FAUX FOOD WORKSHOP
Behind the Scenes with Sandy Levins
Photo: © copyright HistoricFauxFoods.com
After researching a food and its specific period, the physical process of making authentic-looking faux food involves a series of artistic skills including basic design, sculpting, molding, casting and working with a variety of surface coatings and texturing tools. One of the more unusual tasks is bone processing -- the boiling clean and chemical degreasing of real bone to remove everything but the calcium structure. Here, Sandy Levins is sculpting a leg of lamb. In the foreground is a real lamb bone along with a series of duplicates cast from plaster.
Photo: © copyright HistoricFauxFoods.com
For a historic open hearth kitchen display of faux walnuts, a series of real nuts is molded in Castin' Craft Mold Builder latex rubber, cast in plaster and colored with non-toxic acrylic paint.
Photo: © copyright HistoricFauxFoods.com
The body of a large faux cheese is created with styrofoam rounds covered in hot-glued Amaco Wireform contouring mesh and covered with Crayola's Model Magic.
Photo: © copyright HistoricFauxFoods.com
A variety of faux cookie shapes are ready for the subtle coloring that will make them look like a real tray of traditional holiday treats. Made from Activa's Celluclay Instant Papier Maché or Crayola's Model Magic they're cut out with old cookie molds.
Photo: © copyright HistoricFauxFoods.com
Working out the exact color schemes and textures for a faux food is key to achieving a realistic looking item. Here, the pulp and seeds of a freshly cleaved watermelon are hand painted on.
Photo: © copyright HistoricFauxFoods.com
Created with cores of rubber foam stiffened with hanger wire and wrapped and hardened in layers of Activa's Rigid Wrap plaster cloth, an assembly line of faux Victorian sausages get their final coloring and texturing.
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Sandy@HistoricFauxFoods.com
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