Technique + Imagination (II)

Today is Day 2 of a new mini series all about cake artistry!  Three of our contributors teamed up on a project conceived to challenge each other while inspiring all of us.  We talk about inspiration and techniques all the time here on The Cake Blog.  But how do you take those concepts and translate them into your own cake designs?  It’s a process that every cake designer must go through, time and time again, as they build their skill set and define their own personal style.  Because really, cake artistry starts with a solid foundation of technique and then blooms with imagination and creativity.

So let’s join Allison Kelleher, Erin Gardner and Erica OBrien as they each design a cake incorporating the other’s signature techniques.  Each of these talented ladies learned a new technique or two from watching the other’s online cake classes at Craftsy (all three participants are Craftsy Instructors!).  Then each artist set about creating a cake that was true to her own design aesthetic while incorporating the newly learned skills.  United by the Pantone Fall 2014 color palette, the end result is three gorgeous cakes, each with distinct personality and style, yet built upon the same techniques.

Next up is Erin Gardner…

It’s been so much fun for me to work on this collaboration with Erica & Allison!  I’ve long admired both designers’ work.  I’m an even bigger fan of these ladies as I’ve gotten to know them more!  The three of us have very unique design perspectives, but are all drawn to clean, modern, colorful work.

My cake was definitely inspired by sweater weather!  Erica’s textured winter cake has always been a favorite of mine.  In fact, I do believe it was the cake that introduced me to her work in the first place.  When I had the opportunity to finally use the technique I had to go for it!  I had always tried to figure out exactly how she achieved that texture.  When I watched Erica’s class and learned the technique, I was pleasantly surprised at just how quick and it easy it was.

Incorporating Allison’s wonderful triangle mosaic technique was a bit more of a challenge for me.  Straight lines and precision cuts have never been my thing.  I’ve always envied her ability to make it look so effortless.  (When I know it’s not!)  After playing around with the triangles, I’m kind of hooked!  It’s so much fun to rearrange them and see what kinds of shapes and patterns you can create.  Making triangle hearts was a fun way to combine Allison’s techniques with one of my favorite design elements.

I had pretty much decided from the get-go that I’d use Erica’s texture technique and Allison’s triangles.  Bringing in my own style surprisingly turned out to be the biggest challenge of all!  Both of their elements were so beautiful and created so much texture, I didn’t want to make the cake cluttered by incorporating even more textured elements.  I decided to use the same cake shapes from my confetti cake since it would provide a good base for showcasing each technique.  And since I just can’t help myself, I topped the whole thing off with a few of my favorite sugar flowers.  I think adding the sugar flowers helped up the sophistication of the cake design, while offering a nice balance to the angular heart pattern running around the center of the cake.

It was so exciting to finally see all three cake designs come together.  I love that while we took the opportunity to learn from each other and use each other’s techniques, it’s super obvious which cake belongs to which designer. I hope that this little project inspires more cake designers to give each other’s tricks a try and add their own unique spin!

Coming up tomorrow… we’ll take a look at the last cake in this collaboration, created by Erica OBrien.  If you missed cake number one by Allison Kelleher, you can catch HERE.

VENDORS & CREDITS
Cake  :  Erin Gardner of Wild Orchid Baking Company
Photography :  Mark Davidson Photography
Learn More : Erin Gardner’s Cake Class online at Craftsy

 

And as an extra bonus…. Craftsy is having their Big Fall Sale!!
That means All 77 cake decorating classes are all on sale!!

Up to 50% off online Cake Decorating Classes at Craftsy.com

The best part about these classes is that they’re online and available whenever you are.  You can watch classes at home or even on the go with your iPhone or iPad.  Squeeze a session in and around your busy schedule and then pick up where you left off later.  Before you know it, you’ve built a whole new set of skills, while learning from the best of the best.  With proven techniques and an an easy to follow format, there’s no better time to learn something new!

This big Craftsy Sale ends Monday, September 22, 2014 at 11:59 PM MT.  Snag your class HERE, before it’s too late!

Craftsy is an affiliate partner of The Cake Blog.