For Bethel Artists, Locally Grown Exhibit Is a Cake Walk

Two Bethel bakers will be sweetening The Locally Grown Exhibit, currently showing at the Danbury Museum and Historical Society. Their delicious wares will be entered into a Cake Competition, where all of the attendees will sample and judge the cakes.

 Tara Burgess will be baking her family favorite, a Ghirardelli chocolate cake. “This is a great recipe that my family requests for every birthday. Even the icing is chocolate. This is the first time I have ever baked for anything like this,” she said.

 Baker by trade Kristy Ouellette has never entered a cake contest either, but decided to do it for fun. Inspired by Danbury's history of hats, Ouellette's cake will have a Victorian feel. “It will be a three tier cake, vanilla bean infused, sour cream butter cake with whipped butter, ganache filling and french buttercream frosting,” she said, adding that there will also be rolled fondant decorations and hand piped roses and filagree work.

 Ouellette, who has a one month old infant, said that she will take three days to make her cake. “In a bake shop, it's a three day process. On Monday, you make the cake, Tuesday you assemble it and on Wednesday you frost it. If you take your time, you enjoy it more, especially since I have the baby.”

 In lieu of an entry fee, participating bakers may bring both a large cake and a smaller one to sell to benefit the museum.

 The Cake Competition is centered within a larger art exhibit, curated by the Housatonic Valley Cultural Alliance. The Museum is a new venue for HVCA's 2012 Accessible Art Project and is the first location equipped to exhibit 3-D works of art. Sculpture, photography and painting are the featured mediums.

 Bethel artist and owner of the Rainy Day Paperback Exchange Honorah O'Neill will be showing her whimsical animal sculptures in the exhibit. Some of the more unusual pieces are based on mythology from various cultures, but the humanity of her rats, and wily fox and wolf faces, are sure to draw smiles from viewers of all ages.

 O'Neills animals are cast from an epoxy synthetic clay, that she said is both lovely and maddening to work with. “It doesn't need to be fired, and can even harden in water. But it can harden quickly before you are done and drive you crazy,” she said, her expressive pixie face showing all of the emotions of just such a moment.

 “I started making these kinds of sculptures when I was 13,” O'Neill said. “They say it takes 10,000 hours to become really good at something. I figure I have spent about 7,000.”

 “We're excited to see Huntington Hall filled with so many talented local artists,” stated Brigid Guertin, Executive Director of the Danbury Museum & Historical Society. “In fact,” she added, “the museum was opened seventy years ago as The Danbury Historical Museum and Art Center and has long been a steadfast supporter of the arts, culture and local history.”

 “It makes sense to connect with the Danbury Museum as a place to show art and we’re very excited about this partnership,” says Lisa Scails the Executive Director of HVCA. “It expands opportunity and increases the visibility of art in the Danbury area.”

 The Cake Competition will be held this Saturday, Feb 11, from 12-4 pm. There will be a $10 cover charge for adults, and children under 10 are free. Cake, champagne, sparkling water, and nice, cold milk will be served.

 The exhibit will be open for viewing Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 3pm and Saturday from 10am to 4pm through March 20^th. It is FREE and open to the public; donations are gratefully accepted.

 A full schedule of Locally Grown Artists & Authors events can be found on the museum website: www.danburymuseum.org