We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachel Schut. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachel below.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The lecture nearly lost me to my own dreams when something caught my ear and reeled me back in. I didn’t know at the time the stages of artistic development theory might haunt me and open the floodgates to my own childhood experience and development. One particular stage, the period of decision, overshadowed the rest and harnessed my fixation. This is a period of hyper criticism when a child decides for themselves if they believe they possess artistic abilities or not, usually between the ages of 11 and 13. If they determine they do not, they will come to view art pertaining to themselves as a practice without merit. The small percentage of children who still identify as artists may or may not continue to explore the practice. This key developmental stage follows us all into adulthood, thus being my greatest takeaway from my art therapy minor. My mom, an oil painter today, had an intuitive sensitivity to the forces that might threaten the self perception my sisters and I were developing pertaining to art growing up. She always prioritized assigning a creative workspace to an area of the house, which we would all come to know as “the studio.” This was a place where my mom nurtured her own, and, consequently, our self perceptions as creative humans. Summer art camps, messy bins overflowing with paint tubes, and late night projects fill my childhood memories to the brim. Art was just a way of life growing up.
All of this would later be challenged by my own internalized perfectionism and hushed by the influence of my classmates in high school. When it came time for my own developmental reckoning, I had set the artistic ability bar for myself so high, I developed migraines which I believe stemmed from the agony I put myself through in order to pass my own test. I would perfect art projects in fifth grade until 4 am for school that would have me leaving early the next day with nausea. I had no understanding of what I was going through at the time, but I can see with clarity today that I was fighting to maintain my own perception of myself as an artist. I passed, but with much sacrifice.
Art would go on to take the back seat in high school. I internalized the messaging that a career path in art was unworthy–that I would be unworthy, even untrustworthy to myself. My classmates seemed to unanimously cast a cloud of inferiority over the arts. It gave me the overwhelming sense that my artwork would never be as important as college applications, my gpa, or academic achievements. I started to let go of my dreams of being an artist. In a last ditch effort, I shrugged and added AP Art to my schedule senior year. It was fine because I would get college credit. This measly class of 7 was a true testament to not just my own lived experience, but the entire student body’s.
I remember with perfect clarity being flooded with the feeling that I was in some way deficient because my mind drew a blank when it was time to choose a college major. At this point, I was already a cake decorator and artist, yet I felt paralyzed in choosing the classes that might dictate my future. I had picked up a job at a local bakery to cover my expenses during my studies. I had no idea this decision would lead me to eventually create sugar flowers, pastry, and wedding cakes the day I onboarded as a cashier. This job felt playful and exhilarating–a necessary distraction from school and a space to unleash any stifled creativity. Though I eventually honed in on a social work major, I physically could not help myself from scrolling past the required courses to catch a glimpse of the electives. I can take a drawing class, right? There’s space in my schedule. Why wouldn’t I? My advisor steered me towards a minor in art therapy.
I became a master of manipulating my surroundings to support my creative impulses without ever consciously acknowledging them. I convinced my advisor along with myself that a senior field practicum at Bloomsbury organic farm aligned with social work beyond a shadow of a doubt. I believe it was when I started farming and working alongside other creatives that I gave myself permission to actively pursue an artistic path professionally. I always knew I wanted it.
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” The farm projected the same sense of safety and encouragement my mom worked hard to establish from my earlier childhood. Nature is the biggest inspiration behind my artistry, after all. It’s funny to look back and see where my true self would burst at the seams. My bakery cashier job would eventually turn into cake decorating. Social work shifted to a focus in art therapy. Even with farming, I gradually moved into the flower, bouquet, and design operations. Things always evolved for me! I would start with something “practical” and bend that into something authentic over time. I will always pursue and find “the studio” no matter where I end up.

Rachel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, friends! I’m Rachel. I use fine art cake making to connect with my clients and help them celebrate huge milestones in their lives with those they love most, especially weddings. Every commission I deliver is treated with much care and intention. I do my best to source materials sustainably and seasonally from local Nashville farms and artisan makers. Each client is asked to take my tasting preference quiz online prior to scheduling their tasting. This helps me understand what flavor profiles and special requests to keep in mind when curating their unique menu. I love getting to know my clients in this way and incorporating elements that feel special to them. My most popular flavor is espresso cake. I’m aiming to always evolve my menus and bring something unique to each and every commission.

Let’s discuss my niche area of design work! I specialize in fondant and rice paper sculptural forms and sugar flowers. Fondant gets a bad rap for its artificial taste and I can’t say I blame anyone for having a distaste! However, I am here to challenge everything you thought you knew about fondant. I make a homemade marshmallow fondant that is so beautiful to work with and tastes delicious. I urge my clients to step away from their Pinterest boards and open up to even greater possibilities with this incredible and malleable medium. Sugar flower sculptures are when I come alive. Is there anything on this earth more beautiful than a flower? I make homemade gumpaste from egg whites, powdered sugar, crisco, and tylose powder to sculpt each individual petal. Though technically edible, I will always recommend to my brides and grooms to preserve their sugar flowers in a vase since the material is designed to harden and will stay preserved for years.

My dream is to keep expanding my reach through cake by-the-slice pop-ups, art gallery showings, sugar flower sales, and to most importantly, continue showing up for the clients I already have.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think any misunderstanding someone might be feeling could stem from their struggle to identify themselves as creative. I don’t believe that anyone is truly non-creative. It is very important to understand that creativity also does not equal artistic ability. Anyone who puts forth the technical studying and practice can grow their artistic abilities, but creativity is innate! The visual arts are just one outlet in which we can exercise our creative muscles. I think the greatest challenge when working to develop one’s artistic ability is that there must be some willingness to produce works that we may not like all the time. It is easy to become obsessed with achieving the results we want and seeing them fast. That’s really not how it works, but the more we can embrace the practice along with the imperfections, the more rewarding we will find the process.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I cannot stress this enough. I did not go to culinary school. I am self-taught, so the mentors and resources I had to curate for myself play vital roles in my life today and will continue to do so in the future. I joined a local entrepreneurial group coaching program founded by Kristin Sweeting. I lean on so many of my friends for support and guidance as well! I have taken numerous online technical courses from my three favorite artists in the cake community, Jasmine Rae, Winifred Kriste, and Cynthia Irani. My online community even led me to Tuscany for a week long workshop with Jasmine Rae! When I am not pouring over my online courses, I am devouring cookbooks and expanding my collection. Wow. What an asset to this world that we have cookbooks alone. From pastry chefs around Nashville to beauty found in nature, to travel experiences and gardening, there is so much in this world that inspires me and fuels my creative tank.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: rachcakesnashville

Image Credits
Kelsey Young Kelsi Walters Claire Hunt Niki Hutchinson Ann Marie DiSalvo