The Layers of Luma : Cake Artist

I have always had art inscribed all throughout my DNA. My grandmother knits to the most intricate, detailed and tiny patterns. She has the gift for designing and her hands have been blessed to also cook amazing foods. My "big" little brother is phenomenally talented with the gifts of dance (B-Boy) and the man has blessed hands to sketch and draw like you WOULDN'T believe (just check his IG: @7.s_rlo). My younger brothers all have talent to an extent as well. My mom...my mom is beyond blessed with a one of the most creative minds and hands I have ever known (look at her masterpieces on her FB: (Charomarie Rodriguez). I would list the things she does, but when I tell you there isn't a thing she can't do, it is the honest truth. God has used my mother, working through her in every part of her life and it has truly spread the blessings of creativity and talent to all of us.

It was not until I graduated high school that I realized I had it in me to do absolutely everything "artsy" and creative under the sun. I mean I did draw occasionally in school and when it came to do projects for classes, I would naturally do something crafty and creative. But my attraction for creating art through cakes wasn't until my mom decided to open up some fondant and make me my 18th birthday cake. It was a round 8 inch cake with pink fondant, multi-color polka dots and an elaborate spiral bow to top it off. I had SO much fun helping my mom and the final look was something I had never really seen before. Fondant wasn't as big, at least in my area in NY, back then. While my mom did most of all the work on my cake, I had so much fun with molding and creating the bow. Fondant was like clay to me and I instantly loved how creative you could get with a cake by incorporating it.

The first time I touched fondant, I helped my mom mold the bow.

Fast forward to my god son's first birthday. His mom wanted to throw him the best first birthday ever, of course (don't we all?!). She was having trouble deciding on a cake and really wanted to have a special one for him. So, naturally, I jumped and said, "I'll do it. I'll make it. Find a cake on google and I will try to make it!" You should've heard her voice over the phone that day.😂 "Are you sure? That seems like a lot...are you absolutely sure you can do this?" I couldn't explain the confidence I had inside, I didn't understand it at the time, but I just felt it and knew that yes I could make this cake without thinking twice.

My VERY FIRST fondant cake and cupcakes 😱

THREE DAYS Y'ALL.THREE DAYS. 

Staying up until 4 in the morning, legs sore and feet aching, but it was complete. I was SO happy with it that I had butterflies non-stop the whole way to deliver it. My god son and his momma were SO SUPER ECSTATIC over the cake and that made my butterflies increase even more. Then, the guests started to arrive. Everyone kept asking who, what and where did she get the cake. I had people ALL throughout the party complimenting my work and suggesting that I start a business. WHOA, whoa, a business? This is my first cake, I am TIRED, I am ACHING, I was overwhelmed. But after some thought, I realized that I could really make money doing something I actually had fun doing right from the comfort of my own home.

I didn't take it very seriously. My first cake had been in 2011. I probably made one more cake that year and MAYBE two the next year, one of which was my god son's next birthday. I knew I could possibly make it something bigger, but my drive for a creating cakes just wasn't high. Then I had my first child in 2012 and decided to venture on to pursue my childhood dreams (that's for another day's post😉). Let's just skim through the next few years up until 2016 when I settled back down in New York after moving from Florida to North Carolina and back to NY. I never truly gave up on cake decorating. All these years I still had only made one or two maybe three cakes a year. There were some years where I did none at all. Sometimes I would even bake from wherever I was staying or living, at times having a teeny tiny kitchen with a small old oven. In 2016 I decided to take it a bit more serious. The results SHOCKED me. The cakes I was now able to create were unlike any quality I had produced in the past, and the orders started to roll in. I can't tell you why, but I started to take my time, do a lot of research on my own and watch A TON of YouTube videos.

My husband noticed quick. He always supported me and he always was a fan, but he is also my biggest critic. He does not like short cuts, he expects clean cut and above the rest results. He would stand right by me checking out my cakes every so often during the process of designing and decorating. He would let me know if I had to do something over again, fix or add something. He would run midnight trips to the store when I needed last minute supplies. Slowly but surely I was getting better and I was enjoying having to think more creatively and testing my abilities. My husband, friends and family began promoting my cakes as did I through social media. This was actually becoming a thing for me and I was really looking forward to where this was going to take me.

It was smooth sailing and sort of consistent for a year, but then a lot happened in life of course and I slowly began to withdraw from getting real serious. The area I lived in was a tough area to  It wasn't until I received a phone call from a very large, very well known company regarding a special invitation, that I really took a step back. I guess it was fear, fear of the unknown, of possibly launching an unsuccessful business or maybe very successful but in an area my family was not happy living in. Either way, it taught me some large life lessons. [FEAR by the way, is a LIE from the enemy and it will ROB and KILL your dreams...it will literally pull you away from the blessings God has stored up for you! SO STOP BEING AFRAID and just GO FOR IT!]

In April of this year, my husband, my children and I packed up and decided to make a permanent move down to Florida. We were blessed beyond measure, and God has opened doors for us that has allowed me to finally bloom with the talents he gave me. I have created two custom cakes so far in my new location and one in Texas for my girl's wedding💗. I am excited to see what unravels this time around. If you aren't already following my Instagram, it is @divinecakeart. I decided not to create a brand new page and just merge my personal page with my cakes because I want all of my followers to see ALL of me, the real, and that I am not JUST a cake artist. I am now located in Holiday, Florida taking custom cake orders and expanding it into new avenues.

Royal pillow baby shower cake (with edible baby shoes, pacifier and rattle), July 2018

Rustic/Industrial theme wedding cake, July 2018

Zombie cake, August 2018

SO

…this was just a "slice" (😉😂) of my cake artist journey just to briefly share where it all began. Thank you for taking the time to stop back here and read today's blog post. Please let me know what kind of cake art knowledge, tips and tricks you want to see posted.

New Opportunities

If you are a current cake artist, desire to become one or want to brush up on some skills, I would LOVE to help you. EMAIL ME at divinecakeart@gmail.com. 👉👉 I will be offering one-on-one LIVE classes as well as basic, intermediate and advanced easy to follow courses, so be sure to email me to be the FIRST to know about all the details. Whether you want to make extra money on the side or just want to learn a new craft, I can help you take the next steps.