Russ Leno, master sculptor of, pumpkin sand, snow and ice along with wood chainsaw carving, watermelons, apples and high speed foam. Also known as the King of Spam carving at the legendary Seattle Fat Tuesday event which lead to an appearance on the Jay Leno show.

I’ve resided in Everett, Washington most of my adult life and was raised in the swamps of South Seattle, Washington.

My passion is sculpting (carving) but my career is as a Mechanical Designer using the SolidWorks cad program at Radiant Imaging in Duvall, WA

I have been involved with 3D design throughout my life, with some educational art training through the University of Washington

I started carving in my early 20’s with just a buck knife. When I moved to Everett
I took evening classes from a Master Carver and quickly conquered sculpting song birds and decoy ducks. As time progressed, I was invited to a sand sculpting event at Alki Beach in West Seattle (one of the West Coast's early great places to carve sand). There I created a team called the Blue Crew and took second place at our first event. The next year I formed a different team, Leno’s Lair, and finished third. The following year I formed a professional team named Totally In Sand and finished in first place. In 1990 I formed yet another team called the Pacific Northwest Sand Shaper and in 1991 we won the World Championship at Harrison Hot Springs in sandcastling.  A few months later I was asked to carve professionally in sand but having full custody of my two boys this was not an option. At this point I made the decision to start honing in on my other carving skills.

I’ve always enjoyed carving pumpkins. Pumpkin carving is one of the first art forms we learn as children and something we carry with us throughout our lives.   My first professional carving of an Atlantic Giant Pumpkin (40-50 pounds) was in 1995 at Remlinger farms in Carnation ,Washington in the foot hills of the Cascade Mountains. I was amazed at the reaction I received from the crowd, no one had witnessed pumpkin sculpting of this calibur. The next year I was invited back but there was a twist; they had a pumpkin weigh off at the farm with pumpkins weighing as much as 800 pounds. I got my chance to carve one of those big girls

(fact: all pumpkins are female) it took a whopping 8 hours but what a gas. Talk about a reaction! That 800 pound pumpkin received all sorts of publicity and the grower was thrilled.

I sculpted there every weekend in October. As I got to know the growers of these Atlantic Giant Pumpkins they invited me to carve at different weigh off events through out the Pacific Northwest, each pumpkin sculpted in it's own unique fashion. This launched my career in pumpkin sculpting.  I now sculpt pumpkins professionally from August through November. I carve at special events, fairs, farms, on TV, and in private homes. I carve anywhere from 40 to 60 pumpkins weighing from 250 pounds to the worlds largest pumpkin weighing 1300 pounds plus. I carve an average of 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of pumpkins a year, traveling all around United States and have been invited to carve in Hong Kong.  Not only do I carve I also teach the art of pumpkin sculpting. I have won many pumpkin carving events and even put on a pumpkin sculpting competition. I have taken pumpkin carving to a new level. I carved the first 1000 pound pumpkin and spent 25 hours carving the world record pumpkin.  Halloween is my busiest time of the year.

Another form of carving I'm involved in is snow sculpting. I have competed in International competitions in China, Japan, Canada, and Switzerland. These competitions are usually three to four man teams competing against many other countries. The competition starts with a 10 foot by 10 foot by 10 foot block of snow all hand carved 8 to 10 hours a day for three to four days. Very grueling but very rewarding. I also do local snow sculpting across the Pacific Northwest, including Mount Rainier.

Ice carving is a winter thing for me. Carving for events or competitions using chainsaws and specially made ice carving tools which can withstand the cold ice and still keep a sharp edge. I’ve also been involved in some international events carving upwards of thirty, 300 pound blocks of ice.

Wood chainsaw carving is the only carving I do now that does not rot or melt away. Living in the great Northwest, the wood of choice is western red cedar, soft and easy to carve with great detail.  I’ve competed in many Northwest carving events over the past 10 years and have carved for a number of different clients from bears to moose to fish and benches. Anything from 1 foot high to 12 feet high, all beautiful carvings.

If you need a unique carving in Pumpkin, Sand , Snow or Wood for your event or as an individual of professional quality contact Sleepy Hallow Sculpting.

Information

For more information about Sleepy Hallow Sculpting and our services please contact me at the following:

•  Russ Leno

•  Leno4@comcast.net