[완전 달콤한, 슈가 아트 기사] Come taste these sugary flowers

Pink roses made of sugar - what could possibly be sweeter than that?

Several young women gathered at "Sugar Rose," a sugar craft workshop in Juyeob-dong, Gyeonggi Province on a Thursday afternoon for their regular lesson.

After greasing their hands with shortening, they start to knead white sugar paste following the instructions of sugar craft artist Choi In-young.

"Continue pulling them apart and sticking them back together. It is important to make the dough nice and soft. After that, we will add the colors," Choi tells the students.

One by one her students finishes softening the dough and eagerly starts to add different colors. Colorful sugar pastes are then ready to be rolled on, cut and detailed into animals, clothes, flowers, humans and ... well, everything.

The world of sugar craft

So what exactly is sugar craft?

Basically, it is art made of sugar. They used only to grace the tops of cakes, but they have become an independent genre of art over the years.

As the history goes, the first wedding cakes using sugar decorations were made in England.

Experts recall 1840 as the first year of sugar craft, when the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was held. The cake used at the wedding was 2.7 meters in circumference, 36 cm thick and weighed 136 kilos. All sorts of gorgeous sugar crafts were put on top of the cake.

Now the art has spread throughout many countries in the world, including Korea.

Choi was originally a cake baker, but while making some sugar decorations for wedding cakes, she saw the potential in sugar craft and changed her career.

She learned from one of the first sugar craft artists in Korea for two years, and now has become skilled enough to open her own workshop. Recently, she held an exhibition in Insa-dong, Seoul, with two other artists.

"Many people who are interested in art examined the works closely. But some just walked off the exhibits really quickly, thinking that it was a flower exhibition," Choi said with a laugh.

Looking around Choi's cozy little workshop, the reactions of exhibition-goers were quite understandable. You might think Sugar Rose was decorated with fresh flowers, but you?Ψd be wrong!

Beautiful sunflowers, Christmas flowers and Lilies planted in flower pots all turned out to be Choi's works.

"Sculptures made with other materials, say, clay, are impossible to be sculpted this minutely. It is only possible with sugar paste," Choi said, showing the realistic stamens and pistils of her sunflower.

It took only two years for Choi to master sugar craft, but she was a veteran baker to start with. How long would it take for someone who does not know the first thing about baking?

"I made this on my first day," exclaimed one of the students, proudly presenting a tiny baby sleeping under a blanket with a pair of blue baby shoes next to it.

"It depends on how the student follows, but yes, students are able to make these on their first day. After about two or three months, they can design their own cakes with sugar craft, and after about six months they will be able to create more complicated flower sugar craft," Choi said.

"So not only people who want be a sugar craft artist but also many who simply want to enjoy it as a hobby come to learn."

The completed works would make good presents and also a good decoration for the house. Sugar contains natural preservatives so they are not so hard to preserve, Choi said.

"Just keep them in a dry place and pay a little attention during the rainy season. Also keep them out of direct rays of the sun because the colors might be ruined. If preserved well, they can be kept for years just like other kinds of art," she said.

Basic first steps

Here are some basic steps for making a jewelry box, one of the easiest things to make.

Step one: Rub some shortening on your hands.

The key is to use just the right amount of shortening. If one uses too small an amount, the dough will stick to the fingers. If one uses too much, on the other hand, the dough will become too greasy.

Step two: Knead the sugar paste until it is soft.

The sugar paste is a mixture of powder sugar, egg white, gelatin, carboxymethyl cellulose, starch syrup, shortening and water, kept for a day.

Step three: Drop colors on the dough using a toothpick.

Be careful, even a smudge of pigment ink is enough to dye the dough. One can control the lightness of the color by the amount of the ink.

Step four: Make the top, bottom and sides of the jewelry box with same colored dough. Using a mold helps for starters.

Step five: Make colorful flower and leaves decorations on top, and maybe add a ribbon on the side.

Step six: Let it dry in a cool place. It is better to stuff some tissues in and around it to maintain its shape.

For more information on "Sugar Rose," visit www.sugarose.co.kr.

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young

 

[슈가아트 선구자, 최두리 선생님 인터뷰] Sugar craft pioneer shines in Japan

Sugar artist Choi Du-ri introduced her craft to Korea 18 years ago.

In consideration of her life and career since, Choi's pioneering role comes as no surprise.

Choi's first job was in foreign trade, but it didn't sit well with her.

"I?Ψve loved using my hands to make things since I was little. I learned a lot of things like flower arrangement, cooking and craft on weekends and after work. I even acquired a license in hairdressing," she said.

Her enthusiasm for making things reached its peak when she encountered the world of bakery, and even later on when she first saw sugar craft.

She quit her trading job and wondered around the world, stopping off in England, France and Japan, to learn sugar craft. Of those countries, she studied for the longest time in Japan and was also most influenced by the work there.

Even for the ambitious artist, introducing something new to her home country was not an easy job.

"My teachers in Japan had warned me that it would take at least 10 years for sugar craft to settle in Korea. Now 18 years have passed, and I think it has settled pretty well. In five to 10 years, I think we will catch up with Japan," Choi said.

Choi recently won the gold prize at a renowned sugar craft contest held in Tokyo hosted by Japan's Sugar Art Association.

"Honestly I thought I would win the Grand Prix. But I knew Japan would never give away the Grand Prix to a Korean. Sugar craft started way earlier in Japan so the Japanese always think they are a cut above Korea in the field," she said.

Choi, who was also a judge at the competition, admitted that Japan was still better concerning the bakery and sugar craft field.

"They are never sloppy and they consider the basic rules as very important. England is the home of sugar craft but I think Japanese artists show much more creativity," she said.

Choi, however, said that she had seen great potential in Korean students.

She has taught more than 1,000 students so far, and obviously, all Korean sugar craft artists are her juniors or were once her students.

She now teaches students at her sugar craft work shop, "Sugar Craft" in Jamwon-dong, southern Seoul.

Unlike the certificate for bakers, however, there are no official certificates given out to sugar craft artists yet. It takes a lot of time and money to build a system, explained Choi.

Instead, Korean Sugar Craft Association, which Choi is currently the president of, is planning to give out diplomas.

"The diploma will also serve as a certificate to become a sugar craft teacher," Choi said.

While building the process to raise professionals, Choi also hopes sugar craft will become more popular among the public.

"It is very popular in England. Most housewives know how to make sugar decorated cakes at home and they even sell instant sugar craft kits at marts. In Japan also, 99 percent of the people who learn it do it for a hobby," Choi said.

"Sugar craft is something you can learn while having a different job or raising children. It is hand skills so you don't easily forget how to do it. Won't it make a great hobby and even supplement your household economy if you make them as presents for your important people?" she added with a smile.

For more information on "Sugar Craft," visit sugarcraft.co.kr

(claire@heraldm.com)

By Park Min-young