Jacinda Russell
Summer 2010
Location: 3rd Floor Rooftop Swimming Pool, Galt House Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky
Date: Sunday 9 May 2010
Muchas Gracias for assisting: Hannah Barnes
Cake Nickname: "Big Pink"
Bribe $ to make it happen: $5 tip to the concierge
"Lessons Learned from this Event" (ode to Nancy after getting caught returning to the scene of the crime with her UH trespassing pool jump): Ask permission then trespass if necessary (fortunately the first worked). Don't expect the pool to be open even when the hotel says it will be while making reservations a month earlier. Count your lucky stars the wind was blowing in the direction of where the sun was shining on the side of the pool where I could stand without my shadow getting in the way. Styrofoam and caulk do hold up in water deeper than the wood shop sink.
Hidden fact disguised in the cropping of this photograph: the pool looked like it hadn't been cleaned since last season.
Quote: "...the first in a playful, whipsmart series of artwork where their ode to Ed Ruscha and Wayne Thiebaud is the icing on the cake and the sheer glamour of the cakes themselves, the cherry on top (or in this case, the roses)." - from Design Ingenuity.
Location: Mid Valley Athletic Club, Tucson, Arizona
Date: 15 May 2010
Muchas Gracias for assisting: Cass Fey and Daniel Huntley
Cake Nickname: "Desert Sun"
Number of floats: 2nd out of a total of 6 (which also included 2 fountains, an apartment complex, and 2 hotels)
Trespassing Status: Got away with every single attempt and no bribe money was needed
Lessons Learned: Do NOT leave a styrofoam and caulk cake in the car even if it is in the shade with temperatures in the low 90s. Desert Sun's new nickname could be "Bubbles."
Hidden fact disguised in the cropping of this photograph: the Silver Sneaker aerobics class is working out 20 feet away.
Quote: "We are just making a birthday card for a friend who loves this pool but couldn't be here today." Cass Fey - when asked what we were doing at the Arizona Inn by another swimmer.
Location: Barton Springs, Austin, Texas
Date: 13th June 2010
Muchas Gracias for Assisting: Nicole DiMucci
Cake Nickname: "Lime Green"
Number of floats: 3 of 3
Trespassing Status: only happened once, didn't get caught and no bribe $ needed
Lessons Learned: This cake was so hard to photograph due to how light the top looked under direct sun which resulted in many overexposures. The cake decorations deteriorated more quickly than any other because of the sheer length of time it was submerged in the water. Also, fishing line around the wrist and screwed eyed to the bottom of the cake works quite well!
Hidden fact disguised in the cropping of this photograph: There was a lot more algae than what little you see here which pushed the prerequisite of "enticing."
Quote: "Is that a container?" at Hamilton Pool or "You can't bring food in here!" at Barton Springs.
Location: Scott and Kim Anderson's Backyard, Hartford City, Indiana
Date: 18th June 2010
Muchas Gracias for Assisting: Hannah Barnes, Donna Goedhart, Shannon Mehaffey, Scott & Kim Anderson
Cake Nickname: "Big Spiral"
Number of Floats: 3 of 3 (tried 4 locations but one pool was empty). This was known as the "Failure Tour" after the inability of finding a decent location or weather at Prairie Creek Reservoir (Muncie), Tuhey Pool (Muncie), and Mounds State Park (Anderson).
Bribe $ to Make it Happen: Chocolate cupcakes and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon
Lessons Learned: The cake can, with a lot of muscle, be pushed underwater but it is impossible to stand on beneath the surface. Trying to have a positive outlook on finding a place in Muncie is impossible (no surprise there but you can't fault one for trying).
Hidden fact disguised in the cropping of this photograph: Chickens, chickens everywhere! On a side note, I asked Scott and Kim what their location should be called. "Chicken Ranch" was suggested but I vetoed that because the famous Nevada brothel is the first thing that came to mind the moment it was mentioned.
