Mizzou Professor Carves Out Graduate Level Gourd Art

Two decades in and University of Missouri Biology Professor Mannie Liscum is still sharp. Over twenty years ago he wanted to see if he could carve his kids faces into a pumpkin. That evolved into other family members, tv show characters, political figures, bands and more.

In the last twenty plus years “Professor Pumpkin” has carved out lifelike detailed images in nearly five hundred pumpkins. His goal each year is to crank out one pumpkin each day through the month of October.

Mannie says it takes him between two and six hours to design and carve a pumpkin each day, and that -for him- it’s therapeutic. Once he’s completed a carving, he takes a photo of his pumpkin lit from the inside in a dark room and posts it to social media. That’s where they live on. The pumpkins post carving will deteriorate and begin to sag, affecting the image. In true artist style Professor pumpkin only wants his creations seen in their purest form. So, the next day he throws them out.

Like any good teacher, Liscum encourages others to carve up pumpkins too, stating that it’s “not hard”, but that it “takes time”. His kids picked up the ability to carve intricate art into pumpkins too. You want to accept the challenge? The good “Professor Pumpkin” has developed his own process and has a website called -Mannie's Pumpkin Art- that will that will walk you through it. Teachers teach.