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827 pounds of finely carved art

At the peak of his pumpkin-carving career, Russ Leno carved about 40 massive orange monsters a year. That’s almost one pumpkin every week of the year.

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Things have slowed down since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. But when spooky season rolls in, Leno can still be found making the rounds around Washington to carve pumpkins, each of them often weighing close to or more than 1,000 pounds.

A trick-or-treater watches Russ Leno carve pumpkins and skeleton faces. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick 2024

This year, the Shelton-based sculptor could be found in the Uptown Pavilion, making the first incisions of his 827-pound creepy creation in the mid-morning hours of Halloween. Despite the chilly day, Leno, his partner, Linda Engen, and their dog, Willow — appropriately dressed in her own little pumpkin costume — kept Leno company.

Leno said he’s been carving pumpkins in Gig Harbor since 2009, but that his career carving pumpkins started well before that — a fact he did not realize until a recent conversation with Joel Holland, a friend in Puyallup who provides the gargantuan gourds who surrender their skins to give rise to Leno’s vision.

Russ Leno and Linda Engen put the finishing touches on the giant pumpkin. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick 2024

“We were talking about a pumpkin I carved at his house years ago, and I said, ‘You know, I don’t know how long ago that was,’ and he goes, ‘Well, that was when my granddaughter was a baby and she’s 28 now.’ So that was 27 years ago I was carving pumpkins,” Leno said. “That just blew me away. Twenty-seven years ago I was carving pumpkins.”

Leno’s vision is indeed artistic, but his career path wasn’t obviously so. Leno retired from a job in engineering and mechanical design 10 years ago. When he first started in the field, he used to create models by hand for his work. But when computer 3D modeling came in, Leno found less opportunity at work to express his artistic side.

Willow gives Russ Leno a big kiss. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick 2024

Instead, Leno found a different outlet for his creativity, getting into different kinds of sculpting in earnest that would allow him to stay home with his family.

“I just got into sculpting and I just kind of, and I really, really kind of loved it,” Leno recalled. “As a matter of fact, a lot of times, even my work, when they were doing things, they would say, ‘Russ, can you carve this quicker than we can make something, just to get an idea of what it might look like?’”

Robert, left, hangs onto Gumdrop, center, as she happily snarfs down scraps of pumpkin. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick 2024

Leno carves pumpkins in many different venues for onlookers of all ages. This year, his stops included a Seattle-based beer festival, and several hours chiseling away at two massive aquatic-themed creations for the Seattle Aquarium. He also made his now-annual stop in Panorama, a retirement community in Lacey, that is one of Leno’s longtime hosts.

“I’ve been there for over 25 years carving for them,” Leno said, as he shaved away bits and pieces of the massive vegetal canvas. “When I first started carving there, I was just a young buck. Now I’m just about as old as those people.”

A family poses for a photo with the giant pumpkin. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick 2024

This year’s trip was a little different, he said.

“What was really cool this time, when I went there, quite a few of the people that have seen me there a few times, they brought out stuff that they did,” Leno said. “They brought me out stuff (and) showed me their sculptures or their artwork or whatever. They went back to the rooms and brought it out to me just to show it to me. It was really fun to see that they were doing that.”

One man even introduced Leno to felting, something Leno had never seen before.

Russ Leno carves a pumpkin at Uptown Gig Harbor’s Pavilion. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick 2024

“He uses a special type of wool, and he made a sasquatch. Every piece was put in with a little needle,” Leno said, pausing his carving briefly with a look of amazement on his face. “[He said to me,] ‘That took me forever to do this.’ And I said, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen that before.’”

Still other stories from Panorama this year hold a special place in Leno’s heart.

“I had a lady there who was a sketcher, and she was sketching the pumpkin that I did. When she was done, she goes, ‘Here’s my sketch.’ It was this big around, and it was beautiful,” Leno said, making a circle of just a few inches in diameter with his fingers. 

Linda Engen, left, gives Russ Leno a hand carving the pumpkin. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick 2024

“And I go, ‘I love it,’” Leno continued. “And she goes, ‘I’m going to make another one for you.’ … She says, ‘I’ll sit out in the garden’ — because they stick [the pumpkin] in the garden when they’re done — ‘and I’ll send you one.’”

“So it is kind of cool that I had a 95-year-old lady that was there,” Leno said, smiling. “Just a sweetheart.”

Willow chows down on some errant pumpkin flesh. Photo by Carolyn Bick. © Carolyn Bick