80th Wizard of Oz Anniversary, "Lions Tigers and Bears" Sugar Collab, Polychrome Daughter of the Rainbow - 11/23/19
I love Oz! Although the collaboration was originally to honor the MGM movie adaptation, "Wizard of Oz", I felt the need to nod to the original 1900s Mauve Era books by L. Frank Baum.
See, I was a regular visitor to the Royal Kingdom of Oz all through my childhood. I still own all fourteen of L. Frank Baum's original Oz books! So many happy hours! I love his creative original characters, like the Patchwork Girl, the Queen of the Field Mice, Shaggy Man, Hungry Tiger, Nome King, and the Woozy.... some of whom do inspire screen creations, but the majority of whom live only between in the pages. I would encourage you to take a trip back in time, to a hundred years ago, and acquaint yourself with the vast original wonders of Oz.
One of my all-time favorite characters is Polychrome, the Daughter of the Rainbow. Poly appears in many Oz books, a Fairy of the Sky and Air. She first appears in "Road to Oz", where she falls from dancing on her father's rainbow with her sisters to the cold earth, where she finds Dorothy, Shaggy Man and Button Bright. After a story full of dining on mist-cakes & dew drops, crossing deadly deserts, and attending royal birthday parties, she is rescued by her father, the Rainbow.
She appears several other times in following books. Here I have portrayed her true to the John R. Neill illustration, from the "Tin Woodman of Oz", where she finally reaches her full Fairy powers. I hope you love her as much as I do!
Poly is made from solid Caljava Fondx Gumpaste over a foam cake dummy, as she was made to be kept as a display
Be sure to visit the ENTIRE collaboration, filled with Ruby Slippers (originally silver!), Blue Gingham, and Yellow Brick Roads...
(( www.facebook.com/Lions-Tigers-Bears-Oh-my- ))
More on Polychrome from the Royal Blog of Oz:
I love Oz! Although the collaboration was originally to honor the MGM movie adaptation, "Wizard of Oz", I felt the need to nod to the original 1900s Mauve Era books by L. Frank Baum.
See, I was a regular visitor to the Royal Kingdom of Oz all through my childhood. I still own all fourteen of L. Frank Baum's original Oz books! So many happy hours! I love his creative original characters, like the Patchwork Girl, the Queen of the Field Mice, Shaggy Man, Hungry Tiger, Nome King, and the Woozy.... some of whom do inspire screen creations, but the majority of whom live only between in the pages. I would encourage you to take a trip back in time, to a hundred years ago, and acquaint yourself with the vast original wonders of Oz.
One of my all-time favorite characters is Polychrome, the Daughter of the Rainbow. Poly appears in many Oz books, a Fairy of the Sky and Air. She first appears in "Road to Oz", where she falls from dancing on her father's rainbow with her sisters to the cold earth, where she finds Dorothy, Shaggy Man and Button Bright. After a story full of dining on mist-cakes & dew drops, crossing deadly deserts, and attending royal birthday parties, she is rescued by her father, the Rainbow.
She appears several other times in following books. Here I have portrayed her true to the John R. Neill illustration, from the "Tin Woodman of Oz", where she finally reaches her full Fairy powers. I hope you love her as much as I do!
Poly is made from solid Caljava Fondx Gumpaste over a foam cake dummy, as she was made to be kept as a display
Be sure to visit the ENTIRE collaboration, filled with Ruby Slippers (originally silver!), Blue Gingham, and Yellow Brick Roads...
(( www.facebook.com/Lions-Tigers-Bears-Oh-my- ))
More on Polychrome from the Royal Blog of Oz:
Work In Progress
This was a crazy whirlwind project that I completed in THREE DAYS!! Thats lightning-fast for me y'all!! Lolz!! I did decide to cut myself a break, and made a mold from one of the dozens of dollies around the house. I won't lie to you, Human Faces are really tough for me, so this was a huge time-saver. Next, I made her multi-colored skirts starting with an old clay technique, the caning method. This cane started life as a white core of soft gumpaste with rainbow sugarpaste threads around the outside. This cane is then rolled long, and gently twisted until it resembles a rainbow candy cane. The long roll is switchbacked upon itself and then rolled flat, blending and exposing all the colors equally. The sheets are then laid onto my folded Perfect Ruffle Maker, and then creased gently. Scroll down for a demonstration video of how to make the cane, roll the sheet, and use the Perfect Ruffle Maker to make a perfectly ruched fabric-looking swath.
The sugar gather is then draped dramatically over beds of plastic wrap cushions into flowing ripples of wind-blown skirts. Once they set up hard overnight, I used wads of leftover colored gumpaste stuck to the figure to create sticky anchors for the attached skirt billows. Again, I wont lie, this was a hi-stress arrangement, getting each heavy frill to stay attached! It was helped by lassos of plastic wrap, twisted or taped together, just long enough to hold everything together long enough for it to dry firm. Her sleeves and frock top were cut to pattern before being glued to the body. . Her hair was made the same way, with a yellow-orange-brown cane, dried frills, attached to sticky anchors on her head - but not without several dropped and shattered pieces. Luckily I always make extra! One of the last things I did was add the odd little cap that Polychrome wears in every Neill illustration, which only took me three tries - harder than it looked. Why are the simple-looking things always the toughest?? Last steps were to add silver to shoes, dress trim, and cap, as well as a few clouds to finish the base.
The sugar gather is then draped dramatically over beds of plastic wrap cushions into flowing ripples of wind-blown skirts. Once they set up hard overnight, I used wads of leftover colored gumpaste stuck to the figure to create sticky anchors for the attached skirt billows. Again, I wont lie, this was a hi-stress arrangement, getting each heavy frill to stay attached! It was helped by lassos of plastic wrap, twisted or taped together, just long enough to hold everything together long enough for it to dry firm. Her sleeves and frock top were cut to pattern before being glued to the body. . Her hair was made the same way, with a yellow-orange-brown cane, dried frills, attached to sticky anchors on her head - but not without several dropped and shattered pieces. Luckily I always make extra! One of the last things I did was add the odd little cap that Polychrome wears in every Neill illustration, which only took me three tries - harder than it looked. Why are the simple-looking things always the toughest?? Last steps were to add silver to shoes, dress trim, and cap, as well as a few clouds to finish the base.
If you enjoyed looking at these photos and narrative consider one of my Journeybooks, which delve deep into each project!
How to Use the Perfect Ruffle Maker
This hand-made tool allows you to make perfect ruffles, easily, every time. Forget expensive edible fabrics, you can make elegant swirls and light billows from fondant or gumpaste with this simple tool. Hand made to tested specifications from Silicone-Coated non-stick heavy paperstock. Durable and flexible, surface clean only.
This hand-made tool allows you to make perfect ruffles, easily, every time. Forget expensive edible fabrics, you can make elegant swirls and light billows from fondant or gumpaste with this simple tool. Hand made to tested specifications from Silicone-Coated non-stick heavy paperstock. Durable and flexible, surface clean only.
<3 -- If you liked this Cake Art, please Check out some of my Journeybooks / Video Tutorials / Coloring Books -- <3
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