Imagine the food you love shrinking to the size of your thumbnail. It still looks delicious and yet you can’t eat it, feeling content just to behold it in wonder.
Local artist Ling Hooi Yin makes miniature food art, jewellery and figurines using polymer clay for a living, complete with tiny details, and they look unbelievably realistic and cute!
Ling, 28, is especially known for her miniature versions of Malaysian national foods like nasi lemak, char kueh teow and wantan mee, and popular local kuih such as kuih lapis, ondeh-ondeh, angku kuih and many more.
It started as a hobby, but ended up becoming a vocation. “It never crossed my mind (that) I would make it a career,” she admits.
The world of miniature-making caught Ling’s eye a decade ago, and she learned the craft from YouTube.
She was particularly drawn to polymer clay. “It is fascinating how we can use polymer clay to create something so small and intricate,” said Ling, a multimedia graduate who began crafting to release stress over college assignments.
Mesmerising miniatures
To craft these pretty and perfect miniatures, one needs to have a sharp eye, patience, meticulousness and a certain amount of strength to face failure after failure before getting it right. It is not as easy as it looks!
“Replicating the colour is the most challenging for me. Sometimes, it can take up to two weeks just to get exact colours. I mix different colours of clay to mimic real food colours,” explained Ling.
The process of mixing clay colours ranges from one hour to one full day.
“Char kuey teow noodles have to have a certain transparency and a hint of beige to look as realistic as the real food. Then, I will sculpt (clay) to the shape of the food and sometimes, it takes up to a few days to get the accurate thickness and texture,” said Ling.
“After the sculpting is completed, I will add shades of colours to give the effect of a baked or fried food. I will bake the clay in the oven for about 30 minutes,” said Ling, who crafts miniatures using needles, small ball tools, blades and even toothpicks.
It could take up to one week, depending on the complexity of the prototypes. Her miniatures sell for between RM50 to RM250.
One of the most memorable miniatures she has ever created is that of a cendol ice shaver-machine.
“I was commissioned by Urbanscapes x Naiise Malaysia to re-create a cendol stall scene. I remember bringing my notebook and huge metal ruler to the roadside cendol stall near my home.
“I asked the seller, whom I call ‘Uncle’, to pack my cendol to take away, and asked his permission to measure the ice-shaver machine,” recalled Ling.
For the love of food
“Initially, I wanted to make dollhouse figurines, especially for dollhouse collectors, but I felt that the target market or audience was too niche in Malaysia. I thought, probably, it would be a better idea to make miniatures into earrings or magnets,” said Ling.
“I find food relateable to everyone. Food can represent a person’s nationality or childhood memories. Something as simple as kaya toast can recall the memory of one’s favourite kopitiam, or even their childhood days.
“To be honest, I don’t have one favourite food. All Malaysian food is too awesome to pick only one dish.”
Her favourite miniature food art series is the yong tau foo series. “It just reminds me of my favourite yong tau foo [stall] near my home. Besides, I think it looks really cute being that small.”
Ling makes a range of jewellery such as earrings, studs, rings, brooches, charms for bracelets or necklaces, even cufflinks, which can be seen on her website tinypinc.com.
Her creations are purchased by customers from China, the United States, France, New Zealand, Australia.
“I do have Malaysian customers who purchase miniatures for their family or friends in other countries,” she said.
Among the more heartwarming stories: a Malaysian wanted to send “a piece of Malaysia” to their sister, while a Singaporean customer customised miniature food to be displayed on his father’s memorial plaque as he “wanted his father’s favourite dish with him, always”.
