Get Pumpkin Carving Tips From Hudson Valley’s Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze Master Carver and Creative Director

Michael Anthony Natiello brings a childlike sense of joy to work every day — and that's because his 9-to-5 is to curate, create and display two dozen themed installations and 7,000+ hand-carved pumpkins for The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze in Hudson Valley. From gorgeous gourd jellyfish to stunning arched bridges, Michael shares his favorite way to properly carve a pumpkin with tips and tricks learned a lifetime ago. "My love of pumpkin carving started as a kid," Michael says. "So, carving pumpkins in the eighties in New Jersey with my parents. And little did I know that someday it would become this big, a passion."

If pumpkin carving is your passion, there's a job for that. "We have a team of 20 working five days a week carving pumpkins to replace the ones that rot," master carver Michael says. "And there's an application process. As pumpkin carving as an art form becomes more and more popular, people are applying with pumpkin carving resumes."

Decades of carving have honed Michael's craft, boiling down the process to a short list of must-dos. First things first: Choose the right one. "When you’re looking for a pumpkin, the carve [design] will usually dictate the type of pumpkin you choose ... or the pumpkin [shape] could dictate what it becomes," he says.

"The design I’m carving today will be on the top," Michael continues. "It's based upon 18th-century creamware." To carve this design, you will need a pumpkin, tracing paper, a pencil, a permanent marker, a pumpkin scoop, pushpins, a keyhole saw, a drywall hand saw, a candle, a lighter and a bucket.