Every year during “spooky season,” the artistic talents of Carli Ihde, Bay Port 2008, come alive in the form of sensational pumpkin carving creations. This fall you can catch Carli competing on Season 5 of Food Network’s Outrageous Pumpkins All Stars show! Tune in every Sunday on Food Network or on the streaming service Max/Discovery+ until Halloween to see how Carli does.

After graduating from Bay Port, Carli attended the Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in New Jersey to study illustration and comic book art. She had been carving pumpkins for only a few years out of high school when Food Network reached out to her to apply for their shows. After 10 years of applying, Carli was invited to compete on Outrageous Pumpkin Season 3. Carli says about the experience, “It was the most stressful 21 days of my life, but it was 100% worth it and in the end the show was an amazing accomplishment for me.”

Carli has always been artistic. In high school she considered studying to become a plumber or a mechanic until she took a cartooning class at Bay Port. “From there, I fell in love with the idea of illustrations and cartoons, and I finally knew the direction that I wanted to go,” said Carli.

She recently opened a tattoo studio in Appleton called Carlieyed Tattoo, and in the summer months she is a showcased artist for art and chalk festivals. She is also involved with competitive painting and illustration tournaments. “Staying active in the arts is hard with a full-time job, but it’s important to exercise what you love so that you can constantly be improving and inspired,” said Carli.

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