Little Hiru, who is in the last picture from yesterday's post, had never had cake before. Her mom decided this would be a good opportunity to give it a whirl. Hiru studied the piece of cake very carefully at first and took her time exploring it. She poked the icing, watch a sprinkle or two fall off, look up at her mom, glanced down at my dog Sam (who was hoping she'd toss it his way), and then finally she pinched off a bit and tucked it into those cute little lips. It did not take long before the next bite, which was, of course, slightly bigger. Hiru remained thoughtful and serious as she raised a few more morsels to her mouth. Her mom, Sam and I patiently waited for some kind of response. Suddenly, she grinned and (totally unprompted) started clapping her hands. Another bite: more applause, a huge smile and even some squealing. Another bite: applause, a bigger huge smile, squealing and a little bit of bouncing. She continued this process until her plate was clean. I told Hiru's mother the child will never be the same.
Seven-year-old Miranda is in the first picture here. She also came to the studio with her mom. She had eaten cake before, but she is a pretty sophisicated little eater (a vegetarian her whole life and a mom who knows her way around the kitchen). She actually wasn't too impressed with the sugary-grocery-store-style cake, but she had so much fun posing and then helping me set up and shoot her mother's picture (her mom is the lovely woman in the 1940's attire). Apparently on the way home from my studio, Miranda called her grandmother to tell her what fun the morning had been and that she and her mom had both "eaten the damn cake!" Miranda's mother took the phone and realized she had a little explaining to do.
I hope I get to do more projects like this for the writer Kate Fridkis. It was great fun! (And thanks to my friend Linda, I got a piece of cake and a photo, too.)
