Yesterday, we posted a special holiday-style before and after: a real home and its gingerbread replica. An AT reader saw it and kindly sent us in another. According to Cynthia, this home is located in Torch Lake, MI and was done up gingerbread-style...
...in polymer clay by artist Sharon Sahl.




Now THAT's a Gingerbread House.
view bepsf's profile
NO it isn't a gingerbread house, it is a plastic house. An extremely well made, highly detailed done "in the style of a gingerbread house" - polymer plastic house. Not in any way do I intend to denigrate the artistry of the maker...
For me the true charm of a gingerbread house is that it is made of edible substances re-purposed to give the impression of something much larger and not edible. The sugarcandy glass windows, the gumdrop trees, and so on.
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That's definitely a keepsake gingerbread-like replica of their home. I don't know how to work very competently with polymer clay, nor have I ever tried to build a gingerbread house (and can't say I've ever eaten a piece of one either). There seems to be an advantage to both. One is in a sense, a preservation. It's possible to get more intricate with the details. The other way is humble with spectacular results. It's making candy your medium, and holy candy at that. The craft of making architecture out of candy! It has limits and no limits. It is for show and also for eating. Probably a little more for show. Eating it too soon wrecks the lingering pride of workmanship, such that it is put on display and meant to be admired. This polymer clay version saves having to make another one next year, but it's like wax fruit. Just buy fruit if you like to look at a bowl of fruit. Eat a pear if you're hungry, and buy a new pear. Don't eat lemons.
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