Tired of the capitalism of Christmas?
Frustrated with crowded stores and fighting over that one doll left on the shelf?
Well, here’s an alternative. A new holiday… a FESTIVUS for the rest of us!

No Christmas Tree to decorate. Just a simple aluminum pole.
No Christmas Carols… just the “Airing of Grievances.”
No Christmas Presents… just the “Feats of Strength.”
Enticing, right?

Click here for a “Seinfeld” FESTIVUS recap video on YouYube.
… and another piece of the puzzle falls in place!

And nothing says “Christmas” like all the happy faces around the table.

So here’s an addition to consider for EVERYONE’s gift list for next year…

Save

Save

Okay, so I’m not a huge fan of Mariah Carey. So there. I said it.
But I do like James Corden… and I LOVE Carpool Karaoke!!!
So this one is pretty cute… and it just gets better.

Click here to watch the Carpool Karaoke Video on YouTube!

I love when a plan comes together!!!
And they must have been planning this one for quite some time!!!
Just some of the others in the car…

So I knew ahead of time that my vase would get smashed.
I knew that it would be on Episode Eight of “EMPIRE” Season Three.
I knew that it was finally going to air last night on Fox TV.
I didn’t know the context, the scene or how it would actually go down.
Who knew that such a sexy vixen would be smashing Lucius’ collection to get his attention… as though her strappy lingerie wouldn’t do it alone?! About 46 minutes into the episode… my vase got its 30 seconds of fame!

Pose… Pontificate… then she let go! SMASH!!!
And it smashed on the floor… and she moved onto the next precious item.

As a reminder… when I last saw my vases, they were freshly thrown and “done”.
Sixteen of them for rehearsals and multiple takes during filming.
The Props Dept. at EMPIRE painted the vases on-site for their own “vision.”

Very fun to see finally on television.
It was a great project to be part of… even it they did smash everything?!!!
Special thanks to my friend Amanda for hooking me up and making it happen!

Save

Save

Save

Word on the street says that there might “allegedly” be a vase smashing on tomorrow night’s “EMPIRE” episode on Fox TV?! Can’t say too much… but watch for a ceramic vase made by “you know who” that may not survive till the end of the evening! They’ve been painted by the Props Dept. so even I don’t know what my vase might look like before it shatters!

If you see it, I’d love a good “screen grab.” Thanks!!!

Let’s do the Time Warp again…
or better yet, maybe some classics should never be toyed with.
We’ll see how this one plays out as I attach handles and sing-along
with the new “re-imagined” Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Not as much fun without all of the props to throw at the screen…

Look what showed up in the mail today. Who would’ve thought
that I would ever get a real paycheck from 20th Century Fox???

And so the Battle Begins… and it sounds like my handmade vases
will make their brief appearance on “EMPIRE” Episode 8 before they get smashed!!!
Watch closely… it might be quick?!

My understanding is that Episode 3 airs this week. I’ll keep you posted.

Save

Save

So the past couple weeks have been CRAZY!!!
Far too many projects going on. Throwing new pots.
Stamping. Trimming. Drying. Firing. Glazing.
Times two with my recent soda kiln and the cone six firing.

Not to mention all of the terra cotta “ghouls” that I’ve been working late nights just to get them done. No time to sleep. No time to breath. I’m stretched beyond belief yet again. Not even sure if I would be able to get everything done for ART IN THE BARN this coming weekend?! And did I mention teaching Tuesday night too?! Okay, you get it right… over-committed, over-stretched.

And then this happens…
I get an e-mail Thursday mid-morning. Basically it’s a request from the TV show “EMPIRE” to make some vases for them. My Wisconsin potter friend Amanda is friends with the Props Manager on “EMPIRE” and she’s the one who connected all of us. My understanding is that they need some identical vases for them to film in a scene. Sounds like the vases are going to smashed in the scene… and they’ll have 16 times to get it right for all the necessary angles. They just need them bisque fired… as one of their Props Crew will be painting them to look like they’re expensive antiques. All sounds great… except for the fact that I still don’t have time!!!

But you know I can’t say “No” to a great opportunity like this.
So I said yes… and then I started to freak out. How can I get this done???

I made it into the studio about 4:30pm Thursday night. The plan was to throw all of the vases as fast as possible. They said they wanted the vases between 14″-16″ tall. So I started by wedging up my sixteen balls of clay.

After throwing one tall vase, I realized quickly that it was going to be too much time & effort to throw all of the vases that tall. With the incredibly fast turn-around time, I decided it would behoove me to throw them as two-part vases. So I set off to throw all of the bottom halves.

Followed by throwing all of the top pieces.

It was late by the time I finished, so I went home for a couple hours of sleep… and then returned very early in the morning to start assembling them.

After a few hours I had them all assembled, cleaned up a bit with a definitive “foot” flange and set out to dry.

Here’s the real kicker…
they wanted the vases bisque fired and ready for pick-up by Monday!!!
Yep, normally a project like this would take a week or two… not a day or two!

So I set them all on a raised plastic grid covered with a few sheets of paper. I figured the paper would help soak up & disperse the water from the clay. And then being raised up, air can get under the vases to dry more evenly. So I set a fan on them and hoped for the best. As it was, I had to get home to start packing to get to ART IN THE BARN. Good thing I could squeeze these in under such tight time restraints. I just hope the client from 20the Century Fox Television is happy with their new vases!!!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Looks like a great PBS episode of CRAFT IN AMERICA this evening.
This episode is focused on “TEACHERS”… artists as teachers and teachers as artists. The extra special role that an artist needs to become a great teacher and to carry on the legacy for the up & coming artists in their field. Navajo weavers. Hawaiian glassblowers. And functional pottery!!! Linda Sikora has been making beautiful pots for years. She was one of the first potters I remember seeing displayed in the Lill Street Gallery back in the day when I first started taking pottery classes there. Now if only they would do an episode about her husband Matt Metz too?!!!

Click here for a quick teaser video excerpt from tonight’s broadcast on PBS.
And then check your local listings for CRAFT IN AMERICA.

Save

Save

Save

So while there’s some wacky convention going on this week, I think it’s only fitting to share this little video nugget with quite possibly the best First Lady ever!!! And trust me, that’s about as political as I’ll EVER get!!!

Click here to see First Lady Michelle Obama and her Carpool Karaoke.