Ryan Anderson on the set of Outrageous Pumpkins
Ryan Anderson
Ryan Anderson has been chainsaw sculpting wood for the past 17 years. He’s carved wooden blocks into bears, eagles and otters, but recently had to tackle his biggest challenge yet: pumpkins.
Anderson was a recent winner of the Food Network’s Outrageous Pumpkins show. His final piece was a dragon carved out of a 1,500 pound Atlantic pumpkin.
Winning Contestant Ryan Anderson poses for a photo with his winning Doomsday Carve and title belt, as seen on Outrageous Pumpkins, Season 2.
Matthew Odom / Courtesy of Food Network
While the show aired this month, it was filmed last year and that delay created one of the biggest challenges for Anderson: not telling anyone about his victory.
“Doing the carving is what I do best, holding that secret for so long was impossible.”
There are a lot of differences between wood and pumpkin. Anderson told OPB’s Think Out Loud that learning to work with a material that is hollow on the inside means you need to take extra care.
“With pumpkins you don’t get a second chance,” he said. “You either gotta start over or work with what you have.”
One of Ryan Anderson pumpkin sculptures.
Ryan Anderson
Also, while Anderson’s wooden sculptures are made to last, pumpkin’s are only temporary. He believes it adds more meaning to only get to enjoy them for so long.
“You put your love into it, get your final photo and then just know that’s it,” he said. “It’s an art that rots away.”
Anderson said this victory was a lesson meant for his son.
“Even if things are stacked against you,” He said. “You’re not gonna fail if you keep pushing.”
Outrageous Pumpkin winner Ryan Anderson on set.
Ryan Anderson
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