Like a full-time student again, with all these free SG50 courses for “seniors” (criteria is those who turn 50 any time this year) in full swing for me from last Saturday onwards …
Took up this 3D printing course (3 whole Saturdays) at ITE Central with spouse and CF; turns out that my math and technical background helped a lot as it is really more about drawing the object using software, before sending it to the printer (printing part is just clicking of a button). Next two lessons we will get to print something, as the first lesson was just intro and to get us to learn the software. I produced the object below by playing around with the software, and it was quite easy to do, as from a plane surface, there are commands that makes a surface 3D (“extrude”) or creates “holes” in a 3D object.
Another course which just started was the “Fun with Pottery” class at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) on Tuesday. We get to do different techniques for the first 4 weeks and then last 4 sessions are at the the pottery wheel! Interesting thing here was how we were just introduced to the technique of “pinching” and then set off to create something on our own, unlike the class held with my previous instructor (where everyone produces more or less a similar item e.g. vertical mug, V-shape, …). Must say the classmates (especially as they are newbies) all did very nice work for a first project! 🙂
a puffer fish (much bigger one this time) to replace the other one I gave away !
And then, there are the twice weekly Chinese Ink Painting classes (3 hr each session!) at La Salle College of the Arts … started for 3 weeks already and again, it was a rather different “style” of teaching and also use of brush and paint which I really found most beneficial. Our teacher, Mr Lim, also does a demo before setting us to try out, but seems to pay more attention to how we should learn to compose our own subjects (e.g. fruits and vegetables, flowers, rock, grass, dots). So, he is very deliberate during demonstrations to indicate (via his hand actions) where to position the next brush stroke!!
cherries and plum (self-composed)
Really grateful for these opportunities to be a student once again, and to take these courses for free some more!!
And in the midst of all of these “business” (doing “learning” work, “paid” work, “home” work), good still to just sit around and look at trees in the rain … 🙂
Killiney Kopi@Parkland Green,East Coast Park. Rainy morning on 15 May 2015, after long run from Fort Road to Bougainvillae Park and back (14.5km)
While I Live, I Learn 