Making monthly site art updates really underscores how quickly time flies! It seems like just yesterday that I posted @Vanilla & Me's charming cherry blossom cookies for March, and now it's already April. Wow! Where do the hours in the day go?! I'm hoping you've all had a great first quarter (!) of the year, and that you've had at least a little time to stop and smell the roses!
I'm eager to reveal this month's talented artist, but before I do, I have a few housekeeping notes. As you probably know, I only recently published the Cookier Close-up with our January (!) site artist, @Annelise (Le bois meslé), so I am a little behind and just embarking on the interview questions for Vanilla & Me (aka Svetla). However, my aim is to have Svetla's interview posted sometime in April, so stay tuned.
Also, if you're interested in being featured yourself, it's really as easy as submitting your own cookie photos to the "Site Submissions" clip set for review and consideration. Simply read these posts here and here for more info. Remember: Site artists not only get their work featured prominently for a full month, but they also get profiled in a forum post (like this one) and in an in-depth Cookier Close-up interview as I referenced above. When preparing your site art, please bear in mind that I already have artwork through June 2021 and also for August and September 2021, so I am specifically looking for art for July, October, November, and December 2021. Please also remember that @Icingsugarkeks, our Site Art Stylist, is available to help you get your photos in the right format, so do not hesitate to contact her if you need assistance! You can send her a PM right here on Cookie Connection by clicking on her name (in pink) above. Thanks in advance for considering a contribution to the site!
Now, back to business . . . Let's look more closely at this month's glorious art . . .
Not only are these cookies beautifully executed, but they're perfectly tailored to the upcoming Easter holiday and the entry into spring. Thank you to the amazingly talented creator behind this work, @Elke Hoelzle, for so generously sharing her talents with us. (Check out Elke's original post to Cookie Connection, from which this banner and backdrop were created. And thanks again to @Icingsugarkeks for getting the original art into site-ready format!)
Elke's Cookier Close-up is currently slated for May, so, in the meantime, take a moment to get to know her better by perusing her bio and social media links below.
@Elke Hoelzle is a 51-year-old cookie designer living in Brazil and the single mother of Camilla, a beautiful 13-year-old girl. Elke has been in the boy and girl scout movement in her country, known as Escoteiros do Brasil, for more than 38 years and is also a spelunker with a great ability to explore, assess topography, and draw cave maps freehand.
Elke started making cookies when in culinary school in late 2016. She was in class when presented with an assignment about trends in Brazil, and one trend was decorated cookies. She decided to try her hand at decorating, and promptly went looking for ways to learn, only to later spend countless hours watching Julia Usher’s YouTube videos. Elke sold her first cookies on September 23, 2017. Because she needed to impress her first client, she designed the cookies as elaborately as she could, thus establishing her fancy style on her first order.
Because Elke likes to choose the most difficult sources of inspiration to transform into cookies, she has earned a reputation for herself in Brazil not just as a cookie decorator, but also as a cookie artist. Inspired by Cookie Connection, Bakerswood Community Facebook Group, and the great artists who contribute to the world of cookies, Elke co-founded the Brazilian Society of Cookie Artists in 2020. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Julia hopes to learn more about this society and what it does in Elke's upcoming Close-up!]
Elke joined Cookie Connection in April 2018, just a few months after starting her cookie journey. You can follow her cookie pursuits here in her Cookie Connection portfolio and also on her Instagram page and YouTube channel.
Thanks again, Elke, for contributing so consistently and beautifully to Cookie Connection over the last few years! I can't wait to learn more about you in your Close-up!
All cookies and photos above by Elke Hoelzle.
