After not having done any wobbly pots for a while, I decided not to carve a pumpkin but to try some halloween pottery instead, a pumpkin tealight holder.
Inspiration
The inspiration came from a trip to Kew Gardens. I always love the display of pumpkins/squashes/whatever they’re called in the kitchen garden. There’s so much more to them than just the bog standard orange pumpkins with a variety of colours and different textures.
Construction
My daughter joined me in making her own pottery pumpkin, I particularly love the stalk. I attempted a tea light holder. I tried to create the lumpy texture on the skin. Figuring out how large the hole for the tealight should be was tricky…and I didn’t get it quite right!
Painting
I used a combination of greens, yellows and oranges…the yellow ended up being a bit too vibrant, I wish I’d toned it down a bit but generally I think it worked ok. Realism wasn’t the point. I also had to make sure I used fireproof sealant this time.
Lighting up
This is where I realised I hadn’t got the sizing right. I hadn’t left enough room for shrinkage so I had to do a bit of “tealight shaving” to get the candle in. Next time, allow more room! Quite pleased with the effect though.
Also difficult taking pictures that do a candle justice. Nice effect with a filter though!
Tartantastic 
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