MINIATURE FOOD SCULPTURES

Sculpting Food out of Something… Or Sculpting Something out of Food…? A few interesting artists…

Jim Victor and his wife Marie Pelton are sculptors who create large scale works with edible items such as butter, chocolate, vegetables and cheese! Their commissions come from State Fairs, corporate events, and private parties, and their work is featured many in private and public collections including the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. JIM VICTOR AND MARIE PELTON Butter Sculptures Marie Pelton and Jim Victor, Cash Cow (butter sculpture), 2013

Their butter sculpture subjects often include the source of their art medium – cows.

But not always! “Sculptor Jim Victor sculpts bikini-clad model Talia Sloboda out of 200 pounds of butter April 4, 2002 at the Samuel S. Fleischer Art Memorial in Philadelphia, PA.”

1.Make small clay model 2.Made a welded armature off site using: wire mesh, steel and wood for the structural foundation. 3.Apply butter with homemade & standard modeling tools and cutters. Temperature must begin at 60 degrees so that the butter will spread evenly over a large surface area. 4. The temperature is turned down to the absolute lowest of 50 degrees for carving and detail.

Mars Event, 2013 New Orleans, LA Chocolate Sculptures by Jim Victor

Mario Lopez, July, 2013 in chocolate for Dove Chocolate, Los Angeles, CA Bust of Jarvis Jones, April, 2013 in various meat and vegetables, for Subway New York City

A key player in the Pop Art movement — an art movement where artists used popular culture to influence their art. Oldenburg is best known for his large scale sculptures of everyday things—often food! CLAES OLDENBURG

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry, Walker Art Center (MN),

Now let’s think smaller scale

For this project, you will be using polymer clay to create miniature food sculptures – an entire meal! Some examples of professional miniature food sculptures…

Here are some examples of student miniature food sculptures

Tanja Jensen’s “Sugar Charm Shop” Making polymer clay charms in the end of 2010, hence the name 'SugarCharmShop'. Sells tiny sculptures on Etsy, has a blog and YouTube channel. “When I was a kid I loved playing with dolls and had tons of little pieces of plastic food which was my favorite part. I've also had a life long love for cookery books and at the moment my collection reaches approx. 200pcs. I use them more as inspiration for my miniatures than I do for cooking, though I enjoy both.”