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THE MAD PLATTER
#1 in my "Alice Through the Cooking Class" Series.
THE MAD PLATTER is a colorful and imaginative character whose
adventures in the wonderland of cuisine fill his mad top hat full with
plates of tiny foods (aka appetizers) and magic mushroom munchies. A
humorous whirl through the magic world of cooking and food led by a
slightly mad chef who loves his bite sized tea snacks.
This "Alice Through The Cooking Class" series is my food oriented twist on a favorite childhood classic, "Alice Through the Looking Glass and The Mad Platter is my quirky take on the Mad Hatter. I think you can see I was totally inspired by Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland, being a huge Burton fan and a big Johnny Depp fan as well. No, this is not a portrait of Depp, I just liked the wildly creative characterizations Burton applied to these literary classics and was immediately inspired to sit down and sketch my own interpretations them. Below is the first Mad Platter Sketch.
I did all the main characters (which you'll see in later posts) and then at the end combined them into this the black and white drawing below. I went back and forth as to whether I should add color. I also never really knew exactly what to do with these, marketing wise, so they have languished in a file for several years! But I never really toss out a good design, I've come back to ideas sometimes decades later!
When I decided to do food themed art I was shuffling through my files (I have tons of sketches and drawings in manila folders I've kept forever as fodder for inspiration), I happened upon these and I knew immediately what I had in mind for them and the Alice Through the Cooking Class Series was born!
I took my original sketch for the Mad Hatter and turned his hat into a serving vessel for some truly mad platters of appetizers and The Mad Platter sprang to life:
Then I did the same to the others, which I'll be posting up within the next week.
I don't know how popular these will be, but frankly, they are some of the best work I've ever done and I love them. They have also inspired me to write a tea party cookbook!
where you can read more about the original piece and get the specifics.
THE MAD PLATTER is also available on Posters, Archival Prints, Gallery Wrapped Canvas, Clothing, Stationery, Decor and other Gifts at
The Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad?
Alice Kingsley: I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.