Quote: "My husband and I were wondering how much your camera costs?" (i.e. lets avoid the cake but try to strike up a conversation that eventually leads to the BIG styrofoam and caulk thing that's far larger and more apparent than the camera) - Mounds State Park, Anderson, Indiana
Location: Niagara Falls, NY
Date: 30th June 2010
Muchas Gracias for Assisting: Marni Shindelman AKA "Cake Wrangler," Zazie and Franzie Weldgen
Cake Nickname: "3-Tier"
Number of Floats: 2 (Franzie Weldgen's backyard in Webster, NY was the second)
Bribe $ to Make it Happen: One journey on the Maid of the Mist boat tour and a fake cake eraser.
Lessons Learned: Many... I needed a rudder! The Niagara River moves quickly! The hot glue gun worked for three complete submersions before the topper fell off. The screw-eye, fishing line system worked well in terms of reining the cake in against the current. Red acrylic tinted caulk bleeds A LOT.
Hidden fact disguised in the cropping of this photograph: That really is the Niagara River. It moves fast and is SCARY.
Quote: "I'm just taking my fake cake for a walk." JR to Steven Pedersen when he looked at me curiously in the hallway en route to taking the cake home to be packed.
Location: Silver Bay, Lake George, New York
Date: 4th July 2010
Muchas Gracias for assisting: Li Rader
Cake Nickname: Angel Food
Number of Floats: 2 (the second occurred at Lake Champlain near Shoreham, Vermont)
Bribe $ to make it happpen: Nada! I love my friends!
Lessons Learned: The whitest of all white tops and on the scale of things sucking to photograph, this ranks high. It was exposed in partial shade for that reason. I also had no idea that this cake is traditional 4th of July fare.
Hidden Fact Disguised in the Cropping of this photograph: The water is also blue, green, purple, and clear.
Quote: Nothing much... same old "Is that a cake?" that is uttered from people everywhere.
Location: Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Date: 16th July 2010
Muchas Gracias for Assisting: Donna Goedhart and random stranger on the Pacific Ocean
Cake Nickname: The Slice
Number of Floats: Two (the second was at Long Beach at the Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island).
Bribe $ to Make it Happen: None though I did feel really goofy asking a stranger for help.
Lessons Learned: Paint the bottom of the slice or grow some guts and bore a hole through the top. When I held the slice, the text would only face me.
Hidden Fact Disguised in the Cropping of this Photograph: A very deep pool and waterfall are ten feet to the left.
Quote: Nothing beats the Park Ranger saying, "That's illegal in Canada!" when she thought I was going to let the cake go down the Sooke River.
Location: Lake Erie, Evangola State Park, New York
Date: 29th June 2010
Muchas Gracias for Assisting: Aaron Wickenden, Marni Shindelman, and Hannah Barnes
Cake Nickname: "Little Great Lakes"
Number of Floats: 2nd of 6 (this cake visited Lake Michigan twice, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior throughout the course of the summer)
Bribe $ to Make It Happen: Nada
Lessons Learned: Little Great Lakes vs. Waves (the waves win every time). It topples! The red caulk decor finally stopped bleeding by the third float.
Hidden fact disguised in the cropping of the photograph: There were dozens of seagulls off to the left.
Quote: This cake was inconspicuous compared to many of the others and the floats were mainly done outside of the public eye so no one had much to say about it. Dogs even ignored it at the Dog Park in Chicago!
Location: Miners Beach, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Lake Superior, Michigan
Date: 12 August 2010
Muchas gracias for assisting: the ever so patient Hannah Barnes
Cake Nickname: "5-tier"
Number of Floats: this was the only one because some of the decorations were real sugar
Bribe $ to make it happen: None but we endured persistently annoying questions.
Lessons Learned: There is nothing inconspicuous about a 5-tier cake in a national park. Giant flies are attracted to sugar. The real candy melted instantly the moment it met water.
Hidden fact disguised in the cropping of this photograph: There is one annoying guy standing five feet behind me asking to see the images on the back of the camera. I could see his reflection clearly off the camera body.
Quotes: "OK... I have to ask you about this cake" and upon hearing the answer... "Oh I was going to come over and congratulate you" (on your marriage).
"Where's the ice cream?"
"Oh you shouldn't have..."
"I like your cake!!!!" shouted by a little girl bicycling by the campsite whose voice trailed behind her.
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