Marlene Hild turns a childhood ritual into a part-time career.
Carving pumpkins, for many, is an annual tradition — one we took up as children and pass along when we start having children of our own. For most, it’s a single, simple design completed each year. For Marlene Hild, it’s a profession.
Also known by her business name, the Marlfox (Marlfox.com), Hild first became interested in carving pumpkins, like most of us, as a child.
“I’ve been carving pumpkins for fun my entire life, starting around age 6,” she says, crediting her parents for shaping how Hild perceived the annual event.
“My parents always encouraged me to put whatever design I wanted on my jack-o-lantern. We never used stencils or someone else’s idea,” she explains. “Whatever I was into that year, I had to figure out how to make that idea into a design that worked on a pumpkin.”
Now, others pay Hild to carve pumpkins for them. She drew on personal connections, heralded by her friends, to launch a seasonal business making the ephemeral art.
Hild says her work is different from that of other carvers, in large part because of its uniqueness.
“I don’t have an interest in making an exact replica of another piece of art or making a super-realistic carving of something else to trick people,” she explains.
Instead, the inspiration comes from the pumpkin itself. Hild doesn’t choose a design until she’s examined her canvas — in this case, large gourds — and decided what will fit best and how the light will shine through.
“I do most of my carving freehand. I’ll sketch a few guidelines on it, but mostly just carve straight into the pumpkin,” Hild says. “It’s high risk, but high reward. Each piece is totally unique and organic, in the truest sense.”
Perhaps her biggest challenge has been carving into a long of Naples gourd, a long, green gourd with bright orange flesh. It makes for a great color contrast, but the work itself is taxing due to the squash’s hard skin and thick walls.
“I ended up turning it into a carving inspired by Klimt’s painting, The Kiss,” she says.
She’s also previously carved a 300-pound pumpkin, the largest she’s ever done. However, Hild dreams of getting her hands on a 1,000-pound pumpkin one day.
“As a child, I was exposed to all sorts of art through museums, camps, and free-time exploration,” Hild shares. “I’m always trying new things, like calligraphy or screen printing. Some things stick, others fade, but every experience builds on itself. However, pumpkin carving has always been a yearly ritual!”
