Pumpkin patch: Ceramic art program sale runs through Oct. 19
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, October 4, 2017
- Vickie Simmons and Patricia Tharp pose for a photo with some of the pumpkins available for purchase at the Selma Ceramic Art Program, which is housed in the Old Dallas Academy building. The sale runs through Oct. 19.
The Selma Ceramic Art Program is back this year with its own version of a pumpkin patch, which features hand-painted, glossed and decorated pumpkins for sale.
Patricia Tharp, Vickie Simmons, Wendy Speed and Denise Rushton worked on the pumpkins all year and start selling them in October for other people to enjoy.
“We just love coming down here and doing it,” Tharp said. “We’ve given everybody all the pumpkins they want, but we decided we still want to make them. We figured someone else would like them and want to enjoy them.”
Tharp said she has been making the fall decorations for years and likes being able to show them off and share with other people to enjoy in their homes.
“I’ve got some that I made probably 35 years ago, and my children came down here when they were young and they made them too,” she said. “I make pumpkins all year long. I have to back off sometimes.”
Tharp said selling the pumpkins allows the women to continue making more throughout the year.
“I support my pumpkin habit,” Tharp said with a laugh.
The pumpkins range in size and are traditionally priced from less than $5 to $30 or more, and there are even a few themed pumpkins like Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tiger ones for football fans.
Tharp said she enjoys the detail that goes into each pumpkin, and she gets her inspiration from several different places.
“I look in magazines and watch TV and go to stores and talk to people and see what people want,” Tharp said. “We all work together, and we share ideas.”
Tharp said it’s also a fun time for the ladies to get together and paint the pumpkins.
“We hang out,” Tharp said. “It’s relaxing, and we just sit in here and we talk and just paint.”
This year, the group added some teal colored pumpkins that are meant to be set out on the front porch to let people know that the homeowners are offering a treat other than candy for the children that are not able to have candy.
The pumpkin patch will be at the Selma City Ceramic Art Program in the Dallas Academy building located at 816 Selma Avenue.
They will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Thursdays from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. through Oct. 19.
