[BONUS] 427. Pumpkin Anatomy IV

What really lies beneath a pumpkin's orange skin?

My mother-in-law gave my family an enormous white pumpkin and it inspired me to do something a bit different in my Pumpkin Anatomy series this year and focus in on just part of a skull.

And it looks even better after sitting outside for a week...

See my previous anatomical pumpkins HERE, HERE, and HERE.

My original pumpkin skull can be found in my new Skull-A-Day book, available HERE.

ARTmuffin's skulls (from the Book Of Gosh)

Sometimes the hardest part of being a Skull-A-Day editor is trying to decide which piece(s) of art to display from the submissions we get. Espcecially when any one artist decides to submit a whole handful of wonderful work. So, sometimes you just gotta say F*@k it and do what feels best(which is a pretty zen thing to do actually, thank you Sarah!) and post all of them. Today is an excellent case in point from ARTmuffin. These pieces are just a small assortment of what lies ahead for you to discover on his site. I'll let him tell you a little more, "My art is created with the concept of being pages from a lost book or temple from another culture in another dimension. The work is often human, alien, or animal anatomy with what appears to be a kind of hieroglyphic writing and symbolism accompanying the subject. The pages vary from anatomical description to ceremonial preparation to the preservation of a history. All pages are from 'The Book of Gosh'."

ARTmuffin hits it dead on the head for me. I love skulls, Geometry, ancient history, and mystery. He's got all of that going here as well as a myriad of other skullacious works that could fill a month's worth of posts for us. It's a great collection of awesome work. Plus, ARTmuffin is doing more awesome work by donating a portion of any of his sales to the charity of your choice.  He's letting your love of art go directly to helping others.  There's no better way to serve humanity while indulging into some fantastic skull art.  Thanks for sharing all of these, ARTmuffin!

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 6

Greg Shiff in Los Angeles, California was inspired by my jack-o-lantern with a brain to make this great version, which he says "was HUGE hit in the neighborhood"!...

Thanks again to everyone who shared their pictures! Made you own? Send it along.

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 6

Jeff Calvert in Westerville, Ohio did an excellent job using my directions to make a jack-o-lantern with a brain!...

And here's the final state of the original....
It made it through Halloween, but only just barely!

Did you make one of your own or even a unique skull-y pumpkin of your own design? Please send a photo and we'll share it on the site!

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 5

Kevin Kinney "Master of Ceremonies – Vegetable Evisceration" in Greencastle, Indiana shared this glowing image of his interpretation of my jack-o-lantern with a brain...

That is just one of 30+ pumpkins he made this year! Here's another skull-y one he made...

And hey, if you want to make your own anatomical pumpkin, you can use my step-by-step instructions HERE. Of course please send in a picture if you do!

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 4

Kate Makai in Cambridge, Massachusetts was inspired by my jack-o-lantern with a brain to make this great version...

And Speddie in Wilmington, Delaware did a excellent job followed my directions to make this one...

Also thanks to This Isn't Happiness for the shout out about mine...

And here's how the original Pumpkin Anatomy II is holding up...



Want to make your own? The directions are HERE. And of course be sure to send in an image for us to share!

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 3

Jon Lang did an excellent job following my directions to make his own jack-o-lantern with a brain!...

Plus thanks to Laughing Squid and Design You Trust for the shout outs about my original Pumpkin Anatomy II...

Here's the current state of mine, which is definitely looking grumpier thanks to the 80+ degree weather we've had this week!

Want to make your own? The directions are HERE.

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 2

Patrick Koonts did a fantastic job using my directions to create his own Jack-O-Lantern with a brain!

Here's the current state of  my original Pumpkin Anatomy II....
I think he's holding up pretty well despite the 70 degree October weather!

I hope you'll give this a try with your own pumpkin, just follow the step-by-step instructions HERE. And of course send in a pic when you're done!

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update

Just had to share this fantastic interpretation by Katrina Frye of my recent Pumpkin Anatomy II Jack-O-Lantern, she calls it her "Brainy Jack-O-Troll"!...

Don't forget there are directions on how to make your own HERE and if you do make one please send a picture for us to share!

Also here's the current state of the original, I think it's aging well...

[BONUS] 404. Pumpkin Anatomy II: If I Only Had A Brain

A few years ago I discovered that with careful dissection you could discover the secret anatomy of a Jack-O-Lantern. This year I decided to try another experiment and low-and-behold it turns out that if you cut it just right you can reveal the hidden brain of a pumpkin!...

I thought it would be fun to give you a step-by-step guide if you wanted to give this a try yourself...

1. Get two pumpkins, one orange that's larger and one white that's smaller. You'll have to guess how much smaller the 2nd one needs to be, but figure the walls of the larger will probably be 1-2 inches thick. The bonus is you can always carve away more if you need to adjust the fit.

2. Mark off a line about 1/3 of the way down on the larger pumpkin to allow for a large enough opening to insert the 2nd pumpkin. Then draw your design on each pumpkin. The orange one can be a fairly traditional Jack-O-Lantern, I just made mine a skull since it's my thing. For the brain I printed off reference images from the internet so that I could it make it look more realistic. It only needs to cover the 1st 1/3 of pumpkin, since the rest will be hidden. NOTE: use a marking tool that can easily wiped off (china marker works well). I made the mistake of using a metallic sharpie that only came off with the use of nail polish remover!

3. Carve & gut the 1st pumpkin like you normally would. Be sure to keep the top since it makes a nice display element later.

4. For the brain pumpkin carve the lines first, by incising them with V-shaped cuts that only go about 1/4 of an inch deep.

5. Cut off the bottom of the brain pumpkin and gut it from below. Then cut out a shape that will allow the design of your larger pumpkin to be uncovered and allow candle light to come through! You will end up with a sort of helmet shape. Sadly it didn't fit on anyone's head when I made it, but it would be an amazing kid's costume if you've got a willing volunteer! The trickiest part is adjusting this to fit inside the 2nd, so you may have to carve away at both the inside of the orange pumpkin and the outside of the white to get it to sit properly.

Good luck! And of course if you make your own please send us pictures to share!