When artful eyes lock on the dimpled, less-than-perfect fruits and vegetables that normal shoppers tend to give the cold shoulder to, the result can be surprisingly appealing. Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann have created a wildly successful career out of putting a face and story behind a vast rainbow of ugly duckling, farm born and raised crops that would traditionally be relegated to the garbage can.
Though their impressive catalog of books are geared toward children, the longtime collaborators have struck gold with an ideal balance of simple yet brilliant storylines supported with unforgettably quirky fruit and veggie faces that are guaranteed to make even the most serious of adults smile. Titles such as “How Are You Peeling?” and “Play With Your Food” barely scratch the surface of the treasures that lie within.
Focusing on the distinct eccentricities that Mother Nature endows his fruit and veggie subjects with, artist Saxton Freymann cultivates character traits with minimal tools — dried beans, an Exacto knife, and occasional almond slivers. He is unquestionably a minimal-impact, eco-friendly artist! For a behind-the-scenes look at Freymann’s artistic process, click here: http://www.teachingbooks.net/spec_athr.cgi?pid=1123&a=1
Titles in Elffers’ and Freymann’s series include: Food Play, Fast Food, Baby Food, Dog Food, Food For Thought, Dr, Pompo’s Nose, Play With Your Pumpkins and How Are You Peeling? (my personal favorite). Click here http://flickr.com/photos/willotoons/sets/72157603253670087/detail/ to peruse several images from their book “Play With Your Food.”
Their entire range of books are in my opinion, thoroughly worthwhile – try checking them out at your local library or taking a peek at them in the children’s section of your favorite bookstore. They are definitely worth the investment! Once you pick one up, I guarantee that you won’t want to put it down until you devour every delicious picture within. You might even become inspired enough to try your hand at dabbling in the edible arts – and if you have children, what a wonderful family project that could be!
For more remarkable produce-inspired art, check out the following links:
1) http://funfever.blogspot.com/2008/03/incredible-fruit-and-vegetable-art.html
2) http://www.fresh99.com/zoomed-in-food.htm
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