Avant Garde Collaboration : The Dark Symphony

Creation vs Inspiration

Here is my contribution to the "Outside the Box Avant Garde Collaboration " It will be my last cake for a little while since I will be busy with a bulding project which is taking lot longer than anticipated.

This project was carried out in Feb 2016 but I just got around to publishing it here.....better late than never I guess.........

The Dark Symphony : Cast your norms aside............

When I started thinking of a design for this collaboration I wanted a design which pushes the boundries a bit but simplistic enough to carry it through

For me having an all Black cake was my first and didn't sit well with my design ethics but that I guess is my first push in breaking my boundaries (each person their own). Next came the cake shapes now what would you call it? what is it ? , hence the second shove. My son when he saw it called it the black ghost...Is it ? An ebb and Flow of graceful continuity is what I would call my cake. Instead of using the usual fondant flowers, I wanted to try and use the now widely used wafer paper to create the flower effect.... some extra large and some really tiny to create a statement. Experimenting with colours and edible paint to create neon , glow in the dark effect was part of my todo bucket list but unfortunately that didnt fully work out yet...Neon blue I got but glow in the dark I didn't, maybe for my next cake.

I used the colours from my Avant Garde Inspiration collage as a base for the colour scheme and some of the prominent details as key features in my cake.

If my simple cake catches your eye and it stands out for its weirdity or simplicity then I believe I have achieved my target.

Anastasia Radevich was so gracious enough to allow me to use one of her Avant Garde shoes as part of my inspiration. Thank you so much Anastasia.

Thank you so much Rebekah N. Wilbur for thinking to include me in this wonderful cutting edge collaboration of wonderfully talented cakers.

Thank you American Cake Decorating and Satinice.

#breakfromtradition #avantgarde

Elegant Indian Fashion : A Fashion Cake Collaboration

A Collaboration with Glitz, Glam and a little bit of Ethinicity.............
44 talented cake artists from across the globe have come together to celebrate the beautiful and sophisticated designs of Indian fashion. Each artist created a cake inspired by a haute couture Indian outfit that is typically worn for elegant occasions. One can see how these outfits can easily translate into a gorgeous cake design with their rich colors and intricate decorations. 

You can view all the gorgeous creations at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA8WmYjAGK8

My piece...... MAYA

Maya is a feminine name with multiple meanings. I loved the meaning of " ILLUSION " ( which came from  Hindu philosophy)

As her name suggests my Maya is quite a QUEEN of ILLUSION.... a Swan? couple of petals? Part of the Opera house or just an Ordinary Oval shaped  or is it a Paisley shaped? cake...depends on which angle you look at her. Unique in her own right. She was inspired  by a pretty and intricate Indian fashion piece,  the photo of which I was provided with.

I was so proud to be involved in this collaboration because the inspirations for all the gorgeous and classy cakes created by such talented and wonderful cake artists around the world was based on Indian fashion cultural attires which I so loved to wear and part of my heritage. It was like I was in magical cake fashion world ....  Oooohhhing and Aaahhing over each inspiration and then to see such stunning creations of cake being churned out of such inspiration was a total 7th heaven for me.

I usually used to make my own icing but this time decided to try out "Satin Ice" (http://www.satinice.com/) since I have heard so many awesome reviews about it. I found it such a wonderful medium to use , so pliable, so easy and it had such lovely taste and colours too... So no more time and energy wasted making fondant from now on. Thank you Satin Ice for making my life easier and it was a big added bonus when you so generously sponsored the fondant used for this creation:-).

Thank you so much dear friend Candace for creating and coordinating such an elegant, beautiful and talented cake community collaboration and inviting me to be part of it ... It was such an honour. Thank you so much to all the wonderfully talented cake artists involved for all the selfless support & help and making it such a memorable collaboration.

The following is something extra that I created but I never got to use it on the cake

 

Pretty Pink for Yasmine!

A cake collaboration to remember and celebrate the life of Yasmine, a very special little girl. Aged 5, Yasmine developed a brain tumour and battled against all odds for five months, embracing each day and never complaining. Sadly it wasn't a battle she could win. Ten years after her passing, we remember her. Today, March 2nd, 2015, marks Yasmine's 15th birthday and we'd like to invite you to celebrate with us! Pink was Yasmine's favourite colour and she loved all things girly, including princesses and fairytales and her favourite place was Disneyland.

