Artist Jasmine Cho makes exquisite portraits of famous and forgotten Asian-Americans. What art materials does she use?
"Cookies are the perfect platform for education and healing because they are one of the most surprising materials," says Jasmine, who is also a baker.
The Korean-American "cookie activist" has gained fans over the last few years for her detailed cookie faces. Actors Awkwafina, Daniel Dae Kim and Tamlyn Tomita are among those who have received a cookie portrait.
The city of Pittsburgh, where she lives, has even named a "Jasmine Cho Day".
How did her art project start? In 2016, she was happily making cute character cookies for her online bakery, when she turned flour, sugar, butter and other ingredients into a cookie portrait of a friend for a birthday party. The cookies quickly grabbed attention. Other people wanted them done too.
"I suddenly had this thing that everyone was paying attention to," Jasmine says.
A few months after making those first cookie faces, Jasmine held her first portrait gallery show. She made cookies of Asian-Americans like actress Ming-Na Wen and Leah Lizarondo. Leah is the founder of 412 Food Rescue, which reduces food waste in the US by sending unsold food to people in need.
Leah was pleased and surprised to find that Jasmine had cookie-fied her. For the Filipino American, the portrait was definitely not a waste of food.
"I shared it as widely as I could, as I was so proud to be among the people she did cookie portraits of," Leah says.
Cho needs about five hours for each portrait. She draws the cookie face by hand, fills it in with icing, and then lets it dry.
In the photo, you can see her portrait of diver Sammy Lee, the first Asian-American man to win an Olympic gold medal.
Five things to know about
1. A cookie is a baked or cooked good that is small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar and some kind of butter or oil.
2. It may also include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips, nuts, and so on.
3. In most English-speaking countries, except for the US and Canada, cookies are called biscuits.
4. One kind of cookie is the sandwich biscuit. They are made of two cookies with a filling in between. These include custard creams, jammie dodgers, Bourbons and Oreos.
5. Cookies were first made in Persia 1,700 years ago, just after sugar became common there. They spread from Persia to Spain. By the 1300s, they were found in all parts of Europe!
