" You scrape away parts of the pumpkin to gradually reveal the face hidden beneath. " - Mike Brown Top left: The birth of a carving often begins with an elaborate drawing. As evident from this sketch, the images are referenced while carving and sometimes get spattered with pumpkin fl esh in the process. Top right: One of Mike's many creations. While he's carved many pumpkins, he says the number is well under 1,000 pieces. Photo courtesy Mike Brown/MB Creative Studio. Right: This pumpkin, featured on our cover, gets his last bit of wrinkle detail before it's considered fi nished. XX RURAL MISSOURI | OCTOBER 2021