I felt I lost more weight today, not literally though … and a massive amount of brain cells… from air brushing pastillage??!! When Chef gave us the demo yesterday, it appeared so easy … always … and sometimes when we followed his instruction closely, it can be easy.
Air brushing pastillage made me feel the same way I did when I took up piano last year. What the mind visualized and intended, what the hands did and the final outcome somehow did not converge. But like piano, I believe it takes practise to be better … I hope – as pastillage will be in my level 3 finals. Just when I thought I was getting more coordinated with piano fingering, I stopped lessons as I didn’t have a convenient place to practise. Mental rehearsal. During canoeing training, I visualised and felt my training routine, the tempo, my swing, my breathing, my improvement, my pace, my completion at the finishing line. Similarly, I did mental rehearsal for air brushing pastillage – I drew the final outcome, but it looked totally different from the start of my air brushing, unless the completion of the show piece next week receives some divine help from the universe. Ha!
I took double the time compared to rest of class to air brush all the pieces I wanted ;[ … For once, I really felt the oldest in class. At the end, I liked the white calla lilies best – just needed 2 sprays to get the desired effect, as well as the orange tulips, and 2 strips of pink ribbon spirals which I air brushed within 15s. Everything else needs some professional help to look my original intention. My gosh, the Bamboo – I always like the look and feel of bamboo, very serene … I had 2 strips of bamboo, air brushed the first one, took a while but it looked ok, then when I compared to second one, oops the colour was off … then while trying to close the gap between the bamboo colour, the green I used was too intense to help matter. No hope to correct. Leaves – I shouldn’t have air brushed the calla lily leaves first as I was still fiddling about. I had earlier researched on all the leaves of the bamboo, daisy and calla lilies to match them … but my air brushing just couldn’t do justice to my effort and home work. When I compared the green I had on the bamboo and leaves to the show piece Chef left on the table, gosh mine was so deep while the one on show piece was cheery … it certainly didn’t feel so during air brushing. I spilled more colours on the towels and the work table than I had on my pastillage … sometimes it did look as if it was getting better … hmm. I guess I must control better, oh no guess, it is a must.
I was first introduced to air brush 20 years ago – my uncle, living in the same home as my grandparents, had artistic streaks and bought a compressor and air brush tools, never saw him use it though, but he encouraged me to try but I never did. I was hardly at home during school days or years.
At the end of the class, I urgently needed some caffeine, and both Rafaella and Jennie joined me at Epicure Cafe.
~ It is only at the trough, that the only way is up.
