CARAMELLA

Private Collection.

Cast cement base with Italian smalti, millefiori and enameled glass.

Sometimes you get an idea in your head and it won't get out until you make something of it. This is the case with "Caramella," a "chocolate truffle pig." Ever since I started making mosaic "chocolate" sculptures, I've wanted to create a truffle pig. "Caramella" is an homage to the celebrated French and Italian truffle hunting pigs now being replaced in favor of dogs, which have more stamina and greater agility. According to Charles Lefevre, president and founder of New World Truffieres, there are multiple reasons why dogs have surpassed pigs. "Dogs are much less likely to try to eat the truffle once they find it. You don’t want to wrestle with a 300-pound hog when it’s interested in chowing down on a truffle." “The lore,” says Lefevre, “is that truffle hunters that use pigs don’t tend to have all their fingers.” ~ Modern Farmer.