"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

Thursday, October 7, 2010

OSSAS 2010 Articles

For some reason blogger will not let me post any pictures today, I am going out of town tomorrow though.  I'm going to have my husband put all of my pictures on a disk for me and I will post them all next week.  Sorry about that, I wanted to get as much done as I could, meanwhile here is an article about the Cake Show you will find interesting.

This one has the top six cakes:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=370&articleid=20101006_39_D1_CUTLIN725371

Edna De la Cruz posted a video of the cakes:
http://www.fantourage.com/kerry_vincent



I promise to get more posted next week while I am visiting my mom!
Have a great day!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

OSSAS 2010 Winners

I got to go to the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show at the Tulsa State Fair in Oklahoma this weekend.  I had a blast!  Yes, that is me sitting on the front row during one of the demonstrations.  There were a lot of people, cakes and information!

 

 The work on the cakes was magnificent and I got to meet a lot of new people, even some celebrities!  Between my husband and I, we took 1,127 pictures!  It has taken me two days to get all of the pictures downloaded, edited, sorted into separate folders and the cakes "watermarked".  Kerry Vincent asked that I put OSSAS on the cake pictures to prevent people from claiming them as their own.  I think a person who would do that has absolutely no integrity or talent.
Chef Richard Ruskell and Chef Alan Shotts were there giving demonstrations on chocolate and sugar, they will each have their own post with all the fun tidbits I learned from them - and of course lots of pictures!  Alan Richardson and Karen Tack from Hello Cupcake were also there giving demos and they hosted a cupcake competition.  They will also have their own post.  I have a couple of interviews set up from some ladies who entered the competition also. 
The theme this year was mansions and monasteries and I thought everyone was going to have to make exact replicas of the buildings.  I was pleasantly surprised when I got there and realized that each artist was able to pick a mansion or monastery and their own interpretation of that building.  These people probably spent all year designing and practicing making their cakes.  They were gorgeous and the work was precise and exquisite.  Now why don't we talk about what everybody has been waiting for?  Who won the National Grand Wedding Cake Competition?  There were five winners and a grand prize winner.  My pictures of the award ceremony did not turn out great because of where I was sitting and the lighting.
In fifth place is Dawn Parrot from Texas and she called her cake "Heaven to Earth".



 

 I took several close ups so you can see the details of the cakes.









 

 Notice how perfect the molding and crown are?








Our fourth place winner is Rachel Snyder from Missouri.

Notice how she used rocks as part of her cake base?  That really added to the cake!











 Be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge them.  Notice the exquisite string work?










Our third place winner is Mercedes Strachwsky from Florida.  Her cake is called "Reflections of Love"

Talk about attention to detail!  Notice the potted plant and the bridge?  The grass looks real!









Notice the garden arch with the perfect tiny roses and shrubs?  Look at the corners of the moldings too.








Here is a back view and front view of the cake.  In the judging process even the table coverings make a difference!









Rebecca Sutterby from Kansas won second place.





 The gumpaste flowers look so real!






Edith Hall from Missouri won first place.




 Look at that amazing gold string work, it looks like thread!









The grand prize winner is Flora Aghababyan from Las Vegas!




Kerry Vincent designed the trophy, it is huge!  It was beautiful in person!









Can you believe the hand painted details and brush embroidery work?  It's amazing!




















The first place winner won over $9,000 and over $600 worth of prizes.  The grand prize winner won over $12,000 and over $6,000 worth of stuff.    I did think it was funny that they won cake decorating videos, the type that I need. 
Be sure to click and become a follower of my blog (on one of the side bars) so that you don't miss any of the posts.  I will post the rest of the pictures of the main competition tomorrow, and the rest of the cakes and highlights over the next few weeks.
I will enter a cake next year, just not in the main competition.  The theme for next year is "Wedding Cakes Rock".  The competitors need to design the best, most awesome wedding cake ever made.  I do want to try my hand at one of the lesser categories.  It should be fun!
"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." Psalm 34:8