Ray Villafane's Pumpkin Carvings Are Out Of This World

Ray Villafane poses with one of his creations (Credit: Villafane Studios/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)

Need inspiration for your Halloween pumpkin? You might want to check out American sculptor and artist Ray Villafane's masterpieces. The two-time winner of the Food Network show Outrageous Pumpkins does not just "carve" the fruits. He transforms them into 3-D sculptures — ghoulish ones, of course!

Villafane was born and raised in Queens, New York. In 1993, after graduating from New York's School of Visual Arts, he joined a school in Bellaire, Michigan, as an art teacher. One Halloween, Villafane used his artistic skills to "sculpt" a pumpkin. It was so extraordinary that students inundated him with pumpkin carving requests. Realizing he may have an unusual talent, Villafane began offering his creations to neighborhood hotels and restaurants. Sure enough, they were in huge demand.

"I really enjoyed what I had stumbled upon," Villafane says. "The community liked it, and other students liked it, so it became a thing that I did for several years."

Villafane uses big and heavy pumpkins for his masterpieces (Credit: Villafane Studios/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)

In 2006, Villafane accepted a part-time position sculpting toys for Marvel Comics. His "practice" carving of Logan from X-Men's Wolverine was so good that it was instantly put into production. Over the next two years, he created many wax prototypes of toys and action figures. They included Sabretooth, Magneto, and The Punisher. In 2008, Villafane quit teaching and accepted a full-time position at DC Comics.

Two years later, Villafane left the toy industry to pursue his true love — pumpkin carving. Since then, the talented artist has developed a skill for crafting intricate sculptures and characters from natural materials such as sand, sticks, and wood.

A sand sculpture by Villafane (Credit: Villafane Studios/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)

This has allowed Villafane to create permanent art installations like the "Boneyard Mining Company" at Arizona's Vulture City Ghost Town. The popular exhibit is a tale about two fictional creatures. Gordy dreams about achieving the impossible, while Grimgor has doubts about everything.

"Grimgor and Gordy are the optimists and pessimists that live in all of us," Villafane explains.

The expert says the secret to successful pumpkin carving is the fruit. It should be big and heavy so that there is plenty of flesh for sculpting. He also likes pumpkins that are not perfectly round. They help add character to his creations.