The mesmerizing beauty of carved pumpkins by Marilyn Sunderland

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The American artist covers with intricate weaving of leaves, flowers and berries, figurines of fantastic fish, birds and butterflies Marilyn Sunderland his pumpkin sculptures, transforming an ordinary vegetable grown in the garden into a masterpiece. These amazing carved exhibits are undoubtedly works of art, they delight and delight the audience with the delicate painstaking handwork of the craftswoman.

American artist Marilyn Sunderland, originally from Columbia, Missouri, has lived and worked in Utah for more than thirty years, which is known for its picturesque places surrounded by mountains, rich bright colors of the natural landscape, abundance of rivers and fresh air. Marilyn loved to draw as a child. And at one time she graduated from the art department of the University of Missouri-Columbia and received a bachelor's degree. And years later, two-year Art Instruction courses in vegetable carving and artistic woodcarving.

And it should be noted that Marilyn did not immediately find her place in artistic creation. For many years, they were devoted to the search for the author's style and individuality in portrait and landscape painting. The artist also tried herself in different techniques, experimenting with watercolors and acrylics, oil, charcoal and ink. And when she was seriously carried away by woodcarving and engraving on glass, I realized that this was her strong point. It was in carving that her talent as an artist and sculptor was fully revealed.

For her unique works, the craftswoman uses inedible pumpkin varieties, which, when dried, become quite hard and durable. This fruit serves as an excellent material as a canvas and a base, because in processing, namely in cutting, burning, painting and other methods of transformation, they are quite easy. And according to the technology developed by the craftswoman - first, carvings are done, after which the pumpkin is dried, decorated and covered with a special varnish in the right way.

According to Marilyn, the pumpkin base can be decorated with anything: beads, ribbons, pebbles, plant elements and much more, you just have to show your imagination. And thanks to such a variety of decor, this fruit is really an excellent material for the embodiment of the most unusual and original ideas and fantasies of the artist.

In his work, he uses a set of special electric tools for carving and engraving, which greatly facilitates the laborious process of creativity. When the process of forming and carving a composition on a pumpkin base is over, the craftswoman uses various painting techniques, using acrylic, sometimes oil. And in her pumpkin sculptures, she sometimes introduces details cut from other fruits, which can hold their shape for a long time and, when dried, do not change their structure.

In an interview, Marilyn said that the pumpkin is "a universal canvas for the embodiment of creative fantasies." Therefore, each individual fruit is unique, in each the craftswoman sees in advance what will look best on it, as well as what decor to use and what colors to use.

Marilyn's favorite theme is autumn foliage, which she depicts directly on the pumpkin, and sometimes she carves it separately from the peel and attaches it to the finished composition to create volume and relief.

And it was this type of creativity that brought Marilyn several awards of international importance, and among the owners of her carved pumpkin sculptures there are famous businessmen, artists, and politicians.

Inspired by the beauty of the natural landscape of her native land and putting a piece of her soul into each work, the artist continues to create the most amazing works covered with lace carvings, pretentious ornaments and openwork, leading the enthusiastic viewer to amazement.

No less surprising with its exclusive handmade carved furniture, the Indonesian master Roni Rony.