I suppose that the ‘Like’ in the subject line above truly ought to be an ‘As’, for this is what was waiting for me as I exited a screening of Moonlight Kingdom last week in Hollywood:

. . . Literally, a Gene Wilder made of candy.

Actually, I saw it on the way into the theater, but as I was running a bit late for the movie– and I can’t stand missing previews– I made a note to take a picture of it after the show was out, as a reminder to look into it further. . .

Turns out it’s the work of an artist named Jason Mecier, who’s not only done several other celebrity portraits out of Red Vine candies, but also makes artworks out of a multitude of unusual materials. His website states that in addition to “beans, yarn, candy, pencils, food and anything else he finds”, he’ll also use just about anything you send him (!). . . sounds like a challenge. Check out the gallery on Jason’s site for some stunning examples.

I found all this out later via the Internet, but while standing there in the theater well-past midnight, my mind went to a vague memory of something one of my girlfriend Emily’s niece’s had made, I’d seen it via a photo in a text message sent by her sister. Luckily, I did have my phone, which had just powered on. I quickly found the text in question, and was next confronted–once again– by this:

"Charlie made an owl on a branch out of tootsie roll." - original SMS message, sent 1/09/12 @ 3:25p

Now how on Earth could I have forgotten that? Emily’s nieces know I am quite found of birds, and at some point decided that owls were my variety. I drove home that night brimming with ideas, it’d been too long since I’d made something just for the sake of the doing. I promised I’d force myself to make the time. With Em’s help, I cleared some space in the schedule, and we spent the afternoon gathering some supplies. Turns out there’s a candy story within walking distance of our apartment.  I made some careful selections (by look, not by taste) of materials from the store’s rather large bounty. . . then once safe home, I dove into the unknown. This was the result:

Ta-DA! My first candy owl.

Quite a melange of flavors, probably: I wouldn’t recommend it for a snack. Thanks again to Jason Mecier (and to Emily’s niece, Charlotte) for the inspiration.  If you can, drop by the Arclight in Hollywood this month to see some of Jason’s work in person. Hurry, someone just might eat it.

-Will Maier,

For CrapAtCrafts.com

(For the original posting of this article– as well as a glimpse into the Candy Owl’s construction– visit the post as it appears on Will’s blog here.)