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)
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