The piercing yellow eye of a Tyrannosaurus rex peering out from lush tropical foliage.
A sweet pink kimono with a yellow obi cinched around its waist, paired with a piece of sushi so realistic, the spicy mayonnaise drizzle on top seems to glisten.
These are just a few of the customized cookie orders that Duck City Sweets owner Tasha Wiginton has created for her customers since opening her home-based business in Taylor exactly one year ago.
“I take it pretty seriously,” Wiginton said of her customized edible art, which also includes made-to-order cakes. “I am kind a perfectionist in most things that I do.”
Indeed, Wiginton incorporates a thorough process to make sure her cookie and cake orders are “anything but cookie cutter.”
“I want all of the things to feel cohesive and like they belong together,” said Wiginton, who has a background in graphic design, writing, and has even published a coloring book for adults. “If your decorations are a certain color and have a design on it, I feel like your cookies or your cake or whatever should look like it belongs.”
To accomplish this, Wiginton requests that her customers provide the theme, color and design of any decorations her confections will be served alongside. She also requests photos, web sites or any other sources of inspiration her clients may have.
And then she gets to work making mockups, stencils, cake toppers, or whatever the vision requires.
“Usually, I will start to just gather inspiration look at what cookie cutters I have, or I could get, and then I will sketch out something,” Wiginton said. “And more often than not, I end up just hand-cutting my cookies out because I don’t like the way the cookie cutters look, or they are not the exact shape or size or whatever, so I will just make like a template and then hand cut them and go from there.”
In addition to baking, Wiginton has also started teaching at Wilco Art Lab at Old Taylor High. Next week, she will offer “Intro to Cookie Decorating” at 6 p.m. on Sept. 15. At the class, students will have the opportunity to learn to make 80s-themed sugar cookies, including techniques for working with royal icing, piping details and more.
Wiginton said her plan is to make the class a monthly offering and is excited to share her new-found passion with others.
“I love what I do,” writes Wiginton on her bio for the art lab. “Not only because it’s an honor to be a part of others’ biggest days, but because it’s always a challenge, and it’s always something new.”
For more information, see http://duckcitysweets.com.
