Human Flower Project


Orrington, MAINE USA

flag flower bed
Murrieta, CALIFORNIA USA

parker basket thumb
Princeton, MAINE USA

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Flowers of the Knife


Paying homage to the sculptor/florists in kitchens everywhere.


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Photo: via Kitchen Capers

In nature, flowers bloom before a plant bears fruit. But in culture, things aren’t so orderly. A bored sous chef with a love of flowers may just go hooty-wild. The organic clock starts spinning in reverse, and fruits crinkle back into shapely flowers.



imageEternal thanks to Cyndy Clark for sending us this unbelievable gallery of watermelon carving, featuring a downhill skier, dragon, Russian dolls, and portrait of Vincent Van Gogh.

Less daffy and most beautiful are the carved flowers, pink leaves tinged with the white of melon rind. I tried to extract more information from the blogger about who made these beauties, and where. I’m guessing they came from China via the Singapore weblog but am by no means certain.

The revelation of them inspired a hunt for other floral fruit and vegetables.

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Edible Centerpieces

Photo: Josie Liming, for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Here’s a short how-to link, with directions for carving your own flowers, and an article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on making an edible centerpiece.  This site has instructions for marshmallow gardenias, for a troop of vava-voom girl scouts or aging jazz singers, we presume. And this one gives instructions for a leek daisy, carrot tulips, and cabbage anthurium.

If you find better photos or information on the web, please send it along. Our search turned up only these attempts from the Donna Reed House of Bored Housewifery. Fun to make, I guess, but pretty awful to behold.

image…nothing so gorgeous or crazy as the batch Cyndy sent. Somewhere out there is a fruit carver who can see a bouquet of chrysanthemums in a watermelon, and the Taj Mahal. Kitchen artist, please step forward and identify yourself! The contemporary art world, short on humor and beauty, needs you.



Posted by Julie on 05/31 at 09:17 AM
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