33 cake artists have come together, along with Yasmine's mum, to throw a pink party in her memory and we would love you to get involved!
"UK based charity CLIC Sargent supported Yasmine's family throughout her illness. Every day, 10 children and young people in the UK alone, hear the shocking news they have cancer. We'd like to invite you to visit clicsargent.org.uk to read more about the work of this wonderful charity and if you're able visit our Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/prettypinkforyasmine/ and make a donation, no matter how small, in Yasmine's memory. As a thank you we will send you a tutorial for making wafer paper leaves, be sure to leave your email address in the Just Giving comments if you'd like to receive it. "

For a beautiful video done by Yasmine's big brother of all the gorgeous and stunning sugar creations that have been created as part of this lovely collaboration, please visit the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS6sJc4QSXs&feature=youtu.be

MEMORIES.......
Remember Me with a smiling face,
Remember Me during the happy times,
Remember Me learning to ride a bike,
Remember Me being kissed by you when I fell,
Remember Me skipping a rope in the garden,
Remember Me twirling about being a Ballerina,
Remember Me listening to a fairytale with wonderment on my face,
Remember Me sewing a beautiful piece with you and being so proud,
Remember Me running around with joy just because I felt like it,
Remember Me visiting all the places I loved and my glowing face,
Remember Me in pink 'cos that's the colour I loved,
Remember Me being your little Princess,
Remember my face lighting up when I saw you,
Remember the laughter we shared,
Remember Me being painless in a place full of Angels watching over YOU..............

A piece to commemorate Yasmine - Grace with some of the things she loved. A Pink gravity defying Tree House with few of the things she loved to do lying around....Bicycle, skipping rope, ballet shoes created with sugar.

 Thank you so much for inviting me to be part of such a meaningful and close to your heart collaboration Bobbie-Anne, and for giving me the opportunity to work alongside such wonderful and warm hearted talented Souls. 

- Sasi

Festival of Lights : A Collaboration for Deepawali (Diwali)

I am back again......hopefully with a BANG..........

We are 37 cake artists from around the world, all from different countries and regions with different backgrounds, religions and ethnicities. We have come together to acknowledge a beautiful, special Hindu holiday which is celebrated in Spring of every year. It is called " Deepawali or Diwali", also known as "A Festival of Lights". It is India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year!The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. During the festival, which is celebrated for five days, Hindus prepare by cleaning, decorating, shopping, gift giving and baking sweet treats for loved ones. Feasts are prepared and families come together. Prayers are offered to deities. Stories of ancient myths and legends are told to children. Children prepare for the celebration by painting rangoli chalk designs on walkways and on the night of Deepawali (Diwali) , fireworks are displayed. It is the happiest of all Hindu celebrations!

As cake artists we wanted to represent this beautiful holiday in cake form. Each of us designed our cakes based on the gorgeous colors, rich traditions and religious practices inspired by Deepawali. Please join us to celebrate Deepawali ! We hope you enjoy……Happy Deepawali !

We were lucky enough to be featured in two of  UKs reputed cake Magazines : 

Cake Masters (October Issue Festival of Lights) 

and  

Cake Geek (International Cake Collaboration: Festival of Lights (Part 1),
                   International Cake Collaboration: Festival of Lights (Part 2))

and a Special video on youtube done by Candace's lovely son

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=torlLWchPWs&list=UUv2c48vQZt88i89ruCwawuQ

My Inspiration..................

When I was initially asked to do a Deepawali (Diwali : Festival of Lights) inspired cake the memories of wearing new cloths and going to the Temple with my family was what first came to mind. Once I thought of a Temple ..... Kolam ( Rangoli: Patterns created on the floor ), Deepam (Diya : Earthen Lamp), flowers, hanging lamp and bell , a girl doing the Kolam, a black stone/granite Goddess for the temple, a girl praying ( my dear friend Candace suggested that) sort of trickled in one by one.

All these tied up beautifully with the feel of a temple during the festive season. I wasn't sure whether I will manage to do all of them but wanted to try and see where it leads me.....after lots of learning, Ups and Downs....I did spend a lot of time trying to work out the structure, the hanging lamp and bell, figurines and photography. Here is what I have finally realised in Sugar ... Hopefully you like it :-).

A few appreciations I believe  are in order too. 

First of all Thank you so much Candace for thinking of me and having faith in me to be part of such diverse and talented group of cake decorators world over . My Firstever Collabortion :-) . 

Thank you so much to the wonderful, talented supportive group that I got the opportunity to work with and all the lovely friends I have made along the way in the cake world.

I am also very grateful to CakeMasters and CakeGeek  for agreeing to publish us and finally

Thank you so much to my family for accommodating a grumpy old ME :-)

 

Wish you all a very Happy Deepawali ( Diwali) in advance.