Fruits of Labor

Design can be ephemeral. Just like we have seen in Andy Goldsworthy's pieces. Here, the centerpiece is not fallen leaves but a whole watermelon carved to represent something else. It's amazing the amount of skill and time it takes to carve one of these. There is many different things to take into account before Frank Scravaglieri starts to carve the fruit.

The first step is to have an image ready in his head. Not just an image, but a complex and detailed image that he can follow from the start until the end. This is something that is very important: consistency. With a medium like a watermelon, there are some very important rules and limits that you must be able to follow. First off, time is very important; these pieces often need to be started and finished within one or two hours because the fruit will start to go bad if it is left out too long. But even working at a fast pace, a more important limitation is that you cannot make mistakes. There is no undo or painting over something you messed up on. This is a one-time deal: you either get it or start all over.

This is what makes this design so much more difficult. Also, your color pallet is limited to what the fruit or vegetable has to offer. This particular medium, watermelon, offers the colors red, white, and green. Frank takes these colors and carves out a design of roses. Taking one object and then shaping and transforming it to represent another. Design is meant to make us look at something and look I did.

This is not a bunch of roses. This is not a watermelon. This is design!