Here's the 2007 Avatar themed pumpkin for the Distant Horizon Carving Contest. For my entry this year, I didn't want to just replicate the same style I did last year with the multi-level Blue Spirit... I wanted to try something totally different. In fact, it was something I had never attempted before. I don't think it was as successful as what I had envisioned in my mind, but everyone seems to like it so I won't complain too much.

Basically I didn't just want to make a face on a single pumpkin... I wanted to form several pumpkins into a 3-D sculpture of a character. I chose Appa since he's already round & lumpy and therefore practically a series of pumpkins to start with.

I started off with 2 standard pumpkins, 2 cherry pumpkins, and 6 smaller pumpkin gourds for the feet.

I didn't have as much free time as I've had in years past for carving so I did the rest of the face and body parts free hand instead of printing out a template this year. So, yes, I know that's why it looks a little rough.

I chopped "Legs" out of the side of the main body and attached them to toothpicks to sit just above the small gourd feet. And of course I saved a couple of stems for the horns!

I eventually had to settle on using a battery powered lantern under the main body. The tail you'll notice isn't glowing because no matter what I put under it for light, the darn thing kept smoking & burning! So I decided no tail glow was better than a burnt-down house.

Like I said, this was a new experiment for me and I'm not totally happy with it but I have to say, I was blown away by how many kids who saw it knew what it was!

"That's Appa!" They'd scream or, "Ava-Tar!" Or the funniest one of all was a little girl who gave a jaded comment of, "Oh, yeah. My Dad watches that show."


Despite it's failings, it was still fun to make and it was also great to get to know that more people than just us nutty internet dweebs are watching the show!

EDIT: 1-28-08 (Yes I changed the image composition, yes I do like this one better )