Maniac Pumpkin Carvers Workshop
In time for Halloween the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, creative art studio, held the Cotton Candy Machine workshop in Brooklyn, N.Y., demonstrating techniques and tools to create intricate pumpkin art. Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, which focuses on elevating the art of pumpkin carving, were a past winner of the Food Network’s Halloween Wars. Their work has been displayed at MOMA, the Whitney Museum and Yankee Stadium. Founders Marc Evan and Chris Soria, friends since they were 12, have a history of trying to outdo each other on who can make something scarier for Halloween. The duo started carving pumpkins when they were studying illustration at the Parsons School of Design. After graduating in 2002, they started doing illustration and mural work in New York City, and worked part-time at restaurants and bars for extra income. They started carving pumpkins for their employers to use as Halloween decorations. Evans and Soria wanted to see how far they could push beyond the traditional style of pumpkin carving that had been dominant and onto a more artistic level.
A Tara Bonethrower pumpkin created by the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A Tara McPherson pumpkin created by the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A Buff Monster pumpkin created by the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A Mark Ryden pumpkin created by the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A Camilla d’Errico pumpkin created by the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
Chris Soria of the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers demonstrates how to apply a stencil on to a pumpkin by using a digital projector at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
Marc Evan of the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers introduces the tools that he uses for carving to the attendees of the workshop at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. His arsenal includes various sizes and shapes of printing making block cutters, pumpkin scoopers and Lemon Essential Oil. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
Artist Tara McPherson works on drawing on a stencil on a pumpkin at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
An attendee of the workshop made the first incision on her pumpkin at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
Chris Soria of the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers gives an attendee some tips on tackling a Ghostbuster design on a pumpkin at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A workshop attendee is carving a ZeroFriend design on her pumpkin at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A Ghostbusters pumpkin in progress at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A Goonies pumpkin in progress at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A workshop attendee pulls out innards from his pumpkin at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
Chris Soria of the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers helps a workshop attendee cut open a pumpkin to empty it’s innards at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A workshop attendee pulls out innards from his pumpkin at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
Light was inserted into a close to be finished Darth Vader pumpkin at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
Artist Dima Drjuchin talks to Marc Evan about his pumpkin after inserting a light inside, he is about to go in to refine the details of the design at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)
A Dima Drjuchin pumpkin at Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn, N.Y. on October 18, 2014. (Photo by Siemond Chan/Yahoo Finance)