Jasmine Rae

Your event is sacred and unique—I hold my responsibility as one of reverence when you invite me in to be a part of bringing life to your ceremony.

I was born in the new age soup of San Francisco in 1981. After a formal art background, a mural-painting business, and a B.A. in Cognitive Science, I started my cake studio in 2006, then concurrently returned to school for a M.A. in Psychology. When I had my son in 2016 I put aside my budding therapy practice and reinvested in my craft as a fine art cake maker.

I’m often asked if and how my master’s degree contributes to my cake business. I find it extremely relevant to my work and life, in part because it’s now part of my identity, a trained tool of sensitivity, with a social justice lens. This influences the creative process both in making cakes and working with real people to help form a meaningful moment.

I believe art should reveal the hand of the artist—as humans we are sensitive to the vitality of another human’s artifacts. And I believe there is a certain degree of readiness necessary to become an artist. Rules are for students to hone skills—when I found I was ready to challenge those traditions and conventions, that’s when I found freedom. It was an identity shift and for me it happened 8 years into my business.

Almost 20 years in now, the cornerstone of my work is the natural process—relying on experienced skills to set up my materials and revel in their surprise; to surrender to the contortion of a rice paper petal as it dries; and constantly be responding to the cake as it forms. I hold you in mind, replaying the parts of myself that overlap with you, your vision, your celebration, until we have an outcome that is personal and authentic.