estherc@thestar.com.my
The Star
BY committing two weekends at “The Art of Gum Paste Flowers” workshops in March, the participants have inadvertently helped the Ti-Ratana Penchala Community Centre raise funds for the centre.
The society’s adviser, Datin Catherine Lai, said because of the workshops, the centre now owned flower-making tools and equipment which could be used for future fund-raising projects.
“The tools will also be useful in our ‘Arts for All’ programme to help the disadvantaged earn an income,” she said.
She extended an invitation to those who had participated in the workshops to volunteer to teach at the centre.
“We will modify what we have learnt from these workshops to teach the disadvantaged groups so they can make fridge magnets, home decor items and picture frames out of cold porcelain or clay.
“Our main mission is to teach people to acquire skills and raise funds for the centre,” Lai said, adding that RM10,000 had been raised at the workshops.
She said the workshops became a reality because of the many helping hands that were involved in the fund-raising initiative.
“If we had done this on our own, it would have been impossible but we had the help of Datuk Rose Ganendra, Tina Lee Degreef and bakery supplier Chang Tung.
Lai is even more excited as some of the participants have decided to volunteer their time and services.
Shaping flowers: The participants completing their pieces.
“Irene Hui is now volunteering as the centre’s administrative clerk and her sister Lilian has offered to do a workshop for women on how to manage their finances.
“Another participant, Samantha Wong, has pledged to sponsor bricks for the centre’s office renovation,” she said.
The workshops were facilitated by sugar craft artisan Degreef from Canada who conducted two weekend classes with a group of 12 women, all of whom were enthusiastic to learn the delicate craft of making gum paste flowers.
The hands on workshops which took place at Delicious@Dua Residency in Kuala Lumpur offered the beginners and intermediate levels.
Zona Ann Pinto read about the workshops in the newspapers and decided to sign up.
“I was planning to go to Australia for a sugar craft flower-making course but now there is no need to because I have the basics and will continue to learn from books.
“In fact, the course was inexpensive because my trip to Australia would have cost a lot more and Tina taught us more than what was in the syllabus,” said Pinto who plans to make her daughter’s wedding cake next year.
Learning the know-how of gum paste flowers was not the only thing the participans took home because they also found time to exchange personal recipes and bonded with one another.
Klang resident Anne Soosay’s kuih seri muka which she made for breakfast one Sunday was a hit and she shared her recipe with her new friends.
The Hui sisters were both ecstatic that they were finally able to make beautiful flowers which they had seen and admired in books and at speciality cake shops.
Degreef showed techniques on making the Calla Lily, Cattleya Orchid, Blossoms, Alstromeria, Cymbidium Orchid, Hypericum Berries and Rose as well as leaves like Hosta and creepers.
At the culmination of the course, Ti-Ratana’s founder Chief High Priest of Malaysia Venerable K. Dhammaratana described the workshops as an extension of Ti-Ratana’s service to the public.
“We organise activities to help create an awareness on the centre’s needs and you have spent money and gained knowledge from our teacher from Canada.
“You must teach what you have learnt to others so others will gain knowledge as well.
“Without all of you, this workshop would not have been a success because with one finger, you cannot do anything but with five fingers, you can do a lot,” he said when giving out certificates to the participants.
Degreef, who was the president and director of the Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry, has written for magazines specialising in cakes and sugar craft and has won many international awards for her cakes as well as exquisite cake decorations.
She strongly encouraged the women to set up a cake club for cake enthusiasts to gather, meet and share ideas.
“At my club in Canada, we met once a month, talked about articles we had read or about competitions that we participated in, shared recipes, held cake demonstrations and also organised cake competitions,” she said.
The Penangite is based in Canada and returns to Malaysia twice a year.
Lovely work: Dhammaratana with the participants after they had completed the course.
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