In a break from talking about my own jewelry and events (only temporarily, I promise!) I must confess something to you...Martha Stewart has impacted my life. Not in specifically obvious, nor notable ways, but it cannot be denied that the fresh aesthetic of her now world-famous brand is amazingly pervasive in the greater design arena. I, like other closeted designophiles, quietly and somewhat begrudgingly stay up-to-date on her newest products and projects. As the world more openly appreciates the handmade movement, the homestead fad, and an utter obsession with all things cooking, Martha Stewart has certainly catapulted into a considerable echelon of celebrity. All this aside, I think the lady's kinda cool, and she's got the same forename as my grandmother so that gives her extra points in my book.
When I was driving to school back in December who did I hear on my radio but the soothing, coyly confident (oxymoron, I know) voice of Ms. Stewart. She was telling me about her new book called Martha’s Entertaining, A Year of Celebrations which basically documents numerous lush and lavish parties that she threw at any one of her three houses over the course of a year. Ok, we get it, she’s uber rich.
What was the most exciting to me during this interview, though, was her story about a ceramic nativity scene that was featured on one of her book’s pages. She explained that while she was incarcerated for 5 months back in 2004, she took a ceramics class. During that time she found old plaster molds of these nativity figures in the classroom’s storage area. After digging through piles of plaster she was able to find the molds for each of the 15 figures (her Catholic upbringing came into play here), and she forewent some necessities to buy clay with her small monthly stipend. Although she didn’t actually glaze the pieces, rather she painted them with a specifically mixed shade to mimic Wedgwood Drabware (Mmmmm, Wedgwood!), she did mold all of the figures herself.
So, what have we learned here? Don’t use jail as an excuse to not be making work. Martha Stewart certainly didn’t.
