Carving pumpkins is a fun bonding activity with loved ones during the fall season. However, since we are in the school setting, we can’t really use sharp objects to carve Jack-O-Lanterns. So Hasa decided to try painting pumpkins instead.

We discovered that painting pumpkins is just as fun as carving them. Depending on your artistic ability, it may be easier or harder for some people. It was definitely cleaner. We didn’t have any seeds or strands to deal with.

Our pumpkins were small and not the stereotypical orange pumpkin. Our pumpkins had streaks of yellow and orange. The yearbook class was painting pumpkins before us and donated their leftover pumpkins to us. That makes two positives for the gourds: clean and free.

I didn’t use a stencil or any sketches before painting. I had an inspiration I pulled up from Pinterest and painted using the image. Others did sketches before painting. I think that was wiser as I didn’t really know what I was doing. Ryoko Imperial, the Ahlahasa artist, used a sketch before painting, and her pumpkin came out really cute. She painted a cute barn owl.

We had a wide variety of colors to choose from, and most of us painted flowers because flowers are colorful. Or maybe it was just because flowers are pretty easy to paint and draw.

Along with Ryoko, Jorja Bolinger and Rice Boettcher’s pumpkins weren’t flowers. As I mentioned earlier, Rice painted a spooky face, and Jorja painted a strawberry, which eventually turned into a tomato.

We had paper plates or bowls that we could put our paint on and mix colors.

I’m not good with acrylic paint or any other paint besides watercolor and oil pastels. Working with acrylic paint was rough for me, but I got the hang of it eventually.

While we were working on our pumpkins, we listened to the Hasa playlist for this issue, called #cozyvibes. The atmosphere was nice and calming.

We had a few of the yearbook students come in to continue working on their pumpkins too, which was nice. We don’t get to see the yearbook students, so it was nice to see them come in and out and talk to each other.

If we had more time, I think we could have been more creative and add layers onto our paintings.

Nonetheless, our pumpkins came out nice, and they’re decorated in Zoller-Barker’s room, E204.

Painting pumpkins is a nice alternative to carving pumpkins and a fun indoor activity.