Whenever somebody orders a cake that features a human figure I shudder a little. Striking just the right balance to achieve the look and expression I want is very tricky, since I don’t have an innate sense of the human form. In fact, I often find myself in front of a mirror posing in the required positions – crouching Spiderman-like, wielding a sword, doing a back flip – and then applying it to the figure.
In order to hone my skills, I decided to take a sculpting class at the Israel Museum. By the end of the year we were to have sculpted figures out of clay, wood, bronze, and stone. Fondant figures would be a breeze! Sadly, while the teacher was kind and patient, he clearly hadn’t read the syllabus and each of us spent the entire year sculpting just one piece. For all that work, you’d think I would have gotten slightly better results:
Actually, it looked a lot better in disguise.
Evidently I was on my own. Happily, with time my efforts have improved somewhat. While occasionally the figures still come out goggle-eyed, disproportionate, sunken-chested, frog-like – well that one was actually for a fairy tale cake – I’m definitely on the right track. Here are some of my favourites.
(9722) 563-9668
