2010 National Gingerbread Competition Winners In Each Category.

above: The Grand Prize winning entry in the National Gingerbread Competition featured Christmas-themed Russian Nesting Dolls by Heather Lewis.

Many gingerbread competitions feature some very amateur creations - unimpressive gumdrop laden homes with leaning chimneys, doghouses and lighthouses with lame landscaping and the like. But not the National Gingerbread Competition, which celebrated its 18th annual competition this year at the Grove Park Inn.


The impressive event garnered entries from 20 states and is not limited to "houses" but instead any gingerbread creation that falls within their guidelines. The competition is broken down into Adult, Teen, Youth and Child categories, all of which had several drool-worthy entries. These aren't for Gingerbread House kit-types, we're talking some serious gingerbread baking enthusiasts and fondant masters. Take a look at the winners in each category as well as the top ten adult entries.

ADULT CATEGORY

ADULT, Grand Prize Winner - Heather Lewis of Austell, Georgia (image at the beginning of the post)

ADULT, 1st Place Winner - Angel Adkins of Kodak, Tennessee:

ADULT, 2nd Place Winner -Barbara Evans of Edelstein, Illinois:

ADULT, 3rd Place Winner - Linda Carney of Asheville, North Carolina:

ADULT, TOP TEN - Ashley Howard of Winter Springs, Florida:

ADULT, TOP TEN - Tracy Navin of Franklin, Tennessee:

ADULT, TOP TEN - Suzanne Kanaly of Liberty Township, Ohio:

ADULT, TOP TEN - Ann Bailey of Cary, North Carolina:

ADULT, TOP TEN - Cathy Christiansen of Gainesville, Virginia:

ADULT, TOP TEN - Michael Billella of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:


TEEN CATEGORY

TEEN, 1ST PLACE WINNER - Skyla Delerme of Asheville, North Carolina:

Teen 2nd Place - Carly Owens of Swannanoa, North Carolina:

Teen 3rd Place - Laura Malanowski of Newton, North Carolina:


YOUTH CATEGORY

YOUTH, 1ST PLACE WINNER - Lydia Gentry of Hendersonville, North Carolina:

Youth 2nd Place - Gabriella Arthur of Easley, South Carolina:

Youth 3rd Place - Emily Spafford of Maryville, Tennesee:


CHILD CATEGORY

CHILD, 1ST PLACE WINNER - Christian Ray of Charlotte, North Carolina

Child 2nd Place - Shan Patel of Asheville, North Carolina:

Child 3rd Place - Grace Lebo of Nashville, Tennessee:

above photos courtesy of Wright Creative

Each year there are several Gingerbread House competitions that take place in various countries and cities. One of the more popular, but not quite as professional, is the one sponsored by This Old House. 2010 was their third annual competition and you can view those 84 entries here

Holy Mother of God, This Is What Won the 2010 Jell-O Mold Competition.

Artist Shelly Sabel was this year's Grand Prize winner in the Gowanus Studio Space's Jell-O Mold competition with her inventive "Aspic Ascension - Tastes Like Heaven", a Bloody Mary tomato aspic formed in the shape of the Virgin Mary.

Watch her wiggle (shown in clear gelatin):


The entry was presented like an altar, complete with burning candles and a 'glitzy' rosary:



The poster for the 2010 GSS Jell-O Mold competition and Grand Prize winner Shelly Sabel:

video, images and info courtesy of artist Shelly Sabel and Gowanus Studio

There's always more room for Jell-O!
So be sure to see the other post today on Jelloware, the edible drinking cups that are good for the planet!


and don't miss Liz Hickock's Jell-O cast city!

More Jell-O Please. An Update On Liz Hickok's Wiggly San Francisco.

above: Coit Tower and San Francisco made of Jell-O by Liz Hickok, 2009

It's been a few years since I wrote about artist Liz Hickok's Jell-O casts in my post San Francisco: No Room For Parking, But There's Always Room For Jell-O, and at the time, the images I shared with you were her works from 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Since then she continues with the project and I'm going to share with you more of her wiggly versions of the City By the Bay from 2007, 2008 and 2009. As well as some of the molds and installations.


above: the artist and the application of 'fog' to the mold of the city

The artist sells c-prints of photos of her molds, like the one above, as well.

The project consists of photographs and video, which depict various San Francisco landscapes. She makes the landscapes by constructing scale models of the architectural elements which she uses to make molds.

She then casts the buildings in Jell-O. Similar to making a movie set, she adds backdrops, which she often paints, and elements such as mountains or trees. She then dramatically lights the scenes from the back or underneath. The Jell-O sculptures quickly decay, leaving the photographs and video as the remains.

The view from Alcatraz, 2007:


Jell-O mold #1, 2008:

Jell-O mold #2, 2009


The installation below was created for the Headlands Close Calls show. It is the Mission District from 16th to 20th Street (North to South) and Harrison to Dolores (East to West).


Church close-up:

Red warehouse view:

Dolores Park:


The molds for San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts and City Hall:

The mold for San Francisco's Ferry Building:

The molds for the houses:



If you've never seen her earlier images of San Francisco cast in jell-O, check them out here.

Liz Hickok's site

More Jell-O Please. An Update On Liz Hickok's Wiggly San Francisco.

above: Coit Tower and San Francisco made of Jell-O by Liz Hickok, 2009

It's been a few years since I wrote about artist Liz Hickok's Jell-O casts in my post San Francisco: No Room For Parking, But There's Always Room For Jell-O, and at the time, the images I shared with you were her works from 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Since then she continues with the project and I'm going to share with you more of her wiggly versions of the City By the Bay from 2007, 2008 and 2009. As well as some of the molds and installations.


above: the artist and the application of 'fog' to the mold of the city

The artist sells c-prints of photos of her molds, like the one above, as well.

The project consists of photographs and video, which depict various San Francisco landscapes. She makes the landscapes by constructing scale models of the architectural elements which she uses to make molds.

She then casts the buildings in Jell-O. Similar to making a movie set, she adds backdrops, which she often paints, and elements such as mountains or trees. She then dramatically lights the scenes from the back or underneath. The Jell-O sculptures quickly decay, leaving the photographs and video as the remains.

The view from Alcatraz, 2007:


Jell-O mold #1, 2008:

Jell-O mold #2, 2009


The installation below was created for the Headlands Close Calls show. It is the Mission District from 16th to 20th Street (North to South) and Harrison to Dolores (East to West).


Church close-up:

Red warehouse view:

Dolores Park:


The molds for San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts and City Hall:

The mold for San Francisco's Ferry Building:

The molds for the houses:



If you've never seen her earlier images of San Francisco cast in jell-O, check them out here.

Liz Hickok's site