Tag Archives: candy art

Jelly Bean Art

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This is extraordinary. The art forms conceptualized using jelly beans as the medium is phenomenal and it’s all available for view in the Jelly Belly Bean Art Gallery. The gallery boasts three main rooms comprising Famous People, American History & Political Figures and Icons & Other Cool Stuff. A tour through the jelly bean gallery leaves one speechless.

The Famous People jelly bean art room boasts uncannily real images of classic and contemporary famous people including jelly bean pioneers, innovators, royalty and celebrities. Some of the familiar faces in the room include Marilyn Munroe, George Clooney, Amelia Earnhardt, Chief Rainbow Tree, Diana; Princess of Wales, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher, Elvis Presley, James Dean, Larry King and Laurel & Hardy amongst the many illustrious names of fame. Images in this jelly bean gallery are all approximately four feet by four feet and one can only imagine how many jelly beans per image.

The American History and Political Figures gallery has an amazing George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan and other American presidents posing in front of the American flag (jelly bean of course). As well, this gallery has brilliant jelly bean images of Martin Luther King Jr, Benjamin Franklin, General Doolittle and other extraordinary images of great Americans.

The final jelly bean room is the Icon & Other Cool stuff gallery which is an understatement of what there is to see; Minnie Mouse, American Gothic, the Statue of Liberty and the American Bald Eagle are all recreated in jelly beans for the amazement and delight of visitors. The gallery can be browsed by visitors online or in person in Fairfield, California, or down Jelly Belly Lane in Wisconsin. Both galleries offer more jelly bean art than is available in the online galleries.

Candy Sculptures

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Candy sculptures are a sweet new spin on an old art passion using bulk candy. Artists wanting to purchase bulk candy for their creative designs have been using the custom order opportunities available online to purchase the bulk candy they require for their very unique craft.

The Japanese have been sculpting candy for centuries and candy sculptures are becoming increasingly popular for social events and of course children’s parties. It is also gaining popularity among artists keen to try a different craft medium. Many candies are of course quite pliable and make excellent modelling clay.

For the newbie interested in the craft knowing where to begin can be difficult. The true candy sculptors of Japan are only a handful now and the craft is really quite different ,and possibly less versatile than in the west where the artist is limited only by his or her imagination. YouTube have a number of videos showing Japanese candy sculptors creating their figurines which are very interesting and entertaining.

When using bulk candy to create candy sculptures the trickiest and most critical aspect seems to be in how the artist chooses to ‘glue’ the various pieces of bulk candy together in an edible yet suitably adhesive manner. It is therefore important to experiment with this and get good at it before sculpting begins. What type of adhesive will also depend largely on the desired sculpted finish. Simple solutions might include candy strings or softened hard candy which will reset. A popular solution is to use sugar melted at very high temperatures, applied as a wet glue would be and then left to harden again. Alternatively mini blow torches are used to heat the sugar to bind pieces together much as a welder uses a torch to weld. This is an option that is more likely to be of benefit to an experienced sculptor and it is probably safer for the novice to stick with simpler ideas for adhering the bulk candy into the desired shapes.

For  those simply wanting to create something special for a party or an event, bulk candy sculptures can be created similarly to flower arrangements where no moulding or adhesion is required. Lollipop sculptures for example,  are fun arrangements which can be set in Styrofoam of shapes and sizes suitable for any occassion. Using different types of lollipops can enhance the fun aspects or the theme of the party. Star flower pops, $100 dollar bill pops or retro lollipops for example, will each create a different visual in a lollipop arrangement. Other clever bulk candy ideas that can be pieced together to create fun and interesting shapes are color themed candy which can be used to amazing effect as can gum and bubblegum. As stated earlier, the opportunities for bulk candy creations are limited only by the artist’s imagination.