CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio – Anyone who spent time at the recent Circleville Pumpkin Show likely saw the Phoenix design take shape on a 500-pound pumpkin.

Over the course of six hours, Gus “Squashcarver” Smithhisler, of Columbus, carved the image of a Phoenix, an immortal bird associated with Greek mythology. His other recent stops of this pumpkin-carving tour included appearances at the Columbus Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo and the Easton Fall Festival at Easton Town Center in Columbus.

“It’s a busy time of year,” said the self-taught artist who has been carving pumpkins professionally for two decades. And keep in mind, he’s not an artist, rather an engineer for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

“I can’t wait to retire so I can do this fulltime,” he said.

When fall brings pumpkin season, Smithhisler picks up his carving tools, eyes the possibilities, and gets busy. Not just any pumpkin will do. He sets his eyes on mammoth pumpkins that can grow from 300 to more than 2,000 pounds.

“I’m just a self-taught artist,” he said. “I enjoyed drawing for fun in high school and college but never had any formal training. Art is a passion for me.”

Taking a glance back in time, Smithhisler’s journey to this “Squashcarver” fame began when his daughter was in kindergarten. At her urging, he grew a huge pumpkin, then hauled the large squash from Ohio to the pumpkin weigh-in at the Indiana State Fair. Over that two-day event, as Smithhisler eyed the orangish bounty of soft-skin bigness, the idea hit – put his carving talent to the test on some of these monstrous pumpkins.

He recalls saying, “Someone should carve this one. I thought that all these gigantic pumpkins shouldn’t just go into the compost heap. Someone should carve them. Thus my pumpkin career started.”

So, he did. In just three hours, using an 8-inch hunting knife, Smithhisler carved the Indiana State Fair logo on one side and the Indiana Pumpkin Growers logo on the other side. Two years later, he was commissioned to carve an Indianapolis Motor Speedway design in a pumpkin that topped 400 pounds.

His carving talents have taken him far: to the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Philadelphia’s Longwood Gardens, Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago, and the County Living Fairs in Stone Mountain, Ga.

He has made stops at the Ohio State Fair, an appearance on season six of the Food Network’s Halloween Wars, and at last year’s Monster Pumpkin Festival in Pittsburgh.

Mammoth pumpkins can sag like deflated balloons or be lumpy in their massiveness, while others are almost jack-o-lantern perfect. All are fair game for Smithhisler.

“I carve whatever shows up,” he said. “I’ve carved into cheese, fruits and vegetables.”

Also, unless there is a specific order, such as a logo, he carves where the pumpkin takes him. Like Michelangelo, who saw sculptures in the stone before he chipped away marble, Smithhisler usually lets a pumpkin’s shape and colors reveal what it wants to be.

“Because some pumpkins are gross and ugly or a beautiful orange, that affects the design,” he said.

Smithhisler uses a soft litho crayon to mark whathe envisions on the pumpkin’s surface. The soft skin is a major feature, as well as interesting shapes and anomalies within the individual squash. The stemless handle of a pumpkins might become a rooster’s eye, or green streaks might emerge resembling a lion’s mane.

With a mix of clay-carving tools and a filet knife, Smithhisler uses a subtractive technique, taking away pieces and slivers of pumpkin skin and flesh.

“I create shadows and dimension with deep cuts,” he said. “Animals are fun to carve.” His favorite animals to portray are gorillas, eagles and dragons.