Tucson multimedia sculpture artist Matt Harper will appear on Food Network’s Halloween Wars.
The show features host Jonathan Bennett and contestants competing to show off their edible Halloween-themed displays. The episode Road to Halloween Wars shows off the new batch of pumpkin carvers, cake artists, and sugar artists competing in the new Halloween Wars season.
A panel of celebrity guest judges chooses the winner, who takes home a prize of $50,000.
A vice president of business development for an AI software company by day, Harper carves pumpkins intricately at night when it’s pumpkin season.
“I carved every year since I was a kid doing typical jack o’ lanterns,” Harper said. “In the past five years, I started a more concerted effort to have them recognizable.”
While Harper has a background working with clay, metal, stone, and wood, he recently began gravitating towards produce.
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“What I always strive to do is to have them have a personality and be expressive,” Harper said. “It always lends itself to being a human head. The size and shape helps me determine what I’m going to carve.”
Harper didn’t actually apply to be a contest on the show, however.
“My family and I started watching Halloween Wars years ago,” Harper said. “I’m humble, but my kids would say, ‘Dad, you can carve better than that.’ They sent my name [to apply for the show] without me knowing.”
To Harper’s surprise, he received an email and call from a casting person.
Watch Harper and his team compete on Halloween Wars at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday, September 29.
Keep up with Matt Harper on Instagram.
