All of the following pictures are from the “Carving Institute” on Flickr.  The Carving Institute is a school in Bangkok that teaches fruit and vegetable carving and caters various events.  You can also learn how to create these masterpieces through online courses!  Sounds very intriguing…  Check out their profile on Flickr here: http://flickr.com/people/20726191@N07/. 

Their website says the following about their carvings:  “The ancient art of Kae Sa Luk – Thai fruit and vegetable carving adds beauty and immense value to every dish. It is the culmination of over seven centuries of history and heritage. Body and mind are focused on the conception and creation of ephemeral works of sheer exquisiteness.”

Image Source

Here is a picture of a carved slice of carrot.  All of the pictures here are made up of edible fruit and vegetable carvings.  This carrot slice can be used as a garnish for any dish or for part of a larger food sculpture.

Image Source

This edible garnish carved leaf is made of pumpkin.  The ingenuity of the three dimensional carving of this garnish is incredible and shows how the smallest thing can be full of detail.

Image Source

This large edible centerpiece shows how all of the smaller pieces fit into the big picture.  The incredibly detailed fruit and vegetables make the perfect centerpieces for weddings and banquets.  I can’t imagine anyone actually eating something so pretty though.

Image Source

These incredibly realistic roses and leaves are carved into the face of a watermelon.  All of the various colours of the skin and flesh of the fruit are used in this sculpture to make the roses seem even more believable.  The dark green of the skin just pokes through on the edges of the leaves.

Image Source

Here are two other versions of roses and leaves carved into watermelons.  They are absolutely amazing in their symmetry and complexity.  I wonder how long it would take to carve one of these…

Image Source

This honeydew melon is carved in it’s entirety into amazing petals and leaves.  This is reminiscent of ancient Japanese ivory carvings in it’s level of detail and layering of the sculpted edges.  Definitely a work of art!

Image Source

The food carvings also are used to make the serving vessels for the food itself.  This intricately carved pumpkin makes a perfect bowl and lid using the stem as a handle.  And I thought it was creative to use mini pumpkins to serve soup in!  This definitely puts my creativity in perspective (lol).

Image Source

This serving dish is also made up of a carved pumpkin.  The fish’s scales on this dish are especially amazing to me.  You can just imagine the scales twisting and turning as the fish swim in the water.

Image Source

This taro serving vessel uses the white colour and texture to perfectly imitate a conch shell.  The food filling the opening is reminiscent of Thanksgiving day gourds bursting with colours, textures and flavours.

Image Source

This pumpkin bowl stretches it’s wings to encircle the candies within.  The Institute definitely seems to have an amazing amount of skill in carving birds into vegetables as seen in the following pictures.

Image Source

This peacock carving uses the colour of three different vegetables to make up the incredible plumage of the familiar creature.  The taro making up the body of the bird has a speckled appearance while the carrots and whatever the yellow veggie is (?) are in stark contrast.  The beautifully carved feathers must have taken up a huge amount of time.  Imagine having this as a centerpiece on your table for Thanksgiving!

Image Source

These three stunning peacock carvings are made of pumpkin, taro and carrot.  Not even Martha Stewart has such an incredibly edible piece of art!

Image Source

This beautifully sculpted bird displays its tail feathers in an array of colour.  I am unsure what food was used to carve this but it is definitely gorgeous!

Image Source

This watermelon shows a fierce dragon carving on it’s face.  The rippling flames extending from it’s body spread beautifully across the melon.

Image Source

This last picture is definitely my favourite.  This beautifully deceptive floral arrangement is entirely edible (except for the leaves).  The flowers are incredibly real and are more likely to make the viewer stop to smell them than to grab a bite!

These pieces are stunning and definitely worthy of a gallery showing.  This institute has some incredibly gifted teachers and students able of turning a tabletop into a portrait of delicious beauty.  I can’t get over how realistic some of the carvings are and I find it very hard to believe anyone would ruin them by eating them!

To see some more extraordinary art made of “mundane” materials, please check out some of my other articles:
1.  http://www.quazen.com/Arts/Visual-Arts/Everyday-Art-Garbage-Cans.260681
2.  http://www.quazen.com/Arts/Visual-Arts/Everyday-Art-Chairs.271161
3.  http://www.quazen.com/Arts/Visual-Arts/Artistic-Recycling-Tea-Bags.262599
4.  http://www.quazen.com/Arts/Visual-Arts/Artistic-Recycling-Egg-Cartons.265553
5.  http://www.quazen.com/Arts/Visual-Arts/Artistic-Recycling-3-Plastic-Bottles.274589