Great Pumpkins: Crafty Carvings for Halloween
This delightfully designed and brightly photographed wire-bound guide will surely provide inspiration for pumpkin carvers whose Halloween ambitions reach beyond the typical jack'o'lantern grimace. Authors Cole and Hurley present 24 designs ranging from simple to advanced, each complete with detailed carving instructions, a thorough list of tools and a full-color photograph of the end result. Using little more than a razor knife, butter knife, drill bit and spoon, you can adorn your front stoop with masterpieces like the Pumpkin "King," an Elvis Presley circa Jailhouse Rock pumpkin, opposing teams of pumpkin-helmeted pumpkin-head football players and a pumpkin Mona Lisa. Or you may prefer to tackle less daunting designs, like those for witches, spiders and black cats. Plan on skipping "Ceci N'est Pas Un Pumpkin," a pun on Magritte's painting for which the authors suggest carving a hard-fleshed butternut squash, a task that may challenge your wrist more than your artistic ability. Cole and Hurley, who have written several previous craft books for Chronicle, also provide a brief history of the holiday, a few projects for pumpkin painters and six drawings that can be photocopied and used as stencils. This book is not for young children, but will appeal to those whose inner child-or demon-comes out on Halloween. Photos.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.