 |
Ray Anthony Villafane is an artist based in Arizona, who specializes in sculpting. Most famously known for his 3-D Style pumpkin
Ray Villafane works as a sculptor by day. But this time of year, he spends his nights carving and scraping away at orange flesh until something gruesome emerges: gargoyles, aliens and other intricate creatures that make Jack O’Lanterns look like child’s play.
He travels for much of October, charging $2,500-per-day for carving gigs around the country. It can take him 12 hours to carve a pumpkin.
A native of Queens, N.Y., and a graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts, Ray. Villafane first began carving about 12 years ago, while working as an art teacher in Bellaire, Mich.
On a whim, he made a few pumpkins for students. Soon, parents were leaving pumpkins outside his classroom, paying him $25 to carve elaborate faces for their office parties. During class, he let the kids play while he worked.
Ray , who makes a living sculpting wax prototypes for toy action-figures, spends much of his time following detailed specs for companies such as DC Comics.
According to Ray, his gourds take approximately two hours to complete, a feat made that much more impressive given the fact that Ray does no planning or design prior to carving.
Terrifying Pumpkin Zombie Scene Carved From Single Giant Gourd
” I don’t have a preconceived idea of what I’m going to carve, I just start carving and my mind races all over the place and the creative ideas come to me while I’m carving.”
|