Welcome to Thursday Doors, a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2022/06/09/doors-on-duff/
This is the door to my kitchen.

Can you see all my cookbooks on my bookshelf on the left hand side?
I walked through this door with an idea for a cake.
This is the door to my gas oven.

I opened and closed this door several times to make the cakes for my creation.
This is my creation: Lion Scream – Nature’s response to the sixth mass extinction and global warming. Thank you for the inspiration Rebecca Budd.
How did Rebecca inspire this cake? Rebecca has a blog called ChasingART, you can read her latest post here: https://chasingart.com/2022/06/10/fridaypainting-john-melhuish-strudwick-in-the-golden-days/, where she shares about famous paintings. One day, we had a discussion about The Scream by Edvard Munch.
This is what Wikipedia says about The Scream:
The Scream is the popular name given to a composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch’s work, including The Scream, would go on to have a formative influence on the Expressionist movement.
Munch recalled that he had been out for a walk at sunset when suddenly the setting sun’s light turned the clouds “a blood red”. He sensed an “infinite scream passing through nature”. Scholars have located the spot to a fjord overlooking Oslo and have suggested other explanations for the unnaturally orange sky, ranging from the effects of a volcanic eruption to a psychological reaction by Munch to his sister’s commitment at a nearby lunatic asylum.

The idea of this painting and nature screaming, gave me the inspiration for Lion Scream.

I modelled the lion’s expression and paw positions as closely as possible from the original painting.
You can see the river of blood from all the murdered elephants, lions, rhinos and other creatures. Behind the lion is an erupting volcano as nature protests against global warming.
What do you think? Does this cake represent what I aimed for?
As if this is not enough creativity for one post, I must share my younger son, Michael’s, latest poem. I thought it was very vivid. It’s called Downward Spiral by Michael Cheadle:

I’m sorry Robbie but although your article was as always extremely good with your cake absolutely divine your son’s poem resonated with me as I expect it would with thousands of other people. I
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Michael’s poem resonated with me as well.
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Hi Liz, Michael has very intense emotions and I’m glad he’s learning to express them using poetry. It is very freeing.
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Yes, poetry is a very good outlet for intense emotion.
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Hi Danny, I am glad you found Michael’s poem meaningful. I was amazed when he read it to me. He has a notebook full of his writings.
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Wow! Robbie, it’s hard to know where to begin. The doors are great, including the little cabinet on the wall to the right of your kitchen door. Oven doors are the best, when something is due to emerge soon. The cake is amazing. If I saw that, with no introduction, I would think of the scream and I would know why he’s screaming or in shock – mission accomplished – well done! Michael’s poem is also very well done. Lots of talent flowing through your house these days. I hope you all have a nice weekend.
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Hi Dan, thank you. I am so pleased you identified this cake with The Scream. I added the picture and background for people unfamiliar with it and it’s meaning. I thought Michael’s poem was very perceptive for his age.
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Wow, Robbie! So much (stellar) creativity indeed! Depressingly excellent food sculpture by you and depressingly excellent poem by your son.
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Hi Dave, you are right. These artistic undertakings are about depressing topics, but if they resonate with people and make them think, they have done something powerfully hopeful.
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Hi, Robbie. I think this cake art vividly expresses the earth screaming in horror and pain.
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Hi Liz, I am pleased you see it like that.
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A+ for creativity and impact, Robbie and Michael!
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Thank you ❤️
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Michael is a person of enormous empathy. He is a remarkable young person, and he shall be a fantastic man! Thank you for allowing us to share his energy and lend our support to a more compassionate world!
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Hi Annette, Michael is very sensitive to people and emotion. Thank you for your comment 💕
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Love the lion scream. Very clever.
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Thank you, I am pleased you like it.
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What a beautiful and creative cake. I love Munch’s painting.
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Thank you, Timothy. I love The Scream too. It is fascinating.
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I love this idea–walking through the door to your kitchen, to your oven, where magic happens. The poem is a perfect addition.
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Hi Jacqui, I was throwing ideas around for this week’s post as I wanted to include this cake, when this idea popped into my head. I decided it would be different and a little bit of fun.
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It was, and quite different than the norm. I like that.
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A spectacular cake, Robbie, but Michael’s beautiful and intense poem actually ‘takes the cake’.
I’m jealous of your lovely cooker, we should compare cookbooks some time!
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HI Chris, I love comparing cookbooks and recipes. I am glad you enjoyed the cake and Michael’s poem. Thank you.
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Hi Robbie, You have done a wonderful job with your cake, and you achieved the connection to Munch’s painting. Michael’s poem is both powerful and compelling!
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HI Charles, I am glad you could see the connection. This idea just came to me when I was thinking about our trip to the lion sanctuary while looking at my print of The Scream. Michael is full of surprises. He has a whole notebook full of poems.
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Reblogged this on charles french words reading and writing and commented:
Please enjoy this post from Robbie Cheadle featuring her extraordinary baking and a powerful poem from her son Michael!
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Thank you, Charles. Much appreciated.
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A great cake to “Munch” on while watching the sunset of humankind Robbie!
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HI Wayne, it was a delicious cake. I hope that mankind will be able to turn things around and pull itself out of this mess. There is always hope.
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The cake is a fabulous rendition, Robbie! And Michael’s poem is so heartbreaking and expressive! Thank you for sharing!
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HI Jan, I am glad you enjoyed this post. Michael’s poem did take me by surprise.
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Bravo Robbie! Spectacular creativity on all counts!
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Thank you, John.
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The cake is very effective and Michael’s poem complements it well. If only all of us were that in touch with our emotions. (K)
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HI Kerfe, perhaps it’s an age thing although when I was 16 I tried to keep my emotions hidden. That was my upbringing and I’m still quite secretive about a lot of things.
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I was not secretive when I was young, but I’ve become that way. I think it’s hard to trust others with your emotions and life tends to make you more cautious about sharing them.
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I am not secretive at all. I pretty much have three states of being, contented, joyous, or angry. If I am angry or joyous everyone knows about it as I am extremely vocal. When I am contented I don’t need to share emotions.
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I admire your clarity. I know when I’m angry (though I many times don’t show it) but otherwise I often can’t put a word to what/how I feel. It’s a deficit I haven’t been able to figure out.
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Maybe you are content. Happiness and contented are quite similar and not very spectacular.
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Your kitchen looks warm and welcoming, Robbie. Your cake is amazing, like all your artwork! Michael’s poem is dark and moody, and suits the premise behind the cake perfectly.
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HI Jacquie, my kitchen is old, nearly antique as our house was built in 1929. I had the gas oven put in as I like cooking with gas. I’m glad you enjoyed the cake and poem.
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An excellent cake. The Lion Scream is perfect. I also am very impressed with Michael’s poem. Young people can be so expressive. They tell it like it is. Have a super weekend.
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HI DArlene, thank you. I agree about young people and I’m glad Michael has the courage to write what he feels. I hope your weekend is also a great one.
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The expression of the Lion Scream cake is amazingly and lively, Robbie! Michale’s poem is exceptional. The reflection is very mature for 16 years old. Have a wonderful weekend!
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This is wonderfully creative, Robbie. I enjoyed seeing some of the doors in your kitchen. The cause of your inspiration is horribly sad, but it is important and I love your way of making a statement about it. Hugs on the wing.
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Wow, that’s some cake … I love your son’s poem … quite honest and raw.
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HI Jan, thank you, through the eyes of the young you will find an honest view.
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Very clever, Robbie. I like your doors too. We don’t have a door to our kitchen. That would be nice!
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Open plan is popular in modern houses. Our house is old, nearly antique.
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We had a door to the kitchen in the house I grew up in – that was built in the late 1950s. Our current house is only 27 years old.
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Open plan is definitely more modern.
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Always fun to enter doors with you, Robbie. Your son has a deep understanding of the breadth and depth of human emotion and experience. I just read Michael’s poem to Don and he agrees – a profound messages that reaches into the soul.
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Hi Rebecca, when Michael read me that poem, it gave me chills. He has a notebook full of poetry. I’ll see if he can be persuaded to share some more later.
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Your lion is a work of art in itself, and I relate to the inspiration for it. New stories about extinction and exploitation make me want to scream too.
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Thank you, Audrey. It is very worrying, both for ourselves, and for our children and grandchildren.
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I’m a fan of oven doors: I always like to look behind them
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I am a big baker/cook so I use my oven a lot.
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I agree with Michael’s comment. I am in awe of how your wrapped all this content around this theme but your son’s poem just so illustrated the pain of the painting and the planet. I hope what I have written makes some sense.
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HI Bernadette, your comment did make sense, and I think each thought in this post moved naturally to the next – at least, that is what I hoped for.
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I enjoyed all of this, and am impressed by that oven. I could make some great sourdough in that.
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HI Craig, I often need to cater for 21 adults and that is why we bought a large gas oven. I can also bake multiple cakes in it.
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What a powerful post, Robbie. The symbolism of your cake is intense, dealing will the destruction of our planet, not only its wild creatures but its ability to sustain life at all. And Michael’s poem was such a perfect reflection of our youth’s call for change and help. What will they do, if the adults destroy everything? It was fun to get a glimpse of the place where your cakes come to life. Well done, you two.
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Hi Diana, I really enjoyed your comment and insight. Thank you so much. Michael is a lot like me when it comes to creativity although he is prone to depression and, thankfully, I am not.
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I don’t know if it was a correct interpretation, but it’s what came to me. I really feel for teenagers today. They’re old enough to see what’s happening to their futures and essentially helpless to do anything about it. That’s depressing.
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I appreciate the honesty of emotion in the cake and the poem with things that need to be expressed rather than held inside.
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HI JoAnna, I am glad you appreciated both the cake and the poem. I have been moving towards using my cake art for more than just children’s books illustrations. I have been making a few statements through this medium.
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Hi Robbie, your son’s poem is excellent, he is a talented young man and of course, you are so creative with your cakes.
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That’s an incredibly deep and moving poem by your son, Robbie. So much emotion.
Your cake is brilliant and conveys your message well.
I enjoyed walking into your kitchen and standing by your oven. 🙂
(I’ve commented in reverse order of your post – maybe in order of the effect they had on me. :))
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HI Norah, Michael’s poem certainly took the cake with this post – hehe. I am glad you appreciated his words. I was most surprised at the depth of feeling in his poem.
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He has a good live-in teacher. 💖
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You’ve certainly captured Munch’s painting, Robbie. Well done! I’ve read Michael’s poem three times now and I’m stunned by the images and the vocabulary he uses to put them across. Give him my congratulations on a piece that speaks from the heart and which will resonate with many, many people. x
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HI Alex, thank you, I am glad you see the link between my cake and The Scream. I was quite bowled over by Michael poem which is not something I could or would ever write. He is on a very different emotional level to me in some ways.
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So beautiful, Robbie! Thanks to Michael for this wonderful poem, its the icing on top. Best wishes for sharing, and have a nice week! xx Michael
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HI Michael, thank you, I am delighted you appreciated Michael’s poem. PS I shared my Hungarian goulash recipe today especially for you.
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Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Thanks for sharing, Michael.
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Wow, Robbie, I think your cake is a perfect emulation of “The Scream” though sad as the message is…It’s really heartbreaking knowing the damage humans have caused. I also love your doors and the many cookbooks you have, too. Michael’s poem resonates with me as well, the sorrow he expresses goes painfully straight to the heart. ❤️
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HI Lauren, thank you for your lovely comment. It is sad and sometimes I am inspired to create cake art with a message. Michael’s poem was quite a surprise to me even though I know he struggles with depression. Between you and me, I find it hard to understand depression because it is so alien to my own outlook on life. I try really hard to relate to his emotions.
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You are so talented in your baking, Robbie. I bake but not to your level. 🙂 And life isn’t all sunflowers either, so it’s good to acknowledge the sadness even though it may be difficult. My children had friends in high school who struggled with depression, so they experienced it indirectly, trying to be the good friend for support. I think your son has talent too to be able to express himself through words. ❤️
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Thank you, Lauren, words and poetry are wonderful ways of releasing emotion.
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Wow – the cake is awesome and so creative to connect with RB and her post and then lead to a cake (how long does something like this take ?)
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Also- your son’s poem was deep….
Oh and your gas stove seems like a good one – and perfect for cakes and those meals you experiment with!
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Hi Yvette, making the lion took a few weeks. Because the figure is standing I had to let the various parts dry thoroughly before adding the next piece. The bridge was also a little tricky. The volcano was pretty easy although I had a disaster with the initial icing and had to scrap it all off and redo it.
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Wow – labor of fun and love
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The cake is a true work of art. Its message hits me in the heart. Man’s inhumanity to man is highlighted by his inhumanity to animals. Fantastic piece, Roberta!
Your son’s poem was a perfect ending, after the Munch painting.
Love the painting through the doorway at the beginning. Happy week!
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HI Resa, thank you for your lovely comment. I am glad this cake and poem resonated with you. My sister gave me the painting you see through the doorway. She didn’t like it – too dark! I love it. Tastes are different in families.
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Robbie, I loved this visit to your kitchen. I was sipping coffee and nattering to you. Your cake is wonderful and a creative depiction of nature screaming through the lion. Michael’s poem is amazing and how loving that he can express emotions in this way…what a loving, creative space you have all created. ❤
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Hi Jane, thank you for visiting and commenting. I am glad you appreciated the cake. Michael continues to surprise me, he has a very strong creative streak.
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Oh wow! I thought the cake was amazing – using a medium that is usually associated with comfortable, celebratory occasions to put across something a whole lot darker somehow gives it more punch. And your son’s poem is extremely powerful – thank you for sharing!
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It is my pleasure, I am really pleased you appreciated this cake and poem.
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Thank you for sharing your kitchen where you create your beautiful cakes, Robbie this one depicts the scream perfectly and the poem for one so young is very intense but mirrors the emotion of what is unfolding in our world. what man is inflicting on our beautiful planet..at home, my cooker is nothing like yours but for the month I have the luxury of using one very similar-smile- x
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HI Carol, we had a very old stove in our house when we bought it and we replaced it with this gas one. It is a very nice one and I like using it very much. I am glad you appreciated the poem and cake.
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I did and I’m enjoying having a nice oven to cook in albeit temporay as well-smile- x
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Inspiration can come from any and everything. I think your cake captured what you intended. And your son’s verse rememinds me very much of my own emotions when I was trying to figure out how to get out of some sad moods as a teen full of angst. I can’t imagine how some children have managed to live through the Covid lockdowns and then with having to deal with current news. But in each generation we have faced difficulties and have managed. Some easier than others. May we all continue to support each other and find a way to bring peace and safety to the world in which we share.
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HI Jules, I think you are right about inspiration coming unexpectedly. I am usually inspired when I read a small something about a person in a difficult situation, often historical. My son has struggled with depression as he is social and found being at home very difficult. I think we have all be changed by the last two years in some way or another.
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