Want to Be on Top? Hints that can make your Cake Show Entry a Winner in 2009!

Entry at 140th Annual Salon of Culinary Art, Jacob Javits Center, NYC. The designer is unknown.

Diane Shavkin is a cake artist, vendor of cake decorating and sugar art supplies, instructor at ICES Cake Camp. and has served as a judge. Shirl Chouinard is a fine artist, sugar artist, and blogger known as Tip Top 57 on cake central. With cake shows just around the corner Diane and Shirl have offered some suggestions to consider when preparing to enter your next cake show:

• Diane's tip is that the focus should be on neatness, precision, and color balance.
  
• The eye follows color. In a tiered cake, for example, the eye should start at the bottom of the tiered cake and must go all the way up to the top and whoooooop- up and off to the air above.
• The cake board is very important. The cake board must compliment the cake. The basic "rule of thumb" that Diane uses is that the board should be 2" to 4" from the cake to the outer edge of the board. Consider what looks good to the eye in your decision to cover the board with fondant, a plain design (or no design) or a design on the base board covering. Diane suggests that the board should be thick enough so that a nice ribbon - a ribbon which compliments the cake display - can be glued to the rim of the cake board.
• Be sure that the ribbon used on the rim of the cake board lays perfectly flat. Therefore, be careful in your application of glue, just putting a dab of glue here and there around the rim of the board. Make sure the ribbon ends are tucked in seamlessly--frayed ends will cost you points.

When judges evaluate entries on the categories "use of color" and "artistic expression" - what exactly does that mean????

Shirl Chouinard is a fine artist and sugar artist who strongly believes that if you can match a pair of pants, top, shoes, purse, and jewelry with an understanding of what colors look best on you, then you can master color. Shirl suggests that you purchase a color wheel (which can be purchased at any art supply store) and then follow the tutorial at writedesign.com, which has an easy to understand discussion on color theory. Here are some more tips:

• Artistic expression refers to how you designed your cake: How well does your cake design fit with the theme? Did you copy someone's design or adapted someone's design? Did you create the design on your own? Did you follow age old practices using the correct techniques with tips and molds or did you become innovative and try something new?
  
• Artistic design is a critical thinking skill. Shirl suggests that you start looking at cakes and figure out what you like about them and what you don't like about them and write your thoughts down in a notebook with a picture of the cake. Then start taking the items you like and try designing your own cakes from scratch. You will see your own style emerging over time.
  
• Thinking of artistic expression and style: Alan Dunn's signature cakes are decorated with magnificent flowers, one or two (separed tiers) and usually white; Margaret Braun uses rich colors and stacks her tiers and they are very ornate with a Rococo flair to them; Debbie Brown models her cakes, etc.

Need more information? Earlene Moore has a great article chock full of hints at www.earlenemoore.com. Good Luck!