3 Pieces of Advice from an Astronaut, an Astrophysicist and an Author

As we close in on the $25,000 Kickstarter goal with over two weeks left in the campaign, it looks like many of you will also be celebrating a cosmic Christmas! Thank you so much for making this project a success! If you’re still interested in a piece of pottery for the Holidays, I urge you to please back our Kickstarter soon, as pots for Christmas delivery have begun to sell out:

Cosmic Mug Kickstarter

Pots are piling up in the studio, but I’ve tried to find time to continue blogging. Here are three studio shots of the pottery I’m creating for all of you, as well as three pieces of advice from people who inspire my artwork.

“If you’re really observing and trying to learn, rather than seeking to impress, you may actually get the chance to do something useful.”

– Col. Chris Hadfield, Astronaut, qtd. in, “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth”

“Do whatever it takes to avoid fooling yourself into thinking something is true that is not, or that something is not true that is.”

– Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, qtd. in The Huffington Post: “What Science Is — and How and Why it Works”

“So be wise, because the world needs more wisdom. And if you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise and then just behave like they would.”

– Neil Gaiman, qtd. in The Best Commencement Speech You Many Ever Hear

19 November, 201519 November, 2015

5 Cosmic Pots Bundled Together and a Cosmic Gift from a Monk

After figuring out how to create a new type of cosmic pottery that is so much smaller, faster and easier to create than Cosmic Mugs, I’ve found another way for all of you to get an even better deal on a set of cosmic pottery:

$69 Cosmic Mug + Set of Four Cups on Kickstarter

So many of you seem to love the new “Cosmic Cup” listing, so I decided to work more hours and make just a few for the Holidays. Only 100 will be available, as Christmas delivery is closing in and I’ve got lots of pots to finish. A few $25 Cosmic Cup sets are also available. Enjoy!

The gift from the monk was for me, not for you! One of my favorite Art Professors from college, Brother David Paul, gifted me a sweet, cosmic wallet. It’s in the same style as the “Molecular Cloud Cluster” that has taken over my website. This is just one more example of how generous all of you have been throughout this project. Whether buying a set of Cosmic Mugs, simply showing a friend or sending an awesome gift like this, I truly appreciate every bit of positive energy all of you have sent my way.

This quote and video below might help communicate how incredibly thankful I am for all of your support throughout this Kickstarter:

“There’s no separating your work as an artist and your life and your spirit and what is holy about it.”

– Nick Offerman, Actor, Author, Woodworker, quoted in this YouTube video

16 November, 201516 November, 2015

$25 Cosmic Cup Sets

Support for the Kickstarter has been great! Everyone seems to love the cosmic glaze colors, but I completely understand not everyone can afford a Cosmic Mug right now. As a thanks for all of your financial backing, social media sharing and positive thoughts, I decided to add a more affordable reward level:

$25 Cosmic Cups, Sets of Four, LIVE on Kickstarter

300 sets of four Cosmic Shot Cups (that’s 1,200 tiny cups- WOAH!) are now available through Kickstarter. It will take me a while to deliver them (it’s tough to make a living by hand-making thousands of low priced pots) but more cosmic pots are getting into the hands of more people globally, and that’s a worthy goal. Because these tiny cups are so much smaller, faster and easier to create than Cosmic Mugs, even more people can now get a great deal on a set of cosmic pottery. I’m also happy to announce that we passed our halfway funding goal in less than a week! I’m so grateful for all of your support.

Here’s a cool quote by Neil Gaiman on creativity and goal setting, from The Best Commencement Speech You Many Ever Hear

“…imaging that was a mountain, a distant mountain, my goal. And I knew that as long as I kept walking towards the mountain, I’d be alright.”

– Neil Gaiman, Author

Each pot is brushed with a line drawing that represents a Rocky Mountain landscape.

Ever since I was young, mountains affected me powerfully. I think of them as gigantic sculptures made by nature. Mountains also represent ambition. The idea of reaching the summit of a mountain motivates me to pursue great goals with my artwork. I shot this photo at over 12,000 ft. from the top of Copper Mountain, Colorado, US.

13 November, 201513 November, 2015

Kickstarter Staff Pick: Cosmic Mugs Available for the Holidays

Thanks so much to everyone who backed Cosmic Mugs so far! We raised over $10,000 in just a few days. WOW! That’s enough to install a studio furnace, insulation in the studio walls and to cover all costs of utilities to keep my clay and glazes from freezing this winter. I’m so grateful for all of your support.

$49 Cosmic Mugs: LIVE on Kickstarter

Kickstarter also chose Cosmic Mugs as a Staff Pick! This means our project could be featured to millions of people on Kickstarter’s homepage and social media!

This card was from Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, who wrote me an incredibly humble, inspiring letter after I sent him a Cosmic Mug. You might recognize him from his YouTube performance of David Bowie’s, “Space Oddity” recorded on board the International Space Station. I want to share his words of wisdom with you, because it’s great advice that all of you can apply to your own lives. Colonel Hadfield said,

“I wish you all my very best as you pursue your most distant of dreams while celebrating the joys and victories of each day.”

– Col. Chris Hadfield, Astronaut

20 August, 201525 September, 2015

Vincent, Spock and Tyson: Cosmic Inspiration, Mug Giveaway and a Special Announcement

Enter the Cosmic Mug Giveaway

Expanded Consciousness feature_image_template, Vincent and Nimoy

Vincent van Gogh and Leonard Nimoy devoted their lives to creativity. They were artistic innovators. Vincent (who signed paintings with just his first name) created a new way to paint with expressive brush strokes. His troubled mind was plagued with epilepsy, but he found remarkable beauty in the world and showed it through paint.

640px-Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone

Leonard Nimoy (AKA “Spock” from Star Trek) was an actor, film director, photographer, author, singer and songwriter. President Obama referred to him as, “a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time.”

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP

— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) February 23, 2015

Leonard Nimoy in Vincent, Joel Cherrico Pottery Blog, my DVD Live long and prosper, Mr. Spock. Nimoy was also a huge fan of Vincent. He wrote and starred in a live theater performance where he played Vincent’s brother, Theo van Gogh. Nimoy performed this solo act across the country, and the DVD is now a collectors item.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is another advocate of both art and science. We sent him a few Cosmic Mugs, and he wrote us a couple nice letters in return! That’s pretty amazing, considering a man with over 4 million Twitter followers and his own TV show probably gets a ton of mail. Dr. Tyson said:

“I will definitely use and admire what you’ve sent. I’m gratified to be able to inspire the same enthusiasm for the universe, as I have.”

Tyson is a big fan of Vincent, as seen in this Tweet back in April:

This morning's Moon is about the same phase & sky position captured by Van Gogh in "The Starry Night" pic.twitter.com/BWvbF07mKl

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) March 18, 2015

Tyson is also a “Trekkie” (AKA Star Trek fan) as seen in this fan selfie:

neil-degrasse-tyson-and-leonard-nimoy-fan-selfie

I hope it can be seen, at least in an abstract way, that these inspiring people are helping my newest body of artwork explore more ways to positively influence society.

Starry night and cosmic mug in front of Galaxy Collision

August is Artist Appreciation Month, and I decided to give away some of my newest Cosmic Mugs to all of you, totally free:

Enter the Cosmic Mug Giveaway

A Special announcement…

Since we’re already talking about Christmas, it’s time to announce that I will have a HUGE batch of Cosmic Mugs available at HUGE price discounts, ready in time for the holiday season- hopefully by November 1st!

As more people sign up for my email list, the Cosmic Mug selling price will drop. This giveaway lets you share with friends and family to increase your chance of winning, while helping to lower the retail value of the mugs I can offer in time for Christmas. Hopefully, you all can get a truly amazing deal on my newest artwork, while helping me build a pottery studio that actually has heat and running water.

Cheers! LLAP!

Enter the Cosmic Mug Giveaway

Image 14, cosmic mugs in front of magellanic cloud and planetary nebula Fan-Image-and-Cosmic-Mug-planetary-Nebula-and-Molecular-cloud-cluster-hand-collage-home-page-Image-2

Here’s the sauce (AKA the sources):
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonard_Nimoy,_2011,_ST_Con-2.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_van_Gogh_-_National_Gallery_of_Art.JPG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone.jpg
http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2015/02/27/obama-statement-on-leonard-nimoy-spock/24136695/
http://persephonemagazine.com/2012/05/science-news-roundup-5112/neil-degrasse-tyson-and-leonard-nimoy/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night
Copyright for Hubble Space Telescope Images of the NGC 2074 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Planetary Nebula NGC 5189, and the Galactic Spectacle STScI-2010-25: Space Telescope Science Institute, www.hubblesite.org