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August 11, 2008

King Kong in Styrofoam... courtesy of Beth!

So here we have the fabulous Beth from The Pink Cupcake Bakery in Mt Vernon, OH. As I mentioned in my last post, Beth drove from OH to lend a much needed hand in the completion of Kara and Greg's huge NYC Movie themed cake order. The piece de resistance was the King Kong topper for the main display; the Empire State Building of course! Beth gave me a great head start on the topper by sculpting the basic body out of Styrofoam with my Dremel too. She noted with a huge grin and lots of laughter that she may have missed her calling. I think she could be right, she did a FAB job on this piece and without the start she gave me I doubt King Kong would have been nearly as cute!

Check out some shots I took while braving the styro storm as she worked!



She started with an 8" sq by 4" cake dummy (can you believe that?)



Can you see him yet? She says... yep, I get it...keep going! This is great!




















He's really starting to take shape, this is getting exciting, right about now is when she exclaimed she should have been a sculptor.

And now for the clean-up...what a mess!!! Making a mess is always more fun when you didn't make it by yourself!



Below, is the sculpted shape of Kong in all his glory, perched atop the building just to check scale and position. Perfect!




The topper was added to the order very close to the due date, I have to admit I was at a loss for how it would get done. Were there other things that would have to be omitted or cut back on to accomplish it? "Yes"is often the answer. When one is lucky enough to have clients that put their faith and trust in the artist they've hired, what matters is that the job get done in the best way possible. It's my job to see that it gets done. In this case, help was needed to accomplish this task. Sure, part of me was a little disappointed that I felt I couldn't manage it on my own the but majority of me was extremely satisfied that I was smart enough to call on my very talented friend to hire help when it was obviously needed. Where was I while Beth was covering herself in stryo? Working on the building for Kong to sit on! The downside to being a sole body in a custom shop I guess is, well, that I'm the only one. It's not always fun and games, and it's not always a walk in the park. Ever wonder why I only take one or two a weekend?? It's because I don't have a staff of 12 under me, that's why. Oh my...could you just imagine if I did?!

Thanks again Beth for coming all the way from The Pink Cupcake Bakery in Mt Vernon, wish I could have you here more often!

Kong is looking good, now to add "fur" and details, and of course his bride! Check back soon for those shots...got some good ones of the progress while I finished him off. Who knew he could be such a cutie?!