Art Cupcakes

Princess Lorraine is also known as Lorraine Thayer. Thayer is a visual artist who works in a variety of media. She paints, draws, and sculpts. The cupcake has become an icon in her work, in fact, it was her interest in cupcakes that led to the creation of The Royal Cupcake Company. The special, one of a kind, cupcakes in this gallery are examples of Thayer’s artwork. Read on to learn more about Thayer and to discover the importance of the cupcake, as seen through the eyes of this innovative artist.

Artist Statement

Cows, caramels, and cupcakes.

I started my study of cattle by painting the surface of the gentle bovine in realistic watercolors. I found pleasure in illustrating the way their hide draped over and followed the bone and flesh beneath the surface. Later I began to investigate the cows’ shape and character in a series of tabletop sized sculptures. These whimsical works were made of foam core which was broken, bent, and joined with wire. With my fingers, I applied acrylic paint in arbitrary colours. Shiny metallic paints and spray paints were used to interpret the tapestry of textures that is the cow.

Caramels came into my work as a natural progression from cattle. As I squished and manipulated the tiny candy cubes, I found I was producing the same shapes that had initially intrigued me in cattle. Rounded, undulating forms were created when I played with the caramel shape. I tried making these shapes in gray, black, and white, placticene. I experimented with several homemade clays that could be air dried or baked. The pieces I produced in placticene and clay were very small, like the caramels they inspired. They were created in series. I attached spheres to some shapes.

The shape I am currently investigating is that of the cupcake.

The cupcake, like the cows and caramels that preceded it, is a round, undulating shape. I have made cupcake sculptures in clay, felt, and plaster of Paris. These are all small, about the size of a real cupcake.

Presently, plaster is my favourite cupcake material. I mould and sculpt the plaster into the shape of the cupcake. The centers are hollow so that the cupcake is actually a vessel. I like the concept that my cupcakes can hold secret treasure. When dry, the surfaces of the white plaster cupcakes are painted with acrylic paint and finger nail polish. They are burnt, broken, and wired. Some look remarkably like the Raku pottery which inspired them. I have dipped plaster cupcakes in thick, unset jello. I have put cupcakes into the cyclone canister of my vacuum cleaner while vacuuming. I find delight in playing with the different textures and colours I can apply to my cupcakes.

Many of my cupcakes deal with issues that are of special interest to women. I have cupcakes that address breast cancer, depression, and the role of women in society. I make cupcakes that are delicious looking, in light pastel colours. Others are dark and disturbing. The common thread running through all the cupcakes is the familiar round form that attracted me from the start.

Here you can see examples of Princess Lorraine's art cupcakes and more.