There seems to be a rising obsession among millennials for all things in miniature form. Whether it’s a tiny tea cup or a mini notebook, we would likely purchase it because of its size.
Eric Siow didn’t intentionally leverage on this fact when he started Miniarture Concepts, a platform which conceptualises food art in miniature form. In fact, it was due to his passion and love for this artform which led him to turning it into his career.
The ex-graphic designer and certified French pastry chef currently resides in Singapore and he quit his designing job to pursue a job as a food art miniaturist and teacher.
“I had nothing much to do over the weekends except go to the gym, shopping or movies. As a creative person though, I always look forward to learning something extraordinary,” Eric told Discover KL.
When he was leafing through the papers one day, Eric chanced upon a story of a local miniature artist and immediately, he was sold on the idea. He began learning about the art form in 2011, and now 5 years on, Miniarture Concepts houses many of his interesting creations.
Eric shared with Discover KL that he chose food making because food was his only inspiration to start off with.
“In my previous job, I dealt with chefs and designed countless recipe books. I was involved in food photography and all these food- connected duties helped me understand food better. I was also a pastry chef for a brief period of time and that has allowed me to have a closer relationship with food,” Eric noted.
He uses essential materials such as air-dried resin clay, resin, oil paint, white glue, varnish, art tools and more to create the tiny food art.
“I mostly make and focus on Malaysian delicacies because of the diversity of our society, but I never set any limitations to myself. Therefore, I also make other cuisines such as Thai, Japanese, Korean, Middle-east, Western and more,” Eric said.
There is a high level of workmanship involved in each project and due to the effort he puts in, the prices for these figurines can go up to RM2,500+.
“Most of my customers hardly buy ready-made pieces from my collection, but rather, they want a customisation on particular food, or a specific showpiece/scene, for instance a satay stall or a kacang putih cart,” Eric said.
The clay craft has given Eric lots of satisfaction, especially when people are dubious on whether his creations are real or fake. “Visual impact is important in this clay art and I am glad that through my works, more people are getting awareness on this artform as well as getting involved in this “yummy” hobby,” he concluded.
Feature Image Credit: Miniarture Concepts
