SC - Re: Sugar Plate Sculptures

[Elise Fleming]

Greetings! Amanda wrote:

>I have yet another question.  I am entering sugar plate sculpture as 
>well and am working with it as I type.  Does anyone have any 
>suggestions on how to mold the sugar without it sticking to my hands?  
>I am using the cold mix recipe from the Good Hus-Wives Jewell and 
>molding it has become a thorn in my side for which I can find no 
>relief.  I am simply trying to create a setting for a table:  A large 
>plate, a small plate, a bowl, a finger bowl, and a goblet.

First, try looking in Stefan's Florilegium.  He posted a number of my 
pieces of correspondence with him on how to work with sugar paste.  
Second, your paste must be too wet if it is sticking to your hands.  

Questions:  Did you find gum tragacanth which the recipe calls for?  
Gum arabic is not a substitute.  Can you roll out the paste without it 
sticking to your surface and rolling pin?  If not, it's too wet and 
needs more sugar.

Comments:  I've made the items above and some of them were the very 
dickens to work with.  I found that if I used waxed paper to line the 
"mold", I could then remove the paste with little problem.  Hint:  For 
round items, like a bowl or plate, you will need to cut diagonal lines 
in towards the center so the paper folds into a round shape rather than 
wrinkling into one.  This is also how I moulded the goblet "bowl".  For 
the stem, I used a dowel rod as an armature and wrapped the paste 
around it.  When the cup part and stem part were dry, I attached them 
using egg white and  more sugar paste.  I covered the join with a snake 
of paste, poked a pretty design into it, and then let that dry.

More comments:  You may need to experiment to find the ideal thickness 
(thinness) of the paste.  One of my apprentices made a paper-thin bowl 
which I was to take and show off.  Unfortunately, being so thin, it 
easily absorbed moisture from the air and began to sag after a number 
of days, losing its bowl shape.  However, if the paste is too thick it 
will look clumsy.  

For a plate:  I rolled out the paste to the desired thinness and laid a 
template on top.  Then I cut around the template.  Be careful... A 
sawing motion will stretch the paste and make the end result lopsided.  
I laid the paste onto the waxed paper on my plate-mold and fiddled with 
the edges to give the shape I wanted.  You will find that cutting the 
paste will probably result in some roughness on the edge.  You will 
need to decide how you want to cover up (or smooth out) that roughness.
After the paste has begun to dry well enough, and will keep its shape, 
I remove it and let it finish airdrying.  After a day or two, I take 
off the waxed paper, turn it upside down, and let that part finish 
drying.  Problems:  If the plate or bowl is fairly curvy, you will need 
to be sure that the weight of the paste doesn't slowly flatten it out 
as it finishes drying.  Laying it upside down over another bowl can 
help.

Does this give you any ideas?  Again, if it's sticking to you, it's too 
wet.

Alys Katharine 
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