of who’s who. It would be nice to maintain our sense of family, but it may not be practical.
One encouraging aspect of the new artists is that there are notable standouts. Some of the newest pumpkin artists are young enough to have grown up recognizing it as an art form instead of a novelty. Anthony Pater told me that he started watching Halloween Wars when he was little. He grew up as a fan of all the pumpkin artists on the show, and he knows each episode of the show the way some sports fans know baseball statistics. “Marc Maniac and Andy Bergholtz went to the finale in Season 2. Gabriel Viñas was the winner of Season 3, while Jon Neill was eliminated in Episode 3. But Jon came back to win Season 4.” Anthony competed in Season 12, and even though he’s a fantastic sculptor, he’s only starting out on the national stage. He’s the next generation.
A little side note that tickles me: my music and pumpkin worlds are colliding! I’m friends with some well-known rock stars who love my pumpkin art. Tony Levin has taken my class. Pat Mastelotto often wears a Deane Arnold pumpkin tee shirt after Stick Men and King Crimson concerts. Markus Reuter has interviewed me about my creative process, and how it compares to his own music composition. One of my favorite events in 2022 was the ProgStock festival, where the musicians geeked at my pumpkins while I went all fanboi over my rock heroes. Mike Keneally and Michael Sadler both asked me how the hell I do what I do, which blows my mind. I’d always wanted to ask them both how the hell they do what they do!
An especially meaningful moment of ProgStock for me was meeting Rachel Flowers after her astonishing set (Google her. Really. Right now). Rachel has been blind since birth. I had the opportunity to let her examine one of my sculpted pumpkin faces. After a few minutes of politely exploring the pumpkin with her hands, she began comparing it to her own facial features.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pumpkinstuff.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deanearnold/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pumpkin1962
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCydCu8oqhRqz-RMJs1mizNQ
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/deane-arnold
- Through the Wire: https://jeremynesse.bandcamp.com/
