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Profiles in Enrichment tells the stories of USEC employees who have made great contributions to the company or our local communities.
Judy Summers at work in her kitchen painting one of her pumpkin character creations
Each fall Judy Summers searches local pumpkin patches near her home in Chillicothe, Ohio, for the most unsightly and misshapen pumpkins she can find. She loves ugly pumpkins, the ones that are not quite round enough or smooth enough for the average buyer.
“I’m drawn to the unusual ones, the ones with the most character,” she said. Once Summers has chosen the ugliest of ugly, she takes them home and lets her imagination, creativity and artistic ability transform the ghastly gourds into whimsical works of art.
Her painted pumpkins take on a life of their own and past creations include Betty Davis Buckeye, Morty the Mixed Nut, Blueberry the Fairy Godmother, Pitiful Pearl, Roger the Chocolate Moose, Tootsie and others. Summers has become known in the region for her pumpkins and each fall she creates two or three and donates to local charity auctions.
Two of Judy's creations (L-R): Pearl and Jack
Summers started working at the Piketon plant in 1978 as a Laboratory Technician and now holds the position of Records Management Technical Analyst. She has been the President of the Chillicothe Art League for the past six years and dabbles in different types of art and media including painting, pastel pen and pencil.
Though she has been involved in art her entire life she only started painting pumpkins about six years go with her first creation, “Jack,” which won a blue ribbon at the nearby Circleville Pumpkin Show, considered Ohio’s largest festival attracting nearly 400,000 visitors each year. “Jack” was also featured in the nature magazine Birds and Bloom.
Her pumpkin creations all come from a specific type of pumpkin called a Tan-Cheese Pumpkin--a hardy field variety with a unique tan skin and deep ribs. “I like painting this variety because it has a texture similar to human skin,” she said.
Her creations have become more embellished over the years as she adds different elements and even clothing to each character. She plans on continuing her tradition of painting pumpkins this fall but she has no specific ideas for exactly what she will paint at this point. “I have no idea what I’ll create until I find the right pumpkin and bring it home.”