Like Tibetan sand mandalas or the Italian festival of Infiorata, Linda Miller Nicholson’s pasta art is meant to be destroyed. And by destroyed, she means boiled in scalding water, sauced with creamy goodness, and devoured for dinner.

Known to fans as Salty Seattle, Nicholson is part chef, part artist, and has carved a unique niche out of both worlds with her ever colorful, naturally-dyed, creative pasta concoctions. Nicholson started kneading dough when she was just four years old, and a lifetime of pasta-making has brought her to the forefront of food art.