spook
Happy Hallowe’en
Category: Hallowe’en
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pumpkin heads
pumpkin heads
jack o lantern
Some people are into delicately carving elaborate designs into hollowed out pumpkins to create the seasonal exterior lamp we call a “Jack-O-Lantern.
While these can be spooky in the dark, or beautiful works of art, I’m old fashioned. For me, the traditional jack-o-lantern wears a face. That’s why we call it “Jack.”
If you’ve ever tried to light a candle out of doors, you probably understand that a lantern shelters the flame from the wind that would otherwise extinguish it. Glass was at a premium in Canadian pioneer days, but pumpkins were thick on the ground. Since bringing in the harvest made for long days, hollowing out these large squash plants made a simple lantern that could be use out of doors when night starts falling early in the autumn months.
Hallowe’en has long been my favourite holiday, and we always had plenty of pumpkins to carve from the garden. We used to have great fun carving our scary faces into our pumpkins free style. These days many people buy permanent jack-o-lantern substitutes made of ceramic, glass or metal. My preference is always to make my own.
Make A Jack-O-Lantern
1. Cut open the pumpkin,
traditionally by cutting a circle around the stem, which then forms the handle of what will become your jack-o-lantern’s lid. For more artistic designs, often people avoid having the light escape around the edges of the lid by cutting the bottom out of the pumpkin. Depending on your pumpkin’s shape, this can provide more stability to a jack-o-lantern that will stay in one place. If there is any possibility that you will want to reposition your pumpkin once it’s lit, it is best to put the hole at the top.
2. Scoop out the pumpkin guts
using a large spoon. This is a messy job, so I scoop out the seeds and the strings into a metal mixing bowl, being careful to scrape the interior sides of the pumpkin smooth. The seeds can be baked in the oven later.
3. Draw on the face
(or whatever design you plan to use) using pen or marker. You will cut away the drawing as you cut out your pattern. Note: The “child safe” pumpkin carving tool (pictured above) was not very good.
4. Cut Out The Face or design.
If the piece you remove is large, you can do it incrementally. If your child is old enough to carve a pumpkin, s/he is probably old enough to use a paring knife. As you can see, this jack-o-lantern was opened and emptied from the bottom.
Glowstick Jack-O-Lantern . . .
If you plan to place your jack-o-lantern along the path where trick-or-treaters — who often wear flowing and/or flamable costumes are likely to walk, you might want to consider using a glowstick rather than a candle in your jack-o-lantern.
Candle lit Jack-O-Lantern . . .
Especially if you plan on using a candle to light your jack-lantern, remember that it can be a fire hazard, so:
- don’t carve the pumpkin a week before so it dry out (I do it on the day)
- ensure that the interior walls are scraped clean of all the pumpkin strings
- don’t use a candle with a flame that burns high enough to touch the roof or walls of the jack-o-lantern
Tea lights — the small candles used to keep a teapot warm — are a good choice.
Have a safe and happy Hallowe’en.
post script
First, I’ve changed my weekly blog posting day from Saturday to Sunday.
This article needed some photos I didn’t heave, so I found these licensed to share photos on flicker:
Costume Parade [Part Three]
2003: Frodo
“The Fellowship of the Ring” inspired my son’s choice to become Frodo, which was possibly the most elaborate of all the costumes I’ve made. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I don’t think there were even mass produced Frodo costumes available at that time. I bought supplies at Malabars, which is where I found the elven cloak clasp and the batter operated “Sting” which glows blue when orcs are near…
But unquestionably the greatest resource that gave me guidance was an amazing Alley Cat Scratch website with an enormous amount of detail and advice about ever aspect of the Lord of the Rings costumes. From costume sketches, patterns, photos of the original costumes, discussions of the fabric and construction used by the production company…. this was an invaluable resource for making Frodo.
2004: Neo
We were quite taken with the Matrix series, so naturally my son wanted to be Neo. The first step was to get a “Neo” haircut. Although Neo was armed and dangerous by the end of the Matrix, we agreed that any armaments would be inappropriate for inclusion in a school setting after the events of Columbine. And isn’t the underlying theme of the Matrix trilogy that guns are merely props; the real power is from within?
I had to learn to sew button holes for the coat (did I ever!). The coat was made with my favorite Arctic Fleece, but since it was used almost like a cape within the film’s choreography, I lined the skirt of the coat with a more rigid slippery fabric that added weight and allowed my son to do those classic Neo spin-arounds
2005: Zorro
I grew up watching a black & white Zorro on television. But as much as I loved Guy Williams, the Antonio Banderas’ Zorro was the one to emulate. This costume did double duty, as Hallowe’en coincided with the theatrical release of “The Legend of Zorro” which we thoroughly enjoyed.
2006: Captain Jack Sparrow
Johnny Depp deserved his Oscar for Captain Jack in the first (and only good) Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The richness of the character inspired my son to revisit the world of pirates.
This costume was another major undertaking, not least because I was emboldened to do far more original sewing than alteration work. It was gratifying that after Hallowe’en my son wore the pirate shirt to school more than once as part of his wardrobe. This costume also required even more in the way of accoutrements than our first pirate outing had.
2007: Harpo Marx
We began with a beige trench coat, but extra pockets had to be added to the interior so my young Harpo could secrete various bits of paraphernalia, magic tricks, a giggle stick and most important, Harpo’s signature horn. Even in black and white, it was clear that Harpo’s wardrobe was always bright, so we searched for the loudest shirt, and brightest suspenders we could find. We topped it off with a nice blond wig and top hat from a local costume shop.
In keeping with the characterization, my son wore the costume to high school, where he didn’t speak a word all day, only punctuating his non-verbal communications with honks on the horn. He was a little disappointed that only a few of the teachers even knew who the Marx Brothers were.
This article completes my overview of the costumes I’ve made for my son. I expect to devote entire articles to the three most elaborate costumes, for Frodo, Zorro and Captain Jack. I am pleased to see that my son has taken to making his own costumes these days.
