Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Using Inspiration

Wednesday, February 29, 2012
A while back, while I was still living in Texas, and still selling, I had a bride call me for an order.

She wanted Alice in Wonderland for her wedding.  And I was stoked.  She sent me an image she had found.  They were Alice in Wonderland cookies done by my dear friend Sweet Sugar Belle.

Now I'm not one for straight up copying.  It feels wrong, and in the end I'm creatively numb.  Not my style.  I need to make things my own.  So I asked my dear friend if I may use her cookies as inspiration.  And she said yes, because she's awesome like that. 

So we have her cookies as a jump off.  But I wasn't done with inspiration yet.  I was inspired by the Tim Burton movie and wanted to add elements of that in. But I was also loving the vintage Through The Looking glass feel.   So here's what I came up with for the wedding:





You can see more of the photos from this set here.

As most first drafts, not my favorite version.  So I remade them.



Let's break down the inspiration.  We already have the photo that the bride sent me.  That's a good starting point, honestly usually more of a starting point than I normally have.  But I didn't stop there.  Here is where the internet becomes your friend.  Movie posters and book illustrations are easily found with the help of my boyfriend Google.  Don't tell my husband, but I think I spend more time pressing Google's buttons than his.  Just sayin'. 





Using inspiration is great.  Especially if you are creating cookies based on an already existent idea or concept. Copying, eh not so much.  Not me. But if you are starting with a pre-existing idea or design, do what you can to make it your own.  There's ton of inspiration out there and in the end you are left with a satisfied sense of creative completion because you know your cookies came from deep down in you.  Even though you were locked into a design to start with,  it doesn't mean that you can't take is a step further and let your creativity come through.







14 comments:

Unknown said...

Beautiful! As always!

The BearFoot Baker said...

This is so inspiring! It is awesome when everyone has an idea and puts their own personality into it! This is a perfect blueprint for designing our own even if we have a theme that has been done many times before! Thanks for the tip!

Shannon L said...

WoW these cookies are amazing. What a Fantastic job.

The Red Mixer - Gaby said...

Beautiful! I love all of your work! You are definitely an inspiration! :)

Carries Creations said...

Love this. Nothing frustrates me more than my end product not looking like it's supposed to. If you go into it assuming you will make it your own and not "copy," then however it comes out will be perfect, even if not your favorite. Thanks for posting this!

Unknown said...

Amazing work!!!

SweetSugarBelle said...

I admire your creations, and your calm cool head. This is perfect!

Jenny Hearts Yummies said...

ok, here's my question. i am NOT creative! LOL. sometimes i guess but i'm just not what i consider a "creative" person. however, i can bake and decorate cakes and cookies. when i'm surfing Facebook and all my favorite pages i'll see something beautiful and want to recreate it. i see so many people doing lots of the same things. so i've been really confused lately and even scared to post pics for fear someone might chastise me. i'm just confused as to the "rules" to this game. sometimes i see something so pretty and say "i wanna make THAT. THAT is soooo pretty." i guess i just don't see anything wrong with it. i do, however, also respect the feelings some have that is wrong. i just don't know what's exactly "ok."

sandie said...

Those are so unbelievably amazing!! such talent...

Sweet Cakes said...

Delicioso.!!! Congratulations.

Paula said...

Very excellent message shared with these two beautiful batches of cookies.

Anonymous said...

omg you are hilarious. I def press Google's buttons more too ;)

On another note, I can google all the pictures I want and I'd still never match your amazing talent to translate it to a cookie.

Lizzy Lizano said...

So cool! What awesome cookies! :)

Alison said...

@Jenny, you're right, some people are touchy about it. I used to be more touchy about it while I was selling cookies, but ever since I quit selling I've relaxed a lot. The ethics and rules are not widely discussed so I can't speak for EVERYONE but in a general sense, using other people's work as inspiration (not a copy) is usually totally ok, and to be extra careful (and also because it's nice) a link back or mention to the original designer is welcomed. Most decorators are happy with this kind of set up. If you want to copy someone's design and post pics on the net (and why not, you should be proud of your talent and work) but you're afraid of stepping on toes, it's best to ask permission from the designer, and if they say it's ok it's still polite to provide a linkback when you post on the internet. When most people ask me if they can use a design as inspiration or copy, I generally tell them to go ahead and just provide a linkback. I hope this helps

 

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