While most girls would namedrop Jamie or Martha as their favourite chefs, Clare Crespo likes her chefs fictitious.  "Willy Wonka is my favourite chef," she says.  Crespo is one of those glorious people whose imagination remained fertile since her childhood through keeping up with miscellaneous crafty endeavours.   She is the author of "The Secret Life of Food", a children/creative adult’s cookbook that teaches you that food is also an art form.  The selection runs the gamut from sushi cakes, flip flops made out of string beans, and t-shirt cakes. This "cooking" is not limited to food. Clare also makes dioramas, crochets like no other (see above), builds sets, writes, and really, really likes Prince. Read on.

Are you really part of a diorama club?   
Well, the diorama club is on hiatus right now, but we were going strong for a surprisingly long time. it was soooo fun.  My friend John and I started it after many frustrating bouts of party small talk about it-you know, "Wouldn't it be fun if we started a diorama club?" Finally it was just- “Here, we are doing it. One month from today. My house. Easy theme, underwater, in a shoe box.” I thought two people would show up, but 15 people came, all with amazing dioramas. It was amazing that people would participate in something as frivolous as a diorama club. It made me really happy. Whoever was hosting got to pick the theme for that month. We did "Freud", "Australia", "My Favourite Year", "Favorite Beatles song, etc.  We even did the movie, "The Jerk" in its entirety - a diorama for every scene. Ugh, it was such a good time.  

Oh yeah, I have been hired a few times to be a model builder on those Snapple commercials - the ones with the tiny sets. I am doing a few right now. Its weird and confusingly not that fun to make dioramas for money.  

Did you grow up in LA?  How has it shaped your work?
Nope, I am from Louisiana.  I came to California to take my masters in Experimental Animation at CalArts and I got stuck. I mean that in a good way - I never thought I would stay here, but I surprised myself by thinking its great. It seems like people let you do whatever you want here. Not as much judgment or ladder climbing. That might be an optical illusion, but that's how it seems to me.  

What crafts are you still looking to try?
I just like moving around a lot, and I have been through A LOT of craft phases.  I reallllly want to get into beekeeping right now. I can't stop thinking about the bees. I don't think that's technically a craft, but it seems like an art to me.

Do bees scare you at all?  I'm totally scared for that guy with the bee beard.
Oh the guy with the bee beard!!! I forgot about him! No, those little social geniuses don't scare me at all. They leave me in awe. Maybe I should try that bee beard trick!

What was the most disastrous craft project you ever did?
Hmmm... I'm not sure. I probably blocked it from my memory. But it is very rare that the things I make look as good as they did when they lived in my brain.

Do you classify yourself as an artist, craftsperson or chef?  Or neither?
I don't know what it is that I do exactly. I wish I could call myself a cupcake.

Did you intend for The Secret Life of Food to be classified as a children's cookbook?
I always thought that my food sculpture was for my friends and other weird grownups. Then I started getting lots of emails from my website from kids and a publisher asked me if I wanted to do a kids book. I was surprised, but excited as well. I think attempting to inspire kids to be creative and feel cool expressing themselves is important. I really hope I can do that. Its also nice that who my book is for seems a little blurry. Stuff I love that was intended for kids also has a big "weird grown-up" audience, like Pee Wee's Playhouse, SpongeBob Squarepants, Teletubbies, and Sid and Marty Krofft shows.  Not that I am saying that my book is anywhere near those special treasures of course.    

Where does the "fun" aspect of cooking disappear to as people get older?
Some cave where people's silliness hides. I wish that cave wasn't around.

Is art pretentious to you?  What is your opinion of galleries?
I love to look at things that people make, so galleries are fine. They just seem like places where not many people go-just other artists or people working in the art world. Galleries just don't seem as exciting as they might have been at another time. I think its really exciting to see people's creations in other spots - on the candy aisle of the 7-11, on the side of a building, even certain stores seem more alive than galleries. I had a cupcake fantasy show at a gallery in Chinatown in Los Angeles a year ago.  And I showed some crocheted watches at an art pawn shop in Venice, CA pretty recently. I was into the pawn shop - really cool idea.   

How did that work, like did you just rent it out for a day?  
The pawn shop was not a real pawn shop space. It was made to resemble a pawn shop and was just filled with pieces that artists thought should be in a pawn shop. My watches were in cases with little signs in there that said "works great" and "look! digital". 

Is it weird to have art not as a focal point?  Or is it even more so?
I like when the art sneaks into somewhere.

Do you derive inspiration from any artists?
I think its hard to figure out what inspires you, because you're probably being inspired all day long by all kinds of weird stuff - candy bars, bobo tea, a dream you don't think you remember, the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles.  Definitely individuals inspire me...let me see...who have I written fan letters to...Jane Goodall, Christopher Kimball, a lot of NBA players, Prince...all those folks are artists - they are just really doing THEIR thing. That really makes me want to jump up and down.  

If you could have a hot date with anyone, who would it be with?
Prince. I am super crazy about him. Its ridiculous. He's just so HIM. I love his music and his style and his obsessed purple Prince-ness. I would just like to be his friend and watch his brain work and maybe wear one of his purple velvet jackets home from the date.

What would you make him?
Starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam, butterscotch clouds, a tangerine and a side order of ham.

Which one of your recipes has been a favourite among your friends?
Red velvet cake in the shape of fire-breathing Siamese twins. It was a real crowd pleaser.

Can I get the recipe for that?
Sorry, it's a secret!

Finally, last question. What projects are you working on right now?
I am doing a new book that will be out in November.  I am still doing my column "Mad Flavas" for Tokion magazine.  I am doing some recipes for Hostess that will be on planettwinkee.com, and on some of their snack cake boxes. I am doing some stuff for an entertaining page in Elle Girl magazine.  I am selling these funny crocheted watches at Built by Wendy and Johnson in NYC.  I am trying to figure out how to open a bakery and do a flipped out kid's TV show, and doing all sorts of weird jobs. I am celebrating the fact that its the year of the monkey. I am flipping my lid basically.
 
More info can be found on Clare at yummyfun.com, crocheted watches can be purchased at Built by Wendy, and you can read her articles in Tokion.