Joy is More Powerful Than Fear

My father is an amazing artist and craftsman. He has embarked on what I feel will be his legacy. So trying to get a birthday present for someone who many would consider a mad genius can be tricky. A replica of his legacy "the Goose." It is a guitar that he has designed and built—I would do my version only this one would be banana cake with carmel and a cream cheese frosting. This would be new territory for me- first sculpted cake, first time with an air brush and the biggest cake I had ever done. But this cake was born in a place of joy--not in a place fearing the unknown.

I blew up the picture of the guitar to life size—yes the template had returned- purely for scale and to capture the amazing details and craftsmanship of the guitar. I made the various guitar parts out of gum paste. I carved away the cake to expose the graceful curve of the guitar body. It was like a puzzle- how could I make the pit guard- when I figured it out my sense of joy and accomplishment increased. Then there was the air brush-- never used one, but I have spray painted- interchangeable. I dove in-- the cake turned out great-- it took me a week to clean up the over spray from my kitchen.

One thing I had not thought of---transportation. We had a cake that was 36" long, a 5 1/2 year old, a sedan and 3 hour drive. The cake would not fit in the car. I cut it in two parts to fit in the car-- the body and the neck. I finished it at my mom’s house.

We delivered the cake- there are two “O”s in goose literally. My husband my constant support helped—when my Dad walked in he couldn’t figure out what he was looking at- a cake or one of his guitars. It was great—joy from a slice of cake.