Sister Grimm the Veiled Nun

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Pick and prep a tall pumpkin

   Choose a tall, upright pumpkin with a broad, fairly flat front so the whole portrait fits without wrapping around the curve. Cut a lid from the bottom or the back rather than the top, which keeps the stem intact and makes the LED easy to place. Scoop the inside clean and thin the front carving wall to about one inch so light passes evenly. A consistent wall thickness is what makes shaded areas glow uniformly.

2. 2

   Transfer your stencil

   Tape your nun stencil flat against the front, snipping the edges so the paper hugs the curve without wrinkles. Poke through all the outlines with a pushpin or a transfer tool, spacing dots close together on the curved facial lines. Peel the paper and connect the dots lightly with a washable marker. Double check that the veil panels are symmetrical before you cut anything.

3. 3

   Cut the straight veil borders first

   Start with the long, straight outer edges of the two veil panels, using a firm ruler or a stiff card as a guide for your saw so the lines stay clean. These are your brightest full cutouts, so make them narrow slots rather than huge openings to keep the pumpkin strong. Because they are straight and structural, doing them first means later freehand work cannot wobble them. Support the wall with your free hand as you finish each slot.

4. 4

   Shade the face and veil interior

   Switch to a lino or gouge tool and peel just the skin off the face and the inner veil area so those zones glow a soft dim orange. Leave the raised brow ridge, the nose bridge, and the lips as untouched or lightly peeled skin so they stay darker and give the face dimension. Work shallow and test against a light often, since you can always remove more but cannot put skin back. This shading is what separates a flat mask from a real portrait.

5. 5

   Freehand the facial detail lines

   Now cut the fine lines: the heavy eye sockets, the small round eyes, the furrowed brow creases, and the collar and cross pendant. Keep these as thin cut lines rather than big holes so the face does not lose structure, and leave small bridges where two lines nearly meet. The little cross should stay attached at top and bottom so it does not fall out. Go slow and let the tool do the work to avoid overshooting into the shaded skin.

6. 6

   Light it and photograph

   Set a battery LED puck inside, warm white or amber, and add a second small light if the tall body leaves the lower cross dim. Rotate the pumpkin until the veil slots frame the glowing face evenly. Photograph at dusk on a stone or step so the warm cutouts pop against a dark background. Mist the cut edges with water and keep it cool to slow shrinking if you display it more than a day.

Written with AI to match this design