"Sculpting has always been my passion," he says. "I used to be an art teacher at a Michigan school and one day I was approached to do some pumpkin carving. I thought why don't I try and carve the pumpkin like it is a piece of clay as opposed to a large vegetable. It came out alright, but the most important result was that the kids at the school absolutely loved it. I used to arrive at school and there would be a dozen pumpkins just sitting there waiting for me at my classroom"

Credit : RAY VILLAFANE / BARCROFT MEDIA USA