Photographer Amy Stevens celebrated her 30th birthday by buying herself a cake decorating kit, fulfilling her longtime fascination with the artistry and precision of beautifully made cakes. She dreamed of creating the perfect cake.

After many failed attempts, she realized that cake making, like any art form, requires practice and great patience. Though disappointed, she didn’t stop baking. Instead, she decided to bake cakes that were uniquely her own. The cakes are visual experiences meant to be photographed, not eaten.

The cakes are intentionally humorous, posed in front of colorful patterned fabrics (from reprodepot). The layers are often off-center, sometimes crumbled, with icing that has been applied hurriedly and obsessively.

In her own words, from Eye Buy Art:

“The Confections Series started as a response to turning 30. It was a celebration of birthdays, cake, color, pattern and obsessive absurdity. My original intent was to bake 30 birthday cakes for myself and photograph them. I didn’t quite make it to 30 cakes in time for my first show. I ordered a cake decorating kit from MarthaStewart.com and watched the instructional video that came with the package. I quickly discovered my cakes were never going to look like the ones in the video and the pamphlet, and I was free to make them as grotesque and amazing as possible–my little rebellion.”