Ode to Pottery

So its official, I have my own business card and it states in some ways that I am grown up now... This is a rare insite into what I believe is true at times but mostly makes up a part of me that I have longed to have. You know, that feeling of respect you can gain from those you have never met and stuff. It kinda just makes me happy to know that I am progressing in some sort of way.
The pottery studio has been running for about 2 months now and things are doing well. The shop has had some orders and I have even been able to get some new gifts done for friends who are getting married... which is really a slap in the face cause there are at least 6 friends at the moment engaged... 2 of these friends I am making complete culinary sets for. This might seem really dumb for a business that wont run without sells but I have always believed that you will always get back what you give away in a manor where time multiplies the reward.
It is really fun to be in a position in my life where I am able to really live my dreams. Hopefully