I am lucky enough to get an occasional email from curious readers so I thought I would compile a short list of the frequently asked questions just to clear some things up.
So here goes…
Everything you never wanted to know about Arty McGoo:
I make all my cookies 100% start to finish with real butter and pure extracts. When possible I use local, farm fresh eggs and even some of the extracts I use are made right here in San Luis Obispo! I always frost with a Royal Icing flood for a nice, smooth canvas and then the fun part: I either pipe a design in frosting or paint directly on the cookie using food coloring and a paint brush, or sometimes both.
I’ve used Wilton, AmeriColor, and Duff gel paste colors and they all work great and I think any concentrated colors would work fine. I use a white artist palette to put my colors on and mix and apply them with Wilton paintbrushes. I use the food coloring just like watercolor paints and dilute them with water. A little goes a long way and you don’t want to overwork the colors because they will start to pit the surface of the frosting. If the painting seems a little sticky at the end, I lightly dust it with powdered sugar. I’ve been painting on cookies since March 2011 in this post when I first put paintbrush to cookie and I LOVE it!
Yes and no. That picture is of me, but that’s not usually what I look like. My daughter Sage and I were having what we call a “spa day” where I give her a manicure and put on lotion and all that girly stuff. We extended it to a makeover and we played with makeup and hair. I snapped some pictures of us and this one came out so hilariously cheesy that I thought it would be funny to use as my header.
I live in California and it is illegal in this state to sell home-baked goods (even non-perishable ones!) to the public. I currently make cookies for friends and family until I can figure out a commercial kitchen that won’t cost me more to bake out of than I make on the cookies. I’m not gonna lie, decorated sugar cookies take a long time (from baking, to waiting for the flood icing to set, to decorating) and I haven’t figured out how to make a profit while renting a kitchen by the hour.
I wish I could make cookies for EVERYONE!
Cookies have definitely become my most used canvas, but I have been known to put paintbrush to other things. This post has several of my non-edible paintings in it as does the tag painting and I definitely want to do more permanent works soon.
I always love hearing from new friends and I hope by reading this you know more about me than you ever wanted to! Blogland is a grand place and I so enjoy “meeting” new friends and hearing your comments and emails. If perhaps I didn’t answer any questions you have, feel free to email me at artymcgoo@yahoo.com
LOVED reading this Liz! It's fun to know that picture is actually you – or a version of you 😉 Your cookies and artistry is beyond amazing. Every time I see your gorgeous work, I'm in awe. Like you, I'm in California so I only make cookies for family and friends too. It's a bummer because it's something we SO enjoy and I looked into commercial kitchens out here and they are insanely expensive to rent and with the time we put into what we enjoy, there's no way. I'm thankful to have a large family that always wants more cookies 🙂 Great getting to know you more!!!
Love, love love! My husband and I met at cal poly! Love visiting SLO and get up there a few times a year to visit family and friends! We just might bump into each other over a bread bowl at splash one day!
Love all your work and wit!
Re: "Can you make me cookies?" I live in Colorado and have come across the SAME problem. Every word of that paragraph is something I have said in the past couple of weeks. I guess giving away cookies is better than not making them at all! 🙂
Cristin and Jodi I feel you! It's frustrating. I wonder if we sell them instead as art that just happens to be edible, how that would go over? 😀
Lizy b that would be cool! We should make it a date next time you're up.
Great post, thanks for sharing a little bit more about yourself and your amazing talents. I don't live in the US but I do know that Texas just passed the Cottage Food Law. Perhaps getting a lot of cookie bakers together in your State to organize a petition can help push forward the need to get a similar law passed in California (and Colorado). I don't like to put links in comments but if you go to texascottagefoodlaw dot com you will see how home bakers just like yourselves successfully changed the law in Texas.
wow, I did not know that such laws existed. It is a pity as your creations are beautiful. Thankfull we don't have anything like that in this country. A lot of people would be out of work.
You can move to Arizona 🙂 haha. They just passed the law there that as long as you get a license (15 bucks I think) you can bake in your own home and sell them. I was SOO happy:)
I LOVE your painted cookies! They are BEAUTIFUL and you are so talented… thank you for sharing! I wanted to ask you if when painting on a cookie, if the color happens to also color your mouth when you eat it or if it acts like normal, colored, royal icing? I am hoping to try your technique but don't want a rainbow colored mouth on each of my guests! 🙂 Thanks for your help and your talented works of art!!!
I just love the way you decorate, it's truly amazing!!! I moved from California to Texas, for many reasons (no jobs, no money, etc.), but also one reason was that Texas has the Cottage Food law that allows me to bake (legally) from my home and now I found out California just passed their own law in Sep 2012. Maybe now you can sell your beautiful creations to the public. Keep doing what you are doing!
Hi can you share the royal icing recipe you use?