Chocolate Carving
Cowboy

In the center of a southwest town is a large, colorful fiberglass sculpture of a bucking bronco and rider.  The image of it was prevalent in local print marketing and I was curious how it would appear in chocolate. 

Carved from a large block of chocolate it stands about 18 inches high and was finished by rubbing with a damp cloth and cocoa butter spray.  It was secured to the base that it rests on with two wooden dowels inserted from underneath the base.  The solid attachment was required to transport it to an event in New York.  The base fit neatly into a case made for the piece and allowed no movement to the sides. Select this link to see the chocolate carving in process.

The carving arrived unscathed in New York and served its purpose at the event.  Upon returning to the airport in a cab I exited the vehicle only to find the driver handing me the case containing the chocolate carving upside down.  It was at this point that I realized I should have accounted for such a contingency and had the base slide into slots in the case so that even in an inverted position it would still have remained secure.

After an attempt at casting aluminum in a sculpture class nearly set the school on fire;  my sculpting instructor, who seeing me in a less than enthusiastic state of mind, asked of the charred, metal splattered remains of my project now amidst the settling ash of burnt wood and foam  "was that precious to you?  I don't know about precious to me at that point, but that New Jersey cabbie was certainly  proud to be the owner of one deconstructed chocolate sculpture.