Every Halloween, along with the ghosts and fake tombstones, Diana McCarthy gets out her carving tools.
Fear not. She’s not performing some freaky Freddie Krueger fantasy.
McCarthy is getting ready to carve pumpkins.
And, frankly, “carve” doesn’t really cover it. McCarthy sculpts pumpkins.
Since the 1990s, McCarthy, of Marysville, has been sculpting faces on the orange gourds of elaborate and detailed Vikings, gorillas, owls, lions, and other creatures real and imagined.
Her artistic skills have gotten her recognition among family, neighbors and the kids at Liberty Elementary School in Marysville, where, every fall, McCarthy is the center of attention during the school’s pumpkin-carving event.
But this year for the first time, McCarthy is having one of those culminating moments as a carver and an artist. McCarthy will demonstrate her meticulous craftsmanship to the crowds at the new Schack Art Center from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 22.
“Her work is amazing,” said Judy Tuohy, executive director of the Schack Art Center.
McCarthy will be one of the guest artists during the art center’s first fall festival, called Schack-toberfest.
(Schack-toberfest. Say it out loud, it’s fun!)
Schack-toberfest is a combination Halloween celebration, with younger guests getting to pick their own handblown glass pumpkin from an “urban patch,” to an evening beer-and-brat party for adults.
And though she has the first-time jitters about carving at such a high-class art center, McCarthy said her experience carving pumpkins in front of an elementary school gym full of kids will pay off.
Besides, she’s there for a cause higher than pumpkins.
“This is a big deal to show art to kids,” said McCarthy, 54. “I feel like there are so many cuts, and with art not in the schools anymore, showing kids art in other ways is important.
“When I was a kid you were all the time putting your paint shirt on and away you’d go,” McCarthy said. “Kids aren’t getting that, so I love to share my artwork as much as possible with the kids.”
McCarthy has worked with kids in the Marysville School District for about 20 years — currently as a paraeducator math and English tutor at Liberty — but she’s been carving pumpkins longer.
She drew as a child and always admired her dad’s wood carvings, though her own hands weren’t strong enough to work with wood. But in the 1990s while flipping through a magazine, McCarthy saw a picture of elaborate pumpkins carved to perfection.
“I went nuts when I saw it,” McCarthy said “I said I’ve got to try that, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
McCarthy began with an X-Acto knife and a potato peeler. But over time, she learned that clay carving tools worked best at penetrating the hard pumpkin shell.
“I still use my X-Acto, when I need to get into the deep details of the eyes,” McCarthy said.
On average, it takes McCarthy two to three hours to carve a crazy creature or lion. She does about 6 to 10 pumpkins a season.
For her demonstration show at the Schack Art Center, McCarthy said she may bring two of her finished pumpkins with her and is happy to take questions while she’s carving.
McCarthy does take requests. Owls are popular, along with gorillas and the Grinch.
She shies away from celebrity faces.
“I never thought about doing that because, hey, this is Halloween. Let’s just stick to the scary and creepy and silly.”
McCarthy only carves during the Halloween season. Her dream is to one day carve a face on a 300-pound pumpkin.
“I get really excited when I get a thick one,” McCarthy said.
Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.
Schack-toberfest
The first art- and harvest-themed Schack-toberfest will include pumpkin-carving demonstrations by Diana McCarthy, pastel painting demonstrations with Janet Hamilton, glass pumpkin blowing all weekend and an opportunity to pick a glass pumpkin from the Urban Glass Pumpkin Patch.
Schack-toberfest is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, and noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Schack Art Center, 2921 Hoyt Ave., Everett. Admission is free.
For more information call 425-259-5050 or go to www.schack.org.
Make your own glass pumpkin
Kids and parents, you can make your own glass pumpkin at the Schack Art Center.
The center’s team of glassblowers will help youngsters learn to design and blow their own glass pumpkin, complete with a swirly stem.
All supplies provided and no experience is necessary, but reservations are recommended.
“The Make Your Own Glass Pumpkin” event goes from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Schack Art Center. Cost is $45. All ages are welcome.
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