August, 1997
| Veterans of Jonathan Bressler's Faux Finish
(six sessions, $450)-the most heavily subscribed offering at the New York
School of Interior Design-insist this class will arm you with the essentials
to successfully "do your own apartment." In a room equipped like
a science lab, Bressler breaks down the intricacies of sponge painting,
gilding, marbleizing, and , today, "rag rolling," as students scroll peach
paint onto their sample boards and fold a cloth dipping in burnt-umber-colored
acrylic along the surface to create a textured, almost sandy effect.
"You can even use cheesecloth," he offers, to vigorous nods from sprightly
do-it-yourself college grads. A housewife turned aspiring interior
decorator confides, "I may do it myself; I may not. But this
way, when I hire a contractor, I'll be able to tell if they do good work."
For those interested in more rigorous artistic expression, Bressler also offers a series called Mural Painting (NYSID; twelve sessions, $875). Standing in front of a sample Tuscan landscape, he expounds, "I teach them how to do a bush with dots," while he repeatedly pokes the tip of his finger against the rolling vegetation. "People get tired of plainness and they want embellishment," he says, smiling. "That's where I come in." |