Painting Pumpkins
The Set Up
Kusama and her pumpkins; they pop up everywhere! The yellow one perched on a pier in Naoshima, the red and black beauty at Pt Leo Sculpture Park just outside Melbourne. The first time I saw it, I could not stop circling it. It is enormous and ridiculous and utterly joyful! I think that is what I love about Kusama’s pumpkins: they take something ordinary and make it feel like the most magical object in the world.
Obviously pumpkins are much easier to get hold of in Autumn / Fall, but honestly, any time works. Giant plastic ones from the attic, smaller gourds from the market, even foam or paper-mâché versions are brilliant.
At Smudge, I always go for washable paint so that the play can happen again and again. Line up squeezey bottles, tubs of bright colour, spoons, and brushes. The pumpkin is ready to be transformed!
The Making
Pour, squeeze, drip, splash!
Paint runs across the curves in ways you cannot plan, which is exactly the joy of it. Don't worry if kids go wild with the bottles because if the pumpkin sits in a tray, the rainbow puddle left behind can become the material in another artwork later on. However much paint is used, it all belongs to the process.
Variations
Leave the pumpkin as a temporary artwork and wash it clean to begin again.
Keep a plastic one, seal it with Mod Podge once dry, and you have a forever pumpkin full of colour.
Or set the painted pumpkin in the middle of the table as a still life and invite drawings from every angle.
Materials
Real or artificial pumpkins
Washable paints in bold colours
Squeeze bottles, brushes, spoons, or sponges
Drop cloths or trays
Optional: Mod Podge or clear sealer