This Melonhead has always heard of "THe Great Pumpkin" from his friend and On Halloween his dream came true…he became "The Great Melon" and gave his pumpkin friend a ride through the midnight sky!

Inspired by the German Jack-In-The-Boxes of the 1800's, this piece is made in the same way as the antique toys. I create each piece by hand making the wooden frame for the basket and weaving it with handspun hemp twine. I use all Vintage pieces to fill the basket. Vintage wrapped wire, tinsel and cording are used to attaché the basket to the balloon.

The head/balloon is hand sculpted and then I use hand cut and chip carved wooden "stamps" to create the facial details. I wanted to create some "toys" that would allow me to incorporate Tramp Art into an area where it has not been used before. The head is then painted, placed on a chip carved wooden disk and then attached to the basket.

A brass rod is bent and inserted into the base. I use handmade and vintage pieces to create an environment/landscape for each balloon. Finally I bend some wire to create a hook in order to hang the hot air balloon and have it float above it's environment.