So here is the post I promised in my last post “Let them eat cake!” that includes Ella’s birthday cake that I made in May. It is a matryoshka doll, also known as a Russian nesting doll. But instead of a how-to post, this is more of an exploration as to why I love doing what I do and how I am personally so blessed by my art.
Cake art – a waste of time?
Some people may look at a cake like this and think “Wow! What a waste of time! Especially on a cake that is just going to be eaten!” And I can see why they would think that. Especially since this particular cake took me probably more than twelve hours to put together from start to finish. But to me it is so much more than just a cake. It is an expression of creativity that brings me so much joy and speaks to my soul of how much God loves me. This little cake did this in an unexpected and powerful way.
Beauty doesn’t have to be perfect
I was in love with her! She was absolutely beautiful and I could barely take my eyes off her! I had to keep looking over at her while I stood at the sink cleaning up and I didn’t want to put her away. She had lovely deep blue eyes, soft brown hair, and an exquisite shimmery blue shawl with a lovely lacy edge that boasts of the kind of detail work that I simply adore! And she carried the cutest basket of freshly picked strawberries in her sweet little hands. Her face was a little bit chubby as most matryoshka dolls are, but she was all the more beautiful for it.
She was not perfect by any means however. I had made mistakes from construction to decoration, including cutting the dowels for a cake height that was based on frozen cake layers that became slightly squished under the weight of the icing and fondant when it thawed. This resulted in “horns” poking up through the top of her head that I had to cover with a wreath of flowers.
“Horns” 
Crowned with a wreath of flowers
Other mistakes caused her to become stooped and slightly misshapen, and my first time working with fondant resulted in cracks and wrinkles that I tried my best to smooth–but they were still there. But despite all of her flaws, I still loved her! I was just thrilled with how she came together and to me she WAS perfect! Her flaws gave her character and told a story.
Whispers of love
It happened as I was washing my brushes at 2:00 am after having just spent 5 hours painting the fondant covered doll cake. God’s whispered truth hit me like a wave. As I stood at the sink watching streams of color running out of my brushes I was struck with such an overwhelming feeling of joy and thankfulness to God for allowing me to partake in HIS creative process. I gained a small glimpse of how much joy he has in creating everything, particularly his children.
But I was brought to tears when it dawned on me just how much he loves what he has created. All the flaws that I see in myself he counts as beauty. My body is not ideal, perfect, or even “normal”, but God loves me exactly how I am, not in spite of my flaws, but including them. They are part of what gives me character and makes me unique, and they help to tell my story.
This glimpse into God’s heart was so profound. I was taken aback at how something as simple as a cake could teach me about God’s love for me on a heart level. I have been so very blessed by art.
“String Art”
I’ll throw in a couple of pictures of my most recent craft that has struck me in a similar way. I have really enjoyed what I am calling “string art”. Basically, I draw a simple sketch, and then poke holes with a sewing needle all along the lines that I drew. I tape card stock paper to the back of the sketch before I commence my poking, and this leaves me with a piece of heavy paper that has holes in the pattern of the picture that I sketched. I can then string embroidery floss through the holes in different patterns to create the string art.
“Rose” 
“Violet”
These are two that I did for my friend’s daughter’s room. I was expressing to Michael just how amazed I am when I look at them, and how beautiful they are! You might think that as the artist I would know what I am doing and would know what to expect from the finished product. But that is just it. I love it so much because it evolves as I work on it and becomes something so amazingly beautiful that it always surprises me. It is as if I can actually feel God’s creative hand working through me and I am just a conduit for his beautiful creations. I love to be used by him in this way and it is just SO exciting to see beauty taking shape where it was just a rough and ugly pencil sketch.
It is so exciting to watch as thread by thread it slowly grows into a beautiful work of art. No wonder it is so hard to put it down!
God is so good, and he shows himself to us in many different ways. I am so thankful that he chooses to show me his love and care through art. What a treasure it is and I just have to share it!
One thought on “Blessed by Art”
You are both phenomenal creations!! Thank you for sharing this!