That’s because the two were taking baking lessons.

It was a way to relieve stress for the two physicians.

“We wanted to do something together,” Nanette Catigbe said. “So we went into baking. For the past five years, we have been baking and painting on top of our practice. I needed something to destress me.”

But eventually, the couple decided to pursue new opportunities in Iowa.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Nanette Catigbe, of Fort Dodge, stands next to one of her paintings, which is an image of John F. Kennedy Memorial Park in January of 2019.

“We wanted to be more comfortable here,” Catigbe said. “It’s for my daughters’ (Chiara and Ryanne) education. Something big for my girls. I just think the U.S. can give that to us. It’s a different life here.”

Catigbe and her husband immigrated legally from Cebu City to Fort Dodge in December 2017.

Francisco Catigbe took a job as an acute care nurse at UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center.

“We brought the whole family,” she said. “And we will be here for good — I hope so.”

Catigbe, who served as a general medicine doctor for almost 20 years, stopped practicing after the move.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Nanette Catigbe, of Fort Dodge, grabs her paint brush at her home.

She said that’s in part because the education she received out of the country doesn’t carry over to the United States.

“I cannot practice here as a doctor,” she said. “I have to go through exams and retrain, start from zero. I really would have had to do a lot.”

So she thought, “Should I go through that all over or pursue art?”

She decided to pursue art and continued making cake portraits through the name Mucchio di Bella Pastries and Art.

“It means beautiful pastries and art,” Catigbe said. “I have a following with that name.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Nanette Catigbe, of Fort Dodge, prepares to paint.

Her husband creates the buttercream for the cakes and Catigbe takes care of the decorating.

She uses the frosting to make portraits on the cake.

“It’s not an every day thing,” she said. “These are specialty cakes, like weddings or birthdays, if you really want to give it that extra push.”

She takes special orders, but does not have the cakes prepared on a daily basis.

Catigbe said recently she had a month where she made three wedding cakes and two birthday cakes.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Nanette Catigbe, of Fort Dodge, paints portraits of locals she meets, including Meg Beshey, whose portrait is shown here at the top.

Depending on the complexity of the cake, it might take her three to five hours to complete.

“For wedding cakes I do it the whole day,” she said. “We bake the cake two to three days ahead of time. I don’t sleep when there’s a big cake because I have to do it fresh and devote my time on it.”

One particular cake Catigbe is proud of is a “Beauty and the Beast”-inspired creation called “Tale As Old As Time,” which was a wedding cake.

But Catigbe’s art includes more than cakes.

She also creates paintings.

“I work with lots of different mediums … oils, pastel, watercolor,” she said. “I have been painting for such a long time — since high school.”

The only times she stopped painting were during medical school and residency training, she said.

Her dog, Bella, enjoys sitting with Catigbe as she works on her next piece.

“My dog paints with me and sits on my lap when I paint,” Catigbe said. “We are dog lovers. I even do some pet portraits.”

Aside from pets, Catigbe has a consistent theme in her paintings.

“Everything here is all Iowa,” Catigbe said. “I take pictures and paint them.”

Some of her inspiration comes from nature, which she has found in places like John F. Kennedy Memorial Park.

“Iowa is beautiful,” she said.

One of her goals is to get younger people involved in art.

“We want the younger generation to love painting,” she said.

Catigbe hosts classes at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum. She also offers cake painting classes by appointment.

“We would really love to have the younger people come in and be more active,” she said. “We want to drive more people into being artists and get more people in. We want more people to love art — to promote art in Iowa. There are lots of artists here in Iowa. Lots of talented artists here.”

Catigbe said she has plenty of motivation to continue honing her craft.

“Art makes me happy,” she said.

Catigbe will be competing at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 3 in the cake decorating professional division.

To reach Nanette Catigbe, email dr–ncatigbe@yahoo.com .

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