The joys of sugarcrafting

Dubai workshop provides a chance to learn sugarcrafting technique

No one would suspect that ordinary icing sugar could be fashioned into impressive works of art. But when one looks at Nasarene Jeddy's delicate flowers, cute camels, fairies and dolls, one realises how much flair, skill and passion she has for the art the world calls sugarcrafting.

After spending years perfecting her technique, Nasarene now conducts regular sugarcraft and ceramic flower making workshops at her residence in Dubai.

"Sugar is very delicate to work with but the joy it brings to the artist is beyond imagination," she says as her fingers pick up a piece of fondant, deftly fashioning it into a tiny rabbit with long ears. The details that are added depend on the artist's eye to recreate, she explains.

"When a client celebrating her birthday asked for the cake decorations to have a Hard Rock Cafe theme, I went down to the café, took photographs and worked the two-dimensional detailing from those," she says.

Nasarene has had other special requests over the years. When a woman wanted to surprise her angler husband, Nazarene crafted a bright sailfish with edible colour. Or for the 50th anniversary of a company in Dubai, whose logo had a penguin, she crafted camels from sugar that were being led across the desert by sugarcrafted penguins. "I have fun dreaming up amusing concepts," she says.

Nasarene has taken qualifying courses from master craftsmen at the British Sugarcraft Guild in London and often goes back to re-train and update her skills.

"I was lucky that I was introduced to sugarcrafting by a qualified artist in Dubai. She has since moved on and I felt that I wanted to continue the work and pass on the techniques," she smiles. She firmly believes that one doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to dabble in this art form.

It is a work of art, yet all sugarcrafted objects are edible. "The bunnies, barbie dolls, leaves and flowers, can all be consumed within a short period," says Nazarene.

If the artist likes to display her work, then great care has to be taken to store the finished sugarcrafted objects, otherwise in high humidity levels they simply melt, or can get dirty and there is no way to clean them. If the artist is moving, then it may not be possible to move the artwork, as it is very delicate.

"When we execute some brilliant creative ideas, we want to eternalise it, so an alternative solution is to make the same art-work with a special air-dry porcelain," says Nasarene. This special ceramic doesn't require an expensive kiln and can allow wonderful detailing.

So, brush up on those sugarcrafting skills or order Nasarene's magical creations, and the next occasion will surely be a sweet one to remember.