--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Deep, fluting emotions were a form of…" description: "\"“Deep, fluting emotions were a form of weakness. She'd seen the softening in her work over the years, she'd started making the lazy, homey treats like ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/diana-abu-jaber-10382_art_deep-fluting-emotions-were-a-form-of-wea_1995086.jpg" --- # Deep, fluting emotions were a form of weakness. She'd seen… ![“Deep, fluting emotions were a form of weakness. She'd seen the softening in her work over the years, she'd started making the lazy, homey treats like apple crumble, chocolate muffins, butterscotch pudding, and lemon bars. They were fast and cheap and they pleased her children. But she'd trained at…” quote by Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/diana-abu-jaber-10382_art_deep-fluting-emotions-were-a-form-of-wea_1995086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/diana-abu-jaber-10382_art_deep-fluting-emotions-were-a-form-of-wea_1995086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/diana-abu-jaber-10382_art_deep-fluting-emotions-were-a-form-of-wea_1995086.jpg) > ““Deep, fluting emotions were a form of weakness. She'd seen the softening in her work over the years, she'd started making the lazy, homey treats like apple crumble, chocolate muffins, butterscotch pudding, and lemon bars. They were fast and cheap and they pleased her children. But she'd trained at one of the best pastry programs in the country. Her teachers were French. She'd learned the classical method of making fondant, of making real buttercream with its spun-candy base and beating the precise fraction off egg into the pate a choux. She knew how to blow sugar into glassine nests and birds and fountains, how to construct seven-tiered wedding cakes draped with sugar curtains copied from the tapestries at Versailles. When the other students interned at the Four Seasons, the French Laundry, and Dean & Deluca, Avis had apprenticed with a botanical illustrator in the department of horticulture at Cornell, learning to steady her hand and eye, to work with the tip of the brush, to dissect and replicate in tinted royal icing and multihued glazes the tiniest pieces of stamen, pistil, and rhizome. She studied Audubon and Redoute. At the end of her apprenticeship, her mentor, who pronounced the work "extraordinary and heartbreaking," arranged an exhibition of Avis's pastries at the school. "Remembering the Lost Country" was a series of cakes decorated in perfectly rendered sugar olive branches, cross sections of figs, and frosting replicas of lemon leaves. Her mother attended and pronounced the effect 'amusant.”” [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A talented pastry chef feels her artistic work being reduced to simple, commercial treats, highlighting a tension between high art and everyday practicality. **In simple terms:** A skilled baker feels her art is being cheapened. Key Takeaway Balance artistry with practicality. Themes art culinary identity commercialization tradition Mood conflicted reflective Type advice reflective When to use this quote - baking for family - working in high-end patisserie - teaching pastry arts - exhibiting culinary art Key Concepts aesthetic integrity creative compromise professional fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - How do you preserve artistic standards under commercial pressure? - What compromises are acceptable in your craft? A Different Perspective High demand for quick, popular foods can pressure artists to abandon refined techniques. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Avis-muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avis-muir/) [Baking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baking/) [Four seasons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four-seasons/) [Pastry chef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pastry-chef/) ## Related quotes > [“On the top rack is a cooled and decorated seven-layered 'opera' cake. Her client- the Peruvian ambassador- had requested a "tropical" theme for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/on-the-top-rack-is-a-cooled-and-decorated-seven-layered-opera-cake/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“Propped on a small easel she uses for orders and ingredient lists is a request for a 'gateau Saint-Honore' bearing the legend "Together, Toujours"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/propped-on-a-small-easel-she-uses-for-orders-and-ingredient-lists-is/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“As she piped rosettes, docked a sheet of dough, or doused a tart with sanding sugar, another world occurred on the doorstep. Now Avis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/as-she-piped-rosettes-docked-a-sheet-of-dough-or-doused-a-tart-with/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“It's been over a year since they've visited their son's market. As they walk through the parking lot they take in a number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/it-s-been-over-a-year-since-they-ve-visited-their-son-s-market-as/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“I mean, he could blow old Capitalist-Stevie here away." Felice doesn't respond. She pulls the backs of her ankles in close to her butt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/i-mean-he-could-blow-old-capitalist-stevie-here-away-felice-doesn-t/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“This morning's pastry poses challenges. To assemble the tiny mosaic disks of chocolate flake and candied ginger, Avis must execute a number of discrete,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/this-morning-s-pastry-poses-challenges-to-assemble-the-tiny-mosaic/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“But Stanley persisted in the kitchen, performing the small yet demanding apprentice's tasks she set for him- removing the skin from piles of almonds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/but-stanley-persisted-in-the-kitchen-performing-the-small-yet/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“Avis puts aside the 'Saint-Honore' and decides to embark on a new pastry. She's assembling ingredients when the phone rings in the next room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/avis-puts-aside-the-saint-honore-and-decides-to-embark-on-a-new/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“She considers a tray of flaky 'jesuites,' their centers redolent of frangipani cream, decorated with violet buds preserved in clouds of black crystal sugar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/she-considers-a-tray-of-flaky-jesuites-their-centers-redolent-of/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“Years ago, when she'd studied the constructions of stem, blade, stamen, ovule, she loved the infinite possibilities of the plant kingdom- but she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/years-ago-when-she-d-studied-the-constructions-of-stem-blade-stamen/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“Avis named her business Paradise Pastry because she imagined cathedrals. She thought about the stonemasons, glassblowers, sculptors- who gave lifetimes to the creation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/avis-named-her-business-paradise-pastry-because-she-imagined/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“For this cake, I want to mingle the womanly and masculine foods- sugars and meats in particular. The walls must come down. Must temper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/for-this-cake-i-want-to-mingle-the-womanly-and-masculine-foods-sugars/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“A cookie, Avis told her children, is a soul. She held up the wafer, its edges shimmering with ruby-dark sugar. "You think it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/a-cookie-avis-told-her-children-is-a-soul-she-held-up-the-wafer-its/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“The first time Avis knelt on a chair and stirred eggs into flour to make a vanilla cake, she had an inkling of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/the-first-time-avis-knelt-on-a-chair-and-stirred-eggs-into-flour-to/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“He had a satisfying wholeness about him, American good looks like a baseball player's- level shoulders, a pale shock of hair. A good mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/he-had-a-satisfying-wholeness-about-him-american-good-looks-like-a/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) ## More by Diana Abu-Jaber > [If you only write for 15 minutes at a time, you can write a book and still have time for Legos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/if-you-only-write-for-15-minutes-at-a-time-you-can-write-a-book-and/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“The streets of Aqaba are shell spirals and, on summer nights, crowded and complicated as a woman's heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/the-streets-of-aqaba-are-shell-spirals-and-on-summer-nights-crowded/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [I'm constantly at war with myself to quit goofing around, and the internet hasn't helped that any. I've learned that I have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/i-m-constantly-at-war-with-myself-to-quit-goofing-around-and-the/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [Love and prayer are intimately related.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/love-and-prayer-are-intimately-related/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“Sometimes when she lies awake her body feels as finely made as a tuning fork. She can hear and smell the most delicate things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/sometimes-when-she-lies-awake-her-body-feels-as-finely-made-as-a/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [The daily writing practice is something I used to hear batted around a lot in writing workshops - which is probably why I dropped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/the-daily-writing-practice-is-something-i-used-to-hear-batted-around/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“...tasting a piece of bread that someone bought is like looking at that person, but tasting a piece of bread that they baked is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/tasting-a-piece-of-bread-that-someone-bought-is-like-looking-at-that/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“She thinks of Stanley's colored pencil drawings of theoretical businesses: a cafe, a bookshop, and, always, a grocery store. When she was ten and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/she-thinks-of-stanley-s-colored-pencil-drawings-of-theoretical/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“The loneliness of the arab is a terrible thing; it is all consuming. It is already present like a little shadow under the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/the-loneliness-of-the-arab-is-a-terrible-thing-it-is-all-consuming-it/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“She's been scouted by Ford and Elite- real New York agencies. Micah, the agent for Elite- a tall black guy in silver eyeliner- said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/she-s-been-scouted-by-ford-and-elite-real-new-york-agencies-micah-the/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“On the top rack is a cooled and decorated seven-layered 'opera' cake. Her client- the Peruvian ambassador- had requested a "tropical" theme for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/on-the-top-rack-is-a-cooled-and-decorated-seven-layered-opera-cake/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [Here is something you have to understand about stories: They point you in the right direction but they can't take you all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/here-is-something-you-have-to-understand-about-stories-they-point-you/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“The first time Avis knelt on a chair and stirred eggs into flour to make a vanilla cake, she had an inkling of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/the-first-time-avis-knelt-on-a-chair-and-stirred-eggs-into-flour-to/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“You want to protect you children, don't you? You let them out of your body but you never let them all the way out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/you-want-to-protect-you-children-don-t-you-you-let-them-out-of-your/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [“..a phantasm, a pink-palmed jinn, a ghost from one of the drowned cities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/a-phantasm-a-pink-palmed-jinn-a-ghost-from-one-of-the-drowned-cities/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) [Explore all 66 Diana Abu-Jaber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Deep, fluting emotions were a form of weakness. She'd seen the softening in her work over the years, she'd started making the lazy, homey treats like apple crumble, chocolate muffins, butterscotch pudding, and lemon bars. They were fast and cheap and they pleased her children. But she'd trained at one of the best pastry programs in the country. Her teachers were French. She'd learned the classical method of making fondant, of making real buttercream with its spun-candy base and beating the precise fraction off egg into the pate a choux. She knew how to blow sugar into glassine nests and birds and fountains, how to construct seven-tiered wedding cakes draped with sugar curtains copied from the tapestries at Versailles. When the other students interned at the Four Seasons, the French Laundry, and Dean & Deluca, Avis had apprenticed with a botanical illustrator in the department of horticulture at Cornell, learning to steady her hand and eye, to work with the tip of the brush, to dissect and replicate in tinted royal icing and multihued glazes the tiniest pieces of stamen, pistil, and rhizome. She studied Audubon and Redoute. At the end of her apprenticeship, her mentor, who pronounced the work \"extraordinary and heartbreaking,\" arranged an exhibition of Avis's pastries at the school. \"Remembering the Lost Country\" was a series of cakes decorated in perfectly rendered sugar olive branches, cross sections of figs, and frosting replicas of lemon leaves. Her mother attended and pronounced the effect 'amusant.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Diana Abu-Jaber" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/deep-fluting-emotions-were-a-form-of-weakness-she-d-seen-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/deep-fluting-emotions-were-a-form-of-weakness-she-d-seen-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/diana-abu-jaber-10382_art_deep-fluting-emotions-were-a-form-of-wea_1995086.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/diana-abu-jaber-10382_art_deep-fluting-emotions-were-a-form-of-wea_1995086.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/diana-abu-jaber-10382_art_deep-fluting-emotions-were-a-form-of-wea_1995086.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Deep, fluting emotions were a form of weakness. 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