Sarah Kaufmann

The Cheese Lady, Sarah Kaufmann Sculptures

In the creative world of culinary arts, Sarah Kaufmann has carved a unique niche: This former graphic artist has focused her talents on cheese. Not making it, not painting it, not photographing it. No, she carves cheese. Her work has ranged from an artful violin to a six-foot long aircraft carrier, a 120-pound Mickey Mouse, a 300-pound gorilla to a life-sized Santa Clause and, as she sculpts, an audience gathers to watch in amazement as she magically transforms wheels and blocks of taste-tempting cheese into colorful, edible works of art.

Kaufmann's singular carving career evolved from her insatiable love of drawing. Just add cheese, a clever mind and extensive experience in layout, design and illustration coupled with food marketing and promotion. As creative director for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board for 15 years, Kaufmann created advertising, PR and educational programs to promote Wisconsin cheese and dairy products to the consumer, retail and foodservice markets. Next, she joined Jungle Jim's International Market near Cincinnati - a six-acre mega-supermarket - where her assignment was to "sell more stuff." She directed advertising and PR and, as head of creative services, designed giant animated displays, created special events, and tackled all sorts of crazy projects to attract consumers to the giant store and engage them as they shop.

As a seasoned food marketer, Kaufmann knows that a special event is a powerful catalyst for drawing media attention and building retail sales. And she knows that cheese is a familiar specialty food that is widely popular with all ages and in all areas of the country. Her decision to become a cheese carver combines her considerable artistic talents and marketing skills to entertain and educate consumers, the media, retailers and chefs.

Kaufmann, nationally known as "The Cheese Lady," has received hundreds of commissions for her cheese creations, which have captured countless media impressions in print, on radio, on TV newscasts, talk shows, food shows, sports casts, on the world-wide web and through social networking. Kaufmann creates sculptures in her studio and appears in person to sculpt cheese at an endless variety of venues: food & wine festivals, supermarkets, tradeshows, state fairs, sporting events, civic celebrations and other corporate and private special occasions.

Although Kaufmann loves to incorporate a number of cheese varieties into a sculpture, she most often works with mild golden or white Cheddar, in a range of shapes and sizes - from ten, forty and 640-pound blocks to 500-pound wheels and a whopping 12,500-pound cheddar mammoth! (That's six TONS of cheese!)

Sarah has created countless memorable sculptures: an alphabet of corporate and college logos, bigger-than-life trophies, popular cartoon characters, still-life masterpieces, massive city skylines, landmarks, monuments, and life-size busts of celebrities ( Prince William and Princess Kate, Jay Leno, Matt Lauer, Katie Couric, Al Roker and Ann Curry, Marc Sommers, Rosie O'Donnel, Tom Cruise, Paul Newman, Elvis, Buddy, and JLL "the Bopper"), sports stars (Bret Favre, Payton Manning, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jon Madden, Al Michaels, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittapauldi, Joe Nuxall, to name a few), a menagerie of sports mascots (like the still-amazing six-foot-long two-hundred-pound Cheddar Gator for the University of Florida football team, numerous snarling Bucky Badgers, Buckeyes, Ducks, Devils, Dukes n' Demons), plus an NFL ark Packer-d full of Tigers n' Lions n' Bears, Eagles n' Buffalos, Broncos, Colts, Dolphins, n' more. ) Her carvings have been featured on NBC's The Today Show, Good Morning America, on the Food Network's "Unwrapped," ABC Sports, ESPN, MSNBC, and CW, among others.

Kaufmann's unmatched ability to create excitement with her 2,400-pound dairy cows, 300-pound cheese gorillas, 640-pound football players, and two-pound bunnies, pumpkins and footballs has proved to be an effective publicity, education and sales tool for clients of all types and sizes. Sarah enjoys working with small private parties, loves appearing at major public events and is featured as a popular attraction entertaining thousands. Talking and engaging in conversation with the public as she carves her imaginative cheese creations (like her six-foot- tall 1,900 pound astronaut) is just part of the fun for the energetic and outgoing artist.

Traditionally, if you want someone to smile, you ask them to "say cheese!" Another sure way to get a crowd to smile: Show Sarah Kaufmann at work. When people see the sensational cheese carvings created by "The Cheese Lady," smiles just naturally occur. For more information and hundreds of photos on Sarah Kaufmann Sculptures visit: www.sarahcheeselady.com.