The Wilton School Revisited: Airbrushing Class with Johanna Wyss

I was so very excited for my return to The Wilton School a couple of weeks ago! I travelled from Indianapolis, IN to Darien, IL for less than $50.00 (MegaBus, Metra and hotel shuttle) to attend the second Airbrushing Class offered by guest instructor Johanna Wyss on Saturday June 10th. I stayed at Aloft in Bolingbrook like last time; love that place!

This was my first time using an airbrushing machine to do anything remotely artistic, and I found this class informative and insightful. The airbrush unit was included in the class fee and was ours to take home. The first thing (and probably the most important thing) that we did was assemble and disassemble our single-action airbrush gun. In doing so, we learned some simple tips for troubleshooting as well!

I have read mixed reviews about this unit and was skeptical. By attending the class and going through this exercise, I realized that some people may have left negative feedback because they didn't know why to properly troubleshoot their machine.

After assembling our airbrush gun, it was time to play! The class agenda included adding color to the gun's well, mixing colors in the well, practicing techniques and properly cleaning the well between colors and for long-term storage.

Some of the techniques we practiced: gradients, full-coverage, dots of various sizes, and dagger strokes ( the most difficult of all). As a complete novice, I would say that airbrushing takes a lot of practice, delicate muscle memory, and patience.

Our final project was to create a birch tree effect with with Johanna's cake as a model (shown above). She walked us through the process of starting light and adding darker colors to gradually bring our design to life!

I thought that my cake looked great considering that it was my first time. This class exceeded my expectations and has helped me with my goal of learning more as a cake artist! I would definitely recommend this one to everyone!