Consider a pumpkin on the vine –
Is it just a humble squash?
Or do you see its chance to shine
With style and panache?
     – a couplet by Tomás Gonzales

By Cathy Miller

On October 17, the Warren County Library-Catherine Dickson Hofman branch in Blairstown sponsored Warren County’s own “Picasso of Pumpkins” in a virtual pumpkin carving session. Artist and master pumpkin carver Tomás Gonzales, of Washington, who’s held countless in-person demonstrations, had never done a “virtual” one before.

Tomás had already planned a prototype of Covid Mask Jack for 2020, so when the library contacted him, he quickly brought CMJ to life for his Halloween debut.

Covid Mask Jack, the “wolf-eyed” pumpkin, is a Washington native, recently harvested at Woolf’s Farm. Tomás relayed CMJ’s uplifting story: “He wanted to grow up to be a fancy jack-o-lantern and have a dolled-up face, but because he had to put a mask on it, his plans for the future were squashed -– like so many plans that we’ve made. But he’s making the best of it. You can see he’s still smiling. It’s so bright his smile shines through the mask.”

Tomás relocated his computer to his back porch to stream the hour-long presentation “en plein air.” Along with discussing the tools of the trade and actual carving techniques, photographs of several of his past efforts were also displayed. Covid Mask Jack was carved using Tomás’ “wolf-eye” technique where he carves two circular holes in the back of the pumpkin which gives the illusion that Jack’s eyes are following you when viewed through the front triangular eyes (very eerie). He also demonstrated the scraping of rind and flesh to reveal varying degrees of light shining through the orb.

Tomás felt the virtual program was something “like a cooking show” – although moving through the process of carving the pumpkin, there wasn’t enough time to show every step, start to finish, so the final product, in a “refined state of completion,” was ready for its hero shot at the end of the demo.

CDH Library is currently accepting photos of your masked pumpkins to post online in time for Halloween and may be reached at 908-362-8335.

What are the biggest culprits that shorten the lifespan of a carved pumpkin? Frost, fruit flies, squirrels, and deer. What’s the best way to preserve the pumpkin? Wrap it in plastic, keep it cool, display it for only a few hours at a time, and periodically rehydrate it. Four days is about the maximum a carved pumpkin will last outside.

As an artist Tomás admits to having done things more satisfying than carving pumpkins. His drawings, for example, which reside solely in his house, wouldn’t have the universal appeal of a pumpkin. The pumpkins are available to people, who are happy to look at them. Tomás says he wants to create something that will leave somebody with a lasting impression. Indeed, his take on the humble jack-o-lantern, is certainly memorable.

He clarified, “Pumpkins are not intimidating. People can enjoy this type of art in a way that I wish they could with paintings and sculpture, things that are otherwise more alien. There’s an immediacy and an intimacy with a pumpkin that transcends that kind of self- consciousness. Way back when, I had dreams of doing bronze sculptures. I didn’t expect to become the pumpkin carver. After doing this for almost 30 years, displaying ten original pumpkins each year, people come up to me and say ‘I’ve been coming for five years.’ Or ‘I’ve been bringing my kids every Halloween since they’re little, now they’re teenagers.’ People look forward to it year after year. It’s hard to not like pumpkins.”

He continued, “It dawned on me, the frustrated artist who wished he could’ve been having shows of more traditional art forms…wait a minute! How many artists expect to have a one-man show every year? People coming out to look at the pumpkins is like an art show opening. It’s a gala event.”

He’s often asked how long it takes to complete one of his highly detailed and remarkably creative carvings. Tomás ponders the time it takes someone to plan, shop, prepare and serve an elegant dinner – it’s consumed in an hour then the guests move on to watch football! He compares it to dance saying, “There’s a gesture that’s gone in the blink of an eye.” As for the pumpkins, Tomás said, “They’re fleeting, you get to see them for a moment and then they’re gone. You’ve experienced it in the physical for a short period of time.”

Tomás maintains an ever-expanding compendium of pumpkins he looks to create, once the proper pumpkin presents itself. Sometimes the size, shape and even color of the pumpkin will inform Tomás of the gourd’s ultimate destiny. As he holds up and admires what could be construed as a very misshapen gourd he said, “It’s just a pumpkin – until you see the face in it, what you can make of it.”

Tomás has scheduled another pumpkin carving demonstration during Clinton’s Pumpkinfest held on Friday, Oct. 30 (Halloween Eve).