Nausicaa & Co - Nausicaa Valley of the Wind / Natasha Ananyeva, Cake Virtuoso Studio

Why her - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

First because I love her character.  She is a tomboy - courageous, kind, nature loving. Eco-friendly)))  Maybe if we all aspired to be a more like her, the world would be a cleaner, better place where humans and nature co-exist in peace. second - this manga is one of the earliest by Ghibli. and as I would not normally do modelling, this scene from the anime is a huge challenge to me as a sugarcrafter.

I started making cakes first as a hobby, 8 years ago, then was taking commissions and also took sugarcraft classes in UK and Japan - on sugar flowers and royal icing. I quit my job 3 years ago and took sugarcraft teaching full time. Since then I've been teaching in Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, Hong Kong and Ireland and won gold, silver and bronze in international sugarcraft competitions.

Totoro - My Neighbour Totoro / Niamh Geraghty, Perfectionist Confectionist

Why did I choose this movie?  I think because I have such happy memories of watching this with my children.  This, and Kiki's Delivery Service, were the first Studio Ghibli movies I saw and I loved the simplicity and beauty in the drawing and the colours.  

Also, due to his shape, I thought Totoro would be an easy cake to make. Yeah, I was wrong.

Nightwalker - Princess Mononoke / Paul Redmond, Purple Feather Cake Design

I jumped at the chance to do this piece because I've wanted to do an ultraviolet reactive cake for ages. That and there's just not enough cakes with mohicans :)

Seita and Setsuko - Grave of the Fireflies / Philip Mullen, Kickshaw Cakes

I chose Grave of the Fireflies as my inspiration as it is one of my favourite Studio Ghibli films. Widely regarded as one of the greatest war films, it focuses it's attention on the personal tragedies war gives rise to. It's two main themes, the effect of isolation from society and it's emphasis that war is society's failure to protect it's own people, still have valid importance in today's world and remind us that we should listen and learn from history rather than repeating it. 

Kamaji - Spirited Away / Phil O'Regan, Flour Power Cakes

For my piece,I chose the boiler man named Kamaji who works in Yubaba's bath house.

I am surprised I picked such an arachnid looking character (as my biggest phobia is spiders!) but was glad I did after watching Spirited Away.I learned that beneath Kamaji's freakish appearance and gruff manner lay a kind,caring heart.

The saying 'Never judge a book by it's cover' came to mind.

Lettie - Howl's Moving Castle / Sandra Stokes McCullough, Little Lady Cakes

My favourite pieces to model are faces, especially their expressions, and to create them as closely as possible to reality.

I chose this piece for the Studio Ghibli competition as I loved the style of clothes from the Victorian era and this was reminiscent of that for me. 

Nahoko - The Wind Rises / Sarah Durcan

I chose this because I loved the challenge of making her kimono, the pattern really appealed to me. And I also liked the joy in her expression.