Occupational Therapy and Nursing are the two main elements I wish to portray in my ANZAC piece.
Occupational Therapy, that is, using meaningful activities to regain and maintain health and function, is believed to have been established as a formal profession in 1917. Practical activities and craft were used to assist Returned Servicemen and woman in regaining both emotional and physical wellbeing. Before I became a Caker I was an Occupational Therapist. This is reflected in the hand painted, craft-like feeling of my piece. The repeated simplified poppy patterns portray the repetitive nature of relearning a skill (such as physically learning how to move again after a leg amputation, or mentally coping with loud noises after experiencing war).
The figure on top of the cake is a WW1 Nurse. She is looking up at a Union Jack flag being raised after the war has been won. My grandmother was a Nurse in the Second World and I wanted my cake to encompass the dignity and compassion that Nurses were able to give Soldiers in their hardest times. Nurses, often untrained and young, were faced with horrific situations on a daily basis. I feel that they are often not acknowledged enough for their war effort and I want this cake to bring that to light.
Thank you and God bless those who served.
Trudy Nicholls
Sugarcake New Zealand