DHAKA: Ida Skivenes is a full-time food artist and a food photographer. She has become famous in a very short time for her creativity, talent and skills in food art. She not only creates regular arts on food, but also remakes the arts of different artists on food for her “The Art Toast Project”.

To spread and share her ideas and thoughts among others she also wrote a book named “Eat Your Art Out: Playful Breakfast.” She regularly uploads the pictures of her art works on instagram and has more than 10,000 followers. She is available on different social networking sites with the name Idafrosk. This Norwegian food artist presently lives in Berlin, Germany. Meem Noshin Nawal Khan, newsroom editor at banglanews24 talked to her regarding her works and different aspects of food art.  

Banglanews24: How long has it been since you’re making food art?
Ida:  I started making food art in June 2012.

Banglanews24: How did the idea of creating art works on food come to your mind?

Ida:  My initial source of inspiration was other people`s food art online, after that I started developing my own ideas.
 
Banglanews24: Do you remember your first work on food? If yes, what was it? How did you feel after creating that?

Ida:  Yes, the first things I made were two pieces of toast, one made to look like a bear and another one a fox. It definitely put a smile on my face that morning.

Banglanews24: You have started with a project called “The Art Toast Project.” Tell us about it.

Ida: The Art Toast Project consists of edible modern art remakes with a piece of toast as the canvas. The project was inspired mainly by the literal meaning of “food art”, combined with my passion for art. The main aim is to show what`s possible to do with food ingredients, while at the same time doing a little bit of art education.

Banglanews24:  How many arts did you remake till now? What are they? Which one is your most favorite piece?

Ida:  I`ve made around 24 remakes so far. They are everything from Picasso, Vermeer, Kahlo to Munch. My favorite is “The Girls on the Jetty” by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch.

Banglanews24:  Did you ever face any difficulty making such art works?

Ida:   The biggest challenge I`ve met is getting the colors right, especially finding naturally blue ingredients.

Banglanews24: What things do you keep in consideration while selecting ingredients for food art?

Ida:  I try to use readily available everyday ingredients and put together meals that are nutritionally whole with grains, fruits, vegetables and protein. Colors are important too while selecting ingredients.

Banglanews24: How long does it take to finish a piece of work? Do you have a particular time to do these art works?

Ida: It takes quite a lot of time to create the art remakes, a minimum of 30 minutes, often over an hour. The other things I make are generally done in 5 – 15 minutes. I used to make them in the mornings but now that I`m working full time on this I usually do them in the middle of the day, when the daylight is at its best.

Banglanews24: Do you have any future plan about your work? If yes, what is it?

Ida:  I`m working full time with food art projects until at least August 2014, after that we`ll see. I`m doing a couple of advertising assignments, workshops and book promotions. The plan is just to keep going, next I`ll see what comes my way.

Banglanews24: You have written a book about making food arts- “Eat Your Art Out: Playful Breakfast.” How’s the readers’ response? Do you have a plan to write more books?

Ida:  The readers are usually very positive, they think it`s a useful book, both for themselves and as a gift. I hope to make more books in the future if this one turns out well. The book rights have been sold to 5 countries already, and more are in the works.  

Banglanews24: What tips will you give to a beginner who wants to start doing food art?

Ida: Start with the simple things, like make a smiley face on your toast and then basic animals such as cats and dogs. Use fresh and colorful ingredients that automatically make the meal more enticing.

BDST: 0000 HRS, DEC 22, 2013
Edited By: Shameem Reza, Newsroom Editor