Debbie Goard is an extremely talented artist from Oakland, who specializes in making sculpted cakes. Her cakes appear so realistic that it becomes difficult to believe if they are actually cakes. Not only that, the variety in the design of her cakes is really wide; from animals to games, transport to fashion, characters to food & drinks and whatever you can think of. Debbie has a booming fan base and why not? After all, she has been doing a wonderful job in sculpting cakes since 22 long years.
Though picking out the best ones from her portfolio was really tough, as each one of them is truly a masterpiece, but here I have selected a few to share with you guys. Scroll down to have a look. Also, it's a great pleasure for us to have Debbie on our blog for a small interview with us. Let's get friendly with her:
Debbie, let's start with a brief introduction of yours.
My name is Debbie Goard, but I'm considering changing it to first name: Debbie, middle: Does, last: Cakes, since I'm far better known by that name, haha!
I am a self taught artist, this is my 22nd year making cakes, despite my numerous attempts to leave cake. I've also been a muralist, a handbag designer, pretty much anything art related but I always come back to cake.
Your cakes look spectacular, Debbie. What influences the artist within you?
Thanks so much! I'm pretty much influenced by everything I see. My artistic influences are the pop artists Andy Warhol and especially Claes Oldenburg. I love the idea of replicating objects in unexpected mediums and scales.
Did you always want to become a cake artist? When did you realize that you're meant to be an extraordinary one?
Oh, no not at all! Right out of school I took a job at a bakery. I was doing counter work only. the manager knew that I was an artist and asked if I'd like to replace the decorator who was retiring. I watched her for a week, and with no prior experience with cakes, I sold my first cake. I guess technically that means I have always done cakes professionally. I'm grateful there are no photos of those first cakes out there, though!
Thanks for the "extraordinary" description. I just do my very best and try to be constantly improving. If there was a time that I discovered that I had a real knack for what I do was when I made my first dog cake. I was working at an erotic bakery, that ironically did an equal amount of children cakes. Believe it or not, making butter cream body parts loses it's novelty pretty quickly. The owner would let me work on personal projects whenever we had down time so I decided to make my boyfriend a cake in the likeness of our dog. Even I was surprised how well it turned out. At that point I decided to refocus my efforts on sculpted cakes exclusively.
Do you remember the first cake you created?
Yes! Prior to my crash course at the first bakery, I had actually made one cake. In fifth grade we had to make a project, in any medium we chose, representing Victorian architecture. I made a sheet cake with a hand drawn (in icing of course) Victorian mansion on top. In my memories it was pretty good, but that could be revisionist history. The reason I remember it so well is because a classmate accidentally put her knee into it , haha!
I know it is difficult to pick but we would love to know your favorite cake prepared by you.
Oh! that is tough! I like different cakes for different reasons. Since this answer changes from day to day, my fave cake du jour would probably be the Gluttony cake I made for the Video game Date's Inferno. It was weird and wonderful and one of those projects that I had no clue how I was going to make happen but it cake together just as I wanted.
On an average, how much time does it take you to complete one cake?
Most cakes average around 5 hours actual production time, with an additional 1-2 hours prep. This varies greatly, of course, on the complexity of the design. I have spent as much as 60+ hours on a single cake.
Share the best compliment you've ever received for your cakes.
A familiar refrain is "no one realized it was a cake". Because realism is my ultimate goal, there can be no better compliment.
Do you have any dream design that you've always wanted to create? Or you've already created it?
I have always wanted to do a huge grasshopper, hyper realistic .I think this could be great, but I might have to overcome the creep factor because I despise grasshoppers.
Many other artists and our readers would draw inspiration from you. What message do you have for them?
I used to think that it was incredibly important to have some sort of degree in order to be a legitimate artist, but I now know that the key to success is simply to make work and make a lot of it. Always strive to make each piece better than the last, and don't be afraid to try new techniques. The number one skill in cake design is learning to cover your mistakes. =)
Debbie, thank you for sharing your valuable advice and making the interview happen. It was really a pleasure. Though you already have a huge fan following, add us too in the list. ;) E-junkie wishes you the best for everything that comes your way.
You can follow Debbie on Flickr and Facebook.
For all the latest updates from us, you can subscribe to our blog. You can also choose to receive updates via email.
Though picking out the best ones from her portfolio was really tough, as each one of them is truly a masterpiece, but here I have selected a few to share with you guys. Scroll down to have a look. Also, it's a great pleasure for us to have Debbie on our blog for a small interview with us. Let's get friendly with her:
Debbie, let's start with a brief introduction of yours.
My name is Debbie Goard, but I'm considering changing it to first name: Debbie, middle: Does, last: Cakes, since I'm far better known by that name, haha!
I am a self taught artist, this is my 22nd year making cakes, despite my numerous attempts to leave cake. I've also been a muralist, a handbag designer, pretty much anything art related but I always come back to cake.
Your cakes look spectacular, Debbie. What influences the artist within you?
Thanks so much! I'm pretty much influenced by everything I see. My artistic influences are the pop artists Andy Warhol and especially Claes Oldenburg. I love the idea of replicating objects in unexpected mediums and scales.
Did you always want to become a cake artist? When did you realize that you're meant to be an extraordinary one?
Oh, no not at all! Right out of school I took a job at a bakery. I was doing counter work only. the manager knew that I was an artist and asked if I'd like to replace the decorator who was retiring. I watched her for a week, and with no prior experience with cakes, I sold my first cake. I guess technically that means I have always done cakes professionally. I'm grateful there are no photos of those first cakes out there, though!
Do you remember the first cake you created?
Yes! Prior to my crash course at the first bakery, I had actually made one cake. In fifth grade we had to make a project, in any medium we chose, representing Victorian architecture. I made a sheet cake with a hand drawn (in icing of course) Victorian mansion on top. In my memories it was pretty good, but that could be revisionist history. The reason I remember it so well is because a classmate accidentally put her knee into it , haha!
I know it is difficult to pick but we would love to know your favorite cake prepared by you.
Oh! that is tough! I like different cakes for different reasons. Since this answer changes from day to day, my fave cake du jour would probably be the Gluttony cake I made for the Video game Date's Inferno. It was weird and wonderful and one of those projects that I had no clue how I was going to make happen but it cake together just as I wanted.
On an average, how much time does it take you to complete one cake?
Most cakes average around 5 hours actual production time, with an additional 1-2 hours prep. This varies greatly, of course, on the complexity of the design. I have spent as much as 60+ hours on a single cake.
Share the best compliment you've ever received for your cakes.
A familiar refrain is "no one realized it was a cake". Because realism is my ultimate goal, there can be no better compliment.
Do you have any dream design that you've always wanted to create? Or you've already created it?
I have always wanted to do a huge grasshopper, hyper realistic .I think this could be great, but I might have to overcome the creep factor because I despise grasshoppers.
Many other artists and our readers would draw inspiration from you. What message do you have for them?
I used to think that it was incredibly important to have some sort of degree in order to be a legitimate artist, but I now know that the key to success is simply to make work and make a lot of it. Always strive to make each piece better than the last, and don't be afraid to try new techniques. The number one skill in cake design is learning to cover your mistakes. =)
Debbie, thank you for sharing your valuable advice and making the interview happen. It was really a pleasure. Though you already have a huge fan following, add us too in the list. ;) E-junkie wishes you the best for everything that comes your way.
You can follow Debbie on Flickr and Facebook.
For all the latest updates from us, you can subscribe to our blog. You can also choose to receive updates via email.
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