potluck gathering at jalan suakasih

My free hand drawing of Tinkerbell's friend, the voluptuous Rosetta.
Why did I choose her? pretty dress, pretty sexy, quite an easy pose to draw as compared to her other poses( see, I am not good at drawing body shapes and postures, the hand might look awkward, legs too long or too short and the facial expression was the most difficult part ) i am more comfortable drawing cartoon characters rather than human like pictures.

But why her? because of this and the phone call.

The Rosetta picture was my preparation for the demo to be held on 17th Oct at jalan Suakasih in Bandar Tun Hussein Onn. The call came the previous week, I was at my daughters' school, sending her packed lunch since she still had one last PMR paper on that day.

My award winning flowerpaste sifu, Chef Shahril, called , inviting me to his 'potluck' gathering which would be held the following week on Oct 17th on a Sunday.He's inviting all his ex students over for the potluck and he'd also be organising a few demos by the famous sugar artists that particular day. He was wondering if I'd like to be one of the 'sugar artist' (so called) and do a demo on my cartoon drawing on a fondant. He had seen my work before, the one I did for my customer, the "Morgirl Princess' birthday cake and if I wouldn't mind sharing it with other students who would be attending the potluck gathering at his place.

It was quite an overwhelming feeling, mixed feeling, 'excited' for I would be among the real professional sugar artists and 'nervous' at the same time for I had never performed infront of more than two people before ( ie only two students during the cake deco class in the comfort of my own home )and I , me, being new in this field , I consider two years still new, and this cartoon drawing hobby or passion of mine, is just an experimental thing, I didn't have any proper training for it nor I , any special knowledge or techniques of doing it, I just did it my way, the free way, the ' no right or wrong way 'with art, . I did what I have always liked doing ever since I was little, the opportunity comes in the form of cakes. I could draw on my cakes .

Speaking of 'performed' , I had performed in front of people before, my audience were either school friends and teachers ( story telling, acting, singing and dancing ) or other schools' teachers and students ( during my employment with one financial institution when I had to make a speech about the importance of savings whilst promoting my company's products) , or when I had to be the MC for a company's annual dinner, greeting and welcoming everyone and ensuring the smooth running of the event.

I had done all that , in other words I had 'performed' in front of more than 30 people before but it's always the same feeling. I would go weak in my knees, legs became soft like jellies and that particular day was no exception, this time my legs did not give way but my hands did. I was so nervous that my hands shook! Fancy speaking and painting at the same time infront of the professionals and fellow bakers! How was I going to paint when my hands were shaking! Fortunately, the crowd, my fellow baker and cake decorators were sporting and supportive who cheered and gave me their support and their smile of encouragement.

this is the one I prepared earlier. At first I was not sure whether I was up to it, whether I was ready to do the demo. The night before leaving for KL ( I had not even bought the ticket yet at that time, ), I started drawing and colouring , just in case the host still wanted me to do the demo ( since i didn't reply to him earlier ) and so as not to disappoint him.

Then i started drawing another one. Actually this was for my daughter, Batrisyia

All packed and ready to go,
I was hoping to meet my figurine sifu, Kak Jun cos she's one of Shahril's students too, and was disappointed when Shahril informed us that she was unable to make it but soon after the first demo started, I received an sms from her saying that she would still try to make it and was I glad that she did. It's good to see her again in person after my first and only time meeting her in March early this year.During these period we only met in cyberspace, dropping by in her 'cupcakekasih' blog whenever there's a new entry and leaving comments once in a while,exchanging smses ocassionally but not face to face until that 'potluck' day.

I arrived quite early but a few people were earlier than me. Three wonderful ladies were already there when I arrived, Kak Camelia, Kak Mariam and Kak Bash ( sorry if I didn't get your name right sis)

our host, the one wearing the soft blue apron, a perfect and hospitable host . A few familiar and some unfamiliar faces were among the guests; Ana from Penang, Kak Cam, in black tudung,

there were Kak Zati from Pekan, Mamatiera, Wan and Kak Liza ( met during the flowerpaste session last August ), Kak Pah JB, Fadzilah and many many more. Everybody was nice and friendly, since we all had one thing in common, our passion in cakes, cake making and cake decorating.

What I had prepared for the potluck, biskut batik and brownies with walnut. Baked this the night before I left for KL, just after I finished drawing and colouring Rosetta and Tinkerbell.

plenty of food for everybody, not just plenty, abundant! since we are all bakers, everybody brought their own sweet and savoury dishes. There were tarts, cakes, chocolate cake, carrot cake, kek lapis, muffins, jellies, puddings, cocktails and some even brought ketupat, lemang with rendang, and laksa too. the host even prepared spaghetti bolognese! We were spoilt for choices!

I couldn't really eat cos my tummy was full.....full of butterflies!!!!! they were running , and jumping and doing summersault for all I knew , in my stomach, while waiting for my turn to do the demo.

me, myself and I:-) , in action, sitting in front of everybody, showing off my 'socalled ' art' work to the flashing cameras around me. for a while there feeling like a celebrity with cameras clicking and flash flashing from all corners......wah..... ditimpa perasaan gitu......... :-) I was just sharing what little knowledge and skill that I have, nothing more, nothing less.

airbrushed rose -one of the demos

these orchids, by theone and only Chef Shahril, so life like and so beautiful


some of the works shown on the day

eh.... siapa punya ni......my work, my amateur versions of the fairies

the final demo for the day, last but not least by the host, Chef Shahril .

Thank you sifu for hosting and organising such a wonderful 'potluck gathering and sharing'.Had a wonderful and enjoyable experience, having met new people, a few big names in the cake making industry, meeting people with the same passion, entering this beautiful and interesting field with open minds, maybe different mission and vision but one thing I know that I am enjoying every minute of it ( plus minus the lack of sleep or the back pain), it's the package, somehow what matters is the result, once the cakes are ready, picked up by or delivered to the customers, receiving positive and encouraging comments, that's when the satisfaction comes in. The smile, the joy , the oohs and aahs..... is very rewarding.

Terima kasih daun keladi,

kalau boleh buat lagi..... ye Shahril......:-)