“Color has always been a home for me,” said Joslin-Knapp, 30, who is recognizable for their bleach blonde curls and oversized glasses, and lives in East Dayton with a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Daisy.
ALWAYS AN ARTIST
“I’ve always been an artist. My mom taught me how to knit and sew when I was 5-years-old. I would wear patterned clashing colorful outfits as a child, just like I do now. I made these tiny little worlds for myself as a kid, miniature dollhouse things.
“When I was in college working on my thesis, I found myself making things out of cardboard and construction paper — the colorful materials that I used as a kid. Making an installation was a way to reflect back elements of how I perceived my world, and to welcome people in.”
Joslin-Knapp has created art installations for several exhibitions in the region.
“In the Riffe Gallery in Columbus I was part of the 2020 Women to Watch show put on by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC. I made this big ‘Cosmic Cave’ installation. That was 9 months of building. I used over 200 square feet of chicken wire (for) large papier-mâché forms and hand-cut thousands of flowers.
“I made an installation at Wave Pool Art Center in Cincinnati as part of the ‘Let it Grow’ show. I created this portal 13 feet up in the air in their gallery with all these paper flowers flowing out.
“My first Dayton installation was Haunted Hearts for Halloween in 2024. That was my first set design experience.
“Installations are always a supercharged experience with all the time and energy that goes into them.”
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
In addition to their art practice, Joslin-Knapp is a professional cake designer at Love Cakes by Dorothy Lane Market in Washington Square.
“I started in prep — breaking out the cakes and preparing them for the decorators. They knew I was an artist and said if you prove yourself capable we’ll give you space to learn (to decorate). Now I’m a full-fledged cake designer.”
Joslin-Knapp was recently awarded Honorable Mention for the public vote in the first “Great Dayton Cake Off” competition for their rendering of the historic Dayton Arcade in cake form.
“That was really exciting because it was my first cake competition. I’m fortunate that Dorothy Lane Market was very supportive throughout the entire endeavor. They said, whatever you need, we’ve got you. It was a wonderful way to represent myself as Sydney the artist and Sydney the cake designer.”
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
A CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
“I wake about 4:30 in the morning. I try to take it slow, drink water, stretch, eat oatmeal. I hold off on coffee so my cortisol and circadian rhythm aren’t too messed up. I spend time with my dog.
“I like the dark and the quiet that early. I like how chill it is. You never know what you’re going to see (on the way) into work. I saw a shooting star recently.”
Joslin-Knapp arrives at the bakery by 6 a.m.
“It’s early work. We do production for the stores. That’s making multiples of things. Later in the week, orders are heavier. I do my rotation with filled cakes and shaped cakes. I keep 3 or 4 going at a time.
“There are orders where it’s complete creative license, and that’s really fun. ‘The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating’ books from the seventies are my ultimate guidebook for cake designing. I like to slide in as many vintage Lambeth cakes as I can — those vintage cakes with the all the swags on the sides. Drawing is natural for me on cakes, but it really takes a steady hand and good eye to have good piping work.”
GREET & EAT
Then it’s a break for lunch, and making the rounds to greet folks who run the small businesses surrounding DLM, like the man from Helm’s Shoe Repair whose dog, Stormy, freely trots around the courtyard. Joslin-Knapp brings lunch in a vintage cooler covered in “accoutrements and doo-dads”, mostly stickers made my friends.
“I’ll say hello to my people, friends who work around that courtyard. I’m pretty recognizable (laughs) so a lot of folks will say hello to me. I try to make space for connections.
“I do clerical work for my arts practice on lunch. I’ll send emails, draft concepts, write to-do lists. Working on the cakes will help lead to understanding in other parts of my practice. It complements my work. I work a lot in multiples and production level work when I’m making thousands of flowers or doing repetitive things like stitching over and over.”
Joslin-Knapp also creates hand-lettered signage for DLM’s art department. If it’s a busy day with a lot of fondant and tiered cakes, the work day finished by around 5 p.m.
“I like the ephemerality of the work I do. The signs are only there for so long. The cake — you eat it, it’s gone. I enjoy that part of my practice, as well. Making a gift for somebody and being able to give it to them.”
ART & MOVEMENT
“I’ll go home, take care of my dog. I have a deep appreciation for nature — I love being among the trees and value my grass laying time. My garden at home is one of my favorite places.”
“I might take a nap, then work on my art. Lately I’ve been working on a braided rug (and) patches for a denim jacket. I’ve always been pretty scrappy being able to utilize my space. For Haunted Hearts, it was so large and the pieces were so dimensional, I had it split up over four rooms in the house.”
“When I was 2-years-old, my mother saw in me that I needed movement. She signed me up for ballet and lyrical. I danced for 12 consecutive years.
“When I was working on Haunted Hearts, I knew I was going to tunnel into this work and I needed to have some pre-paid forced fun to make myself step away. I ended up taking pole (dance) which was a really nice way to get back into my dance practice.
“I enjoy going to Femme Fatale Dayton in Kettering and dancing. They have a really supportive environment. I feel like a better version of myself since committing to dancing again and doing it there.”
“I go rollerskating at Orbit Fun Center in Huber Heights. On Tuesday nights, DJ D Marsh plays funk and Dayton music. There are people in their early 20s and 70s. Also a wonderfully supportive and dedicated group of people!”
WORLD AS SELF
“I generally have between 3-5 art projects going at a time. Same with books. I mostly read nonfiction history, sociology, and culture. That would probably surprise some folks given how bright and colorful I am. I like the more heavy-hitting things.
“I just finished up ‘Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture’ by Kyle Chayka. It’s about the flattening of culture through algorithms. I’m working on ‘World as Lover, World as Self’ by Joanna Macy, talking about how the collective experience shapes the environment.”
“I try to be consistent with my schedule, but sometimes it’s hard, especially if I get on a jag with the art. Sometimes it’s a little bit difficult to wind down, my mind and body are very awake. I just breathe and bring myself down a little bit.”
“Currently I am thinking about my relationship with cakes and the other portions of my practice. Just riding the waves of living a creative life and creating the balance and foundation for where I want to go and what I want to do, while also appreciating where my feet are right now.”
MORE DETAILS
Visit sydneyjoslinknapp.com and @sydneyjoslinknapp on Instagram for Joslin-Knapp’s professional art practice.
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