By: May Rivera
Date: June 15, 2019
Plato the great philosopher said it best, “Necessity is the Mother of Invention. These wise words echo greatly in my heart. You see my life did not turned out as I had meticulously planned. Firstly, I did not become an ice cream truck vendor, for that was my dream job as a child (says a lot about my ambition). Later I realized I just wanted to eat my merchandise so I changed to an animator, then interior designer. If it would be possible to go back in time, I would give my 17 year old self the heads up that life throws curve balls. I think I would give myself a long sermon of what to do and throw in the numbers for the lottery too (wouldn’t we all). Growing up, the one thing I was certain is that art was my calling. Creating art was a way of expression in which I thrived. My dream was to create an atmosphere for a business, family or individual to dwell in. Unfortunately my dream came to a halt for various reasons.
Oh dear life and your perfectly planned derailment. I pursued a different field of employment, far from my creative passion. I had to in order to have a roof over my head and I like nice things. Not quite what I had planned but it seemed to work out in my favor. Not to toot my own horn but I am pretty smart and adapt quickly. Life without artistic expression sucked. I truly believe that you need to pursue what your passionate about. Your passion will also find ways to come knocking as opportunities often disguised as small every day decisions.
The way “Art” came knocking again at my door was spectacular, the heavens parted and bright lights filled my room with a flashing sign dropped down ...umm not really. It was a series of subtle knocks filled with doubt. The planning of my nephew’s birthday and the stressful search for a fantastic and affordable cake. Oh was this an eye opener, cakes are pricey especially if you want all the works. The cake selected was far from what we envisioned but it did not leave a hole in our pockets. It was what we could afford. As the cake was cut, we quickly realized we paid for fluffed egg whites, sugar and food coloring. It had no “Wow” factor. It was a great disappointment. The pictures looked pretty but the taste buds were not satisfied. This started a saga to search for affordable custom cakes, that year after year were a disappointment one way or the other. I first decided to do treats at home to accessorize the cake table. Surely baking a cake was too hard so I thought. At least with this option, we would add a better visual display and pleasing options for our taste palettes. I started doing treats that where cohesive with the party theme and they were a hit. I was self taught. I bought baking magazines and learned online how to do basic treats and allowed my imagination to take over from there. I received praises for the treats I created. Treats that were not overly complicated, yet somehow caught the attention of guests at my family’s get together. This was my invitation to start creating again.
My confidence in making treats expanded, especially when I gave no one food poisoning! I invested in supplies to make the treats easier to produce. I learned how to do cake pops, lollipops, candy apples, chocolate clusters, marshmallow pops, cookies and more . I truly enjoyed making treats to fit the theme of a party or a holiday celebration. The party was best remembered for the treats. Between my sister’s need for a decent cake and my husband’s unwavering support, I gave baking a cake a try. Working with fondant was scary for me bit I will never forget my husband’s words of clueless but good heart encouragement- “Treat the fondant as you would treat clay”. Wise man. He knew I had a strong art background and my family were certain that I could achieve to create a custom cake. After a couple of tries at home (yes we ate cake a lot), I covered the cake in fondant. Did it had cracks? Yes! Was it a bit crooked? Yes! Did I pull it off? YES!!! The covering of the cakes in fondant was far from perfect but I excelled in handmade fondant roses beautifully that were perfect to cover all imperfections. Yeah, I'm resourceful. The first cakes looked good… well it looked good if you didn’t stare at it for too long but most importantly it taste good. My cakes slowly left a positive imprint in memories and pictures to the extent of direct requests for other non family members.
The necessity my sister had in cakes, had pushed me to invent myself as a baker. I seldom like to refer to myself as a baker, for I am the first to state I still have much to learn. I tip my hat to pastry chefs and professional bakers. With that said, I give myself some credit for my cakes are not too shabby despite the lack of professional training. Every year, the cakes I baked and designed got better. I started reading books, watching tutorials online and watching baking shows on tv. I learned recipes from my mom. I bought cake design supplies. I learned how to support cake with structure. I designed structures to even house my treats on the cake table. Every birthday for my nephews had cakes and treats that were compared to creations in magazines or at celebrity events. I soon began to be known as the official “cake lady” for my family and friends. Through cake, I was able to create art pieces which I am extremely proud of. Cake and sugar became the mediums to express myself again. I felt good to create again. The need to express artistically did not stop at cakes. Designing cakes slammed open a door in my imagination to further my creations for parties. I started drawing vision boards on how I wanted the cake to look, where I wanted the treats to stand and developed in designing the backgrounds for the display of these sweet creations . From balloons to drapes to paper flowers, I took each party theme and brought to life displays based on a simple idea. What started as a necessity, developed as a second opportunity to create and decorate.
As I write, my journey as an event planner is just beginning. I specialize on the main table at your event, the table worth of all the “oohs” and “ahhs”. The table everyone wants to take a picture or snap. The table were the delicious cake and sweets integrate with the theme and leave you wanting seconds. I want to blog about my inspirations and process to track the design process from paper to life. See, I do not want to be selfish with my gifts to create. I want for the average person to read my blogs and feel empowered to make their event look fabulous even on a tight budget. I want to highlight vendors worth your business. If you want my direct services, I am here for you as well (for I like nice things too). I am blessed to have art find me despite the curve balls that threw me off the planned course I had in mind. Necessity helped me to invent myself a new path. A path that has not been easy but it sure makes me happy. Now let’s invent the ambiance to set the mood to celebrate for life is worth living in style!
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