the King of Fruit!

so a couple of months ago, i was invited to be in an art show (woo, my first one ever!) with nine other artists. this exhibit is going to be all about food, so it was right up my alley since i've already had some ideas up my sleeves. this is one of my ideas, so let me tell you a little tid-bit about it...

when i was younger and lived in Thailand, one of my favorite fruit was the Durian, also known as the "King of Fruits." the Durian is a very distinctive fruit because of it's size (large), the thorns on the outside, the smell it omits, and the putrid taste (well, lets be fair, it's only putrid to some). to eat it you have to cut it open, you have to hack at the outer thorny shell with a butcher's knife. once inside, the flesh is edible, but beware...for the smell will probably overcome you. if you've ever seen Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, you know exactly what i'm talking about...he eats the weirdest foods, but was defeated by this fruit!anyway, a couple of months ago when i met Jason FoodGeek at Artomatic, i mentioned that i was going to make a stuffed Durian. well, feast your eyes on this folks...
here's my plush version of the beloved fruit! it turned out really really well (sorry for tooting my own horn, but i'm a PROUD mama! would you believe if i said i didn't reference it to any picture except for the ones from my memory (who could forget?). i added a little nauseous looking face for irony...even the fruit it self can't stand the smell.
i think my favorite part are the thorns, although there's a lot less on the plush, but i liked it that way. i added a little tag to the side that i got from a really nice and patient seller from ETSY. the first batch i ordered didn't show up in the mail so she sent me another and they've all come in very handy...thanks BellaMental...anyway, i'm working on another Durian right now and thinking about making a couple to sell or give away (one to J FoodGeek of course).

i hope this put a little smile on your face. i'll keep you updated on the others.