Friday
Feb132009
President's Day Cupcake Mosaic
February 13, 2009 For those of you who missed out, about 1,800 of us had fun watching Zilly Rosen and her team assemble a 5,900 cupcake mosaic of Presidents Obama and Lincoln at the Smithsonian in DC today (they had a live webcam set up). It was even cooler than it sounds, believe it or not.
(You may remember I featured Zilly's work last November; check out that post here.)
Below are some progress shots taken from the live webcam. They shut off the camera just as I was about to get the final shot, but fortunately Kasey D. was on the scene, and sent me a picture of the finished product. Thanks, Kasey!
Thanks also to Sara K. for the streaming link!
My fav Zilly quote: "Obama's on the left. Appropriate."
Progress shots: 2:50 EST:
3:18 EST:
3:44 EST:
4:10 EST:
4:38 EST:
Tada!
Note: I consider Zilly's creations more cupcake "mosaics" than the dreaded cupcake-cake abominations I usually heap disdain upon, so I'm not classifying this as a Wreck: more just an interesting bit of cake news.
Reader Comments (102)
Lawd! I have to stop looking at these cakes *laughing* - i have writing, editing, etc to do - stop me now! Dang Gumbo WRiter for linking you today *haw*
Today at 2? What Time Zone?
My friends and I are planning to go to the museum in time for the deinstall at 5 p.m., and which guest can "volunteer" to help by eating the cupcakes. Mmmmm....
356 viewers already! I wonder how many are from this blog??? And it's only 1:30 lol!
Time zone??
post pictures?!! I gotta get back to work! :(
2 o'clock in what time zone? It says off air when I go to it! I want to see cupcakes! :)
That's great! I would have never thought to do something like that!
that is amazing, and i'm watching it live now!
though right now all i can see is a lady unloading cupcakes. still more exciting than what's happening where i'm at. ha.
-kate
Sorry, Dominic - that's 2 Eastern. Although, it's 2:25pm now, and they're just now getting started. (And I'm finding this WAY too entertaining. Plus I have work to do, too, Kathryn, so I feel your pain!)
Had to comment just because of my word verification. Today's cupcake mosaics must have taken several buckets of "eysings"!
Tracy
Is it just me, or is the woman on the top left side having issues with straight lines...and proper spacing.
This is fascinating and all, but that blonde girl REALLY needs to pull up her pants. I wonder if she realizes her bottom is being streamed live on the internet....poor thing.
It's growing!
The girl in the NW section is really annoying me, she can't space them out properly, dying to get in there, smack her hand out of the way and do it for her.
I can see I'm going to be stuck here for some time, lucky I'm in the UK so the kids are in bed :D
Favorite part so far: when it was mentioned on camera that you could see right down one of the cupcake arrangers pants! Then we got to hear the offending cupcake placer be told about it - turns out she didn't care, but it was funny!
I tuned in just in time for the camera people to point out to Zilly that one of the cupcake placers that, well... um, crack kills (her butt! dead center on camera).
So Zilly is asking her does she want to stop? no. Does she want to put on a sweater? no. Does she care? *laugh* no....
TOO MUCH :D
I just saw a bit of the live feed. That's so cool to be able to see the creation in real time! I'll try to check in again later to see the progress. It's also awesome how practically all the comments on the bottom of the video website are from people who found it through cakewrecks :).
I think my favorite part is that the Obama cupcakes are chocolate-filled.
I can't look away. It's interesting and insanely boring at the same time.
And I really want to give the lady talking a cough drop.
Thanks for the link. :)
1311 viewers right now...I hope if they don't finish before I leave work that I can find a pic of the finished product...This is SOOO awesome.
I keep wondering as I'm watching them all put it together if anyone's gonna get to eat the cupcakes. I hope so! What's the point of making a big edible mosaic if the cupcakes don't taste good, or if they aren't eaten at all?
this website had brought cake into a whole new level of involvement in my life. I find it funny that I am actually watching someone assemble cupcakes via live-streaming web. wow. do you realize your power? use it for good, my friend. :)
It's 2...my time at least. Should be interesting!
http://gifoftheday.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">3 new posts to my daily gif blog today.
I'm watching it now--that's incredible! To think they can make such realistic images with cupcakes and I can hardly draw a stick figure....
Which museum is it? American History?
Oh, this is hypnotizing!
i laugh about these all the time at work! thank you so much!!
I can't believe they put Lincoln on the same design... not a racist comment, but a partisan one.
Nicole
Even though I don't like or support Obama, that has to be one of the most impressive things I've seen. The time and planning that went into that is amazing!
Anyone else see the mistake? Above Obama's eye of the left hand side... looks like two eye balls or something. I saw her misplace cupcakes, but not sure if it was fixed...
I'm sorry to go on about NW corner girl but she has soooo wrecked Obama's forehead, can no-one else see it?
Anyone got a number to call Zilly?
I've been watching almost the entire time. It's amazing how much planning this took and how well it is being executed! Thanks for the live entertainment on a boring day.
Don't care for Obama, but man, this is like cupcake science or summink.
SCIENCE!!!
I also thought the forehead was messed up, but apparantly noone THERE sees it. And I think they gave him TOO much twinkle that eyeball.
She has misplaced at least 2 cupcakes, I think 4.
But, to be fair, Obama's cheek, and left eye look weird as well. Flesh coloured eye highlight and lots of Acne?
If you're watching this now, notice that there's something a bit strange above Obama's left eyebrow... Isn't it a bit too dark there?
That is impressive! I've never seen anything like it! Thanks so much for opening my eyes to the possibilities of cupcakes!@_@
P.S. Last day to win a handknit scarf at Salihan.com. Drop on by if you haven't done so already.
Are these shellacked cupcakes? I see no icing on the gloves.
I did see the girl doing Obama's forehead misplace the light cupcakes that are making it look a little wonky...she grabbed them from the opposite side of the tray, perhaps intending to place them correctly, but seemed to get distracted and then put them in wrong. :( This is why it's best to have one system that you use consistently, boring as that may be, instead of switching it up with each tray.
It's a 5,600 cupcake portrait at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
The public will be able to "de-install" the portait too.
That's my kind of art!
Nicole- I think putting Obama and Lincoln together makes a wonderful picture. Lincoln, a president very against slavery and Obama, our first black president. Makes perfect sense to put the two together.
Why don't cool things like that happen where I live? But that's simply incredible. Amazingly done!
Yay! it's 4:34 and they are going to fix his forehead!!! wooo.
I've been glued to my computer... fascinating! Brilliant!
Oh, good, they're fixing Obama's forehead. Haha, it was so messed up.
She must have seen the mistake. To bad she had to lean over 20 cupcakes to fix it!
This is like art happening while I watch. As homer would say... mmmm, art.
MM, Delicious frosted pixels!
Ladyfox7oaks
Unbelievable how attached I am to this feed. Probably not so much if there hadn't been the aforementioned mistake, but I can't help thinking that someone is going to fall face first into them trying to fix the problem.
Obama's eyes look strange.
I think they messed up his face? Why are they taking it apart? I do wish there was volume.
But, it's such an incredible thing, I can't even fathom the planning that must have been involved.
Yeah, apparently when she was setting up the trays, she inadvertently duplicated a row at two in the morning and is now going back and fixing the error.