Day Three - First Class and Flowers

Saturday morning after breakfast I went to the classroom area but classes had started at 9:30 am so I just missed them starting. I didn't have to teach my first class until after lunch. I should have gone into Sean's robot class. I was really impressed with the work I saw on his student's arms later. The cyborg design is always a really popular one at parties but I need more depth...maybe I'll pin him down at FABAIC and have him help me out...anyway...

Sean Avram student's work

I say "should" because I ended up going up stairs to my room and made myself nervous. I had to choose the paints and Starblend colors the night before and I had decided, since Saskia had to open the colors, to only use red, white & black for the students to try. Those are the colors that I suggest people buy first to see if they like Starblends so it made sense; but, this meant I started second guessing the designs I had wanted to demo. Should I only demo designs that they can do with these colors? But then I can't show custom color combos. I can demo using white Starblends on top of paint...but then the students would need red paint and I only have black and white. Arrggh. In the end, after sketching and re-planning, I decided to stick with my plan and just demo designs using all of my paint colors and then let students play with the colors provided...but I had kind of scared myself by doing that little flip flop.

I finished packing everything I needed for the class and headed downstairs at the end of the first session. I started cleaning up and prepping the tables for my class. I had the FAQ about Starblends, three lollipop applicators for the students, little jars to have students experience repotting and each table had a red, white, and black Starblend with a black and white split of Paradise. I was about half-way through and Saskia wanted me to meet the instructors for lunch...you know that feeling before a big gig when you just can't eat? It didn't help that I'd had a good breakfast that was sitting in my stomach still because I was nervous....but I did want to see everyone.

I went to the lunch area and it was a nice set-up and I even got a plate but only got down a few bites before I couldn't eat anymore. I felt so badly because I filled my plate and had to leave so much of it behind. I mentioned that I was nervous and Svetlana Keller was so sweet and gave me a pep talk about teaching and how everyone that was in my class had requested it and I had something to share that no one else did...it was a very nice gesture and helped quite a bit.

Demonstrating Spiderman

I left lunch early and finished setting the tables and setting up my own kit. I wasn't completely ready when everyone started walking in but pretty close. It was funny that, once I started teaching, the stomach problems went away. I was still nervous and probably talking way too fast ( I KNOW I was painting too fast) but I really do enjoy teaching so I actually liked that part. I also helped that Pashur and Sean teased me a bit as they passed by the classroom and got me laughing.

I did feel sorry for my models though. Here I am painting Spiderman and Hulk on these gorgeous girls. They were probably thinking "I could have been a sugar skull in Mark Reid's class!" What good sports they were. I ended up having them use glycerin, ironically, because they had washed their faces from the previous classes. Usually with teens and adults you don't need glycerin. As I was showing the designs, I talked about the properties of Starblends and the advantages to using them. My favorite is still the piggy design. I talked the model into making grunting noises, she was reluctant but finally gave a little oink and made me so happy.

I let everyone break up brand new flesh toned Starblend makeup that Saskia had provided and pack them in the little jars. They were take home gifts too. We used these tiny little spoons I "stole" from the coffee station and they worked pretty well. We were chopping and smashing and making little piles of makeup to press. I hope the students had fun doing it.

At the end of class I encouraged everyone to come look at and test my colors. I also let them look at my birthday book at designs I liked using with powders. Many of us tried designs on each other. I think it was this first class that had two giraffes in it, they looked so cute I think they ended up going to the photographer. I'm hoping that pictures surface from that. I wanted students to try the Starblends because I think that's the biggest barrier for painters to try them. They either don't know what to expect, or when they get them they aren't sure how to get a good result.

After class was over I cleaned up but I was lucky that I would be coming back to this same classroom the next day so I just packed my kit up and went upstairs, did a little shopping in the vending room and then for a rest and to wash up for dinner.

That night was the jam. I took my whole kit downstairs. Of course, I took up a whole little table with it so it made it so that no one could set up by me. A bunch of students started getting smart and moving tables close together so we did that too so Sean and I could be together on a table and still have some room for others.

I had so much fun. It was flattering to meet new people and they wanted to get painted BY ME! What fun to have a bunch of canvases to paint. I ended up doing a bunch of roses and flowers. I don't get to do big full-fledged roses very often because most of my business are children's birthdays so it was a treat. I got to try all different color combos and pull out my bling and make sparkly pretty designs. One darling girl, Marieke, painted the pretty pansies you see on me! After she was done with me, she ended up doing her own demo of the flower.

Graffiti Eye by Lea Selley

Wiser Graffiti

It was also fun to see what the other instructors were up to. Lea Selley was doing really cool eye designs, my table mate Sean was making these fabulous dragons from serious to the cutest baby dragon ever. Wiser was rocking out graffiti arms and Pashur was making tribals and fabulous glitter decolletage master pieces. I saw this cool free-form tiger design from Christina and Mark was doing beautiful designs...amazing.

Sean's Baby Dragon

Pashur Tribal

Mark Reid Tiger

Christina's Fantasy Cat

Something I missed while I was painting was a hilarious boob painting...and not the kind of boobs you think. Richard and Sean have been mistaken for each other on Facebook when they were fully painted, so they were going to get painted the same design for a picture. Saskia even gave them shirts labeled "Not Richard" and "Not Sean" to wear at dinner on Friday as a joke. Well, what Christina ended up painting was a very realistic boob on each shaved head...and then I guess they posed...together...with the artist. LOL! And I missed it! I don't know if THAT picture will ever show up but I'm glad I got to see it later. I was WONDERING what that was on Sean's head when he came back to the table! What a great night.

Monique's Hairstyling Class

I would suggest that even if you can't attend the whole EFABE next year, that you come for the jam and see the artists at work...and the workshops were great too. There was a class on free-hand glitter tattoos from Sabine Vogel, Shonna demonstrated balloons, Monique Lily showed how to do party hair, Danielle Visser showed foam latex prosthetics, Frans Hanneman showed airbrush tattoos and Michelle Triepels_Verkaart showed one-stroke designs...see! Now you know why I wanted to go to these!

I made it upstairs about midnight, just in time for a nightly Skype with hubby but I was so tired I almost fell asleep on the spot. The day started out a little nerve racking but ended up being a lot of fun.