HER ART RISES EATS:
She gets a rise out of making art from bread
Her artwork is a wonder, no matter how you slice it.
Meet 90-year-old Bronx artist Marion Hughes, who sculpts with bread. The lifelong New Yorker and mother of three has turned the sandwich staple into whimsical frogs, mermaids, owls, butterflies, as well as striking jewelry.
Her latest collection is on view until the end of May at the New York Public Library’s Allerton branch on Barnes Ave. in the Bronx, a loaf’s throw from her home.
“Bread is a wonderful medium,” says Hughes, who worked as a hat model and secretary earlier in her life. “It’s something nearly nobody else does.” Uniqueness — thinking out of the (bread) box — appeals greatly to Hughes, who says she is “very healthy” for her age. Arthritis in her hands doesn’t slow her down.
“I want to show kids who come to the library that you don’t have to buy a toy,” she says. “You can make it. But you need to use your imagination.”
She speaks from experience. The bread dough green dragon in the exhibit isn’t a “Game of Thrones” knockoff. “I don’t have a TV,” Hughes says.
Besides creative juice, you also need bread. While she prefers eating pumpernickel, slices of Holsum white, which costs about $2 a loaf, is her go-to for art.
Crumbled slices are mixed with glue, glycerin and lemon juice to form a putty-like blob.
“It’s really not a project for kids,” she says. “You have to work fast. The bread dries out quick and cracks.” To add color, she uses food dye in the dough, or, once dry, paints objects such as the pale blue frog and bright green mermaid. That takes about a week. The finishing touch is a sealing coat of clear nail polish. That makes the bread art like butter. Hughes’ current exhibit is her fourth one at her local library, which regularly showcases Bronx artists. Her favorite art tool is a pencil. “You can take it everywhere with you to draw,” she says. Previously she made robots and space thingamajigs in a “scrap crafts” project that transformed tossed lipstick cases, corks and bottles. “I like to use and see things in different ways,” says Hughes, who adds that the same goes for dough art. “I use what’s left over to make bread pudding.”