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This was certainly the case for the Siew Heng Boon, 38, who has made quite a name for herself both here and in her current home of Sydney, Australia due to her artistic talents.
But Siew is no traditional artist, and she carries neither palette nor canvas with her. Instead, her artworks are in the form of 3D jelly cakes and they’re every bit as gorgeous as any work of art.
Perhaps you might have caught a glimpse of her work on social media, where they have wowed folks through their exquisite details and beautiful designs.
Ranging from blooming flowers to entire fish ponds, her 3D jelly cakes are a thing of marvel and one might almost feel guilty at the mere thought of slicing into one, much less eating it.
Happy to share her knowledge with others, she opened Jelly Alchemy in 2017 which offers online jelly-making classes to interested folks.
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Speaking to FMT, she shares her journey into the world of jelly and the challenges she faced along the way.
“It was by chance that I picked up the art of jelly-making,” she says. “In 2016, I was back in Malaysia on holiday, visiting my parents, when a neighbour went to a 3D jelly-making class.”
When she saw samples of the jelly cake her neighbour created, she was interested enough to sign up for classes herself.
“When I went back to Sydney, I uploaded a few photos of my jelly cakes on social media. And people started to ask me if I would make some to sell.”
She was hesitant at first. But with the encouragement of her parents, she started her jelly-making business and much to her surprise, it caught the attention of so many.
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Siew says she that doesn’t always have a plan in mind when starting on a jelly cake and that the designs usually take shape along the way.
She often finds inspiration from photos, which she then tries to bring to life via her jelly cakes. On occasion, she takes special requests from her customers.
“I sit down and work with a blank canvas, like a painting. I will start with one flower and keep adding stuff as I go on,” she says.
According to her, jelly cakes with flower designs are the easiest to make, even for beginners, but those with animal designs are a different matter altogether.
“It’s not hard to get into, but to achieve a level of mastery, it will take lots and lots of practice and some talent. You have to practise a lot; you don’t just learn everything overnight.
“You will never know until you try,” she says, adding that there are many things one will learn about the art through practice, and trial and error.
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It is a tiring process, however, and while she has made up to 16 jelly cakes in a single day, she generally prefers working on three at most.
It should also be noted that 3D jelly cakes are relatively new to Australia, with many regarding them as an Asian dessert instead.
The best part of jelly-making is seeing the end result, though. “It still amazes me when I turn these cakes around and go, ‘Oh, my God! I just made that!’”
Her journey however was not without its ups and downs though, for in late 2017, Siew was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Staying positive about her situation, Siew was determined to march on with life while battling cancer along the way.
“It was devastating for everyone to hear, but I just soldiered on. Making 3D jellies also helped me to steer away from thinking negatively. I had something to look forward to, after all.”
Doing what she loved kept her going and four years on, Siew remains free of cancer.
Covid-19 has been yet another bump in the road for her, as she has had to cancel a few jelly-making classes in the past weeks.
Additionally, she has to take care of her school-going children who are stuck at home due to the lockdowns imposed on Sydney.
It is not all bad though, as Siew has noted an increased interest in her online classes as well as increased purchases of her jelly-making equipment.
So what now for Siew?
“I’m actually interested in teaching internationally,” she reveals. “In the future, it will be a nice to visit other countries to teach them about 3D jelly-making.”
Back in school, Siew was never sure what she wanted to do with her future, and now, she wishes that she had trained professionally in the culinary arts.
Still, it is not too late for her to encourage others who may be at the crossroads of life to pursue their passions like she did. As she puts it, “Follow the path of what you love to do.”
Check out Siew’s mind-blowing work by visiting her website or following her on Facebook and Instagram.
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