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PrintArt and Sole
Creator of gingerbread boot has contest all tied up
Grand Prize Winning Entry by Ashley Howard
MMB
Once again, the winner of the National Gingerbread House Competition and Display has broken out of the four-walls-and-a-roof box, as it were, presenting a loose conceptual take on the "house" part of the title. Sponsored by the Grove Park Inn and now in its 19th year, the contest is a cherished institution and perennial favorite for tourists, locals, and any appreciator of upper-echelon pastry art. It reaches its pinnacle of publicity when winning entries are shown on ABC's "Good Morning America" (this year on Dec. 23).
Those who've followed the contest for the past two decades will note that this year's grand-prize-taking entry, like last year's rocking-horse-and-doll configuration, lands far away from tradition. Ashley Howard, of Winter Springs, FL, sculpted a lace-up boot of edible distressed "leather" so lifelike the viewer itches to cinch up the loose laces. Recessed tableaus showing a charming seasonal scene within are meticulous in execution, down to the wood grain in the holly-bedecked window box.
The contest has always been rife with clever concepts. Top-ten winner Suzanne Kanali presents the two-dimensional wonder "Not So Still Life," a confectionery painting complete with gilt frame. The youth category is rich with brilliant entries, too, including a pop-art Nickelodeon fun house (wherein SpongeBob SquarePants offers pastry crabby patties) and a Princess and the Pea variation with layers of scrumptious pastel mattresses.
A baker's dozen of judges this year included Nicholas Lodge, chef and founder of the International School for Sugar and Confectionery Arts; Nadine Orenstein, PhD and curator of The Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Mike Bettes, co-host of The Weather Channel's "Your Weather Today." The display is open free to the public Sunday-Thursday through New Year's Day. Check the website for upcoming announcements about special events with the winners.
www.groveparkinn.com/Leisure/Happenings/Fall_2/National_Gingerbread_House_Competition__Display_9/
