What would Halloween be without some good, old-fashioned pumpkin carving?!

Artist Ray Villafane began carving pumpkins on a lark for his art students in a small,
rural school district in Michigan. The hobby changed his life as he gained a viral
following online and unlocked his genuine love of sculpting. Here are a few of his
eerie pumpkin creations from the past five years!

Villafane has made a name for himself with the pumpkin carving even though he is
allergic to pumpkins. “If I’m carving too many or too long, my skin gets really itchy,”
Vilafane said. “If pumpkin juice gets anywhere near my eyes, my eyes itch.”

Villafane created a pumpkin-carving tutorial and posted it on his website,
VillafaneStudios.com. In it, he recommends carving with the following tools:
a large clay ribbon loop, a medium clay ribbon loop, a mini clay ribbon loop,
an X-acto knife and a paring knife. Who knew that my old clay ribbon loop tools
could be so useful in the pumpkin carving realm?! A great chance to re-purpose them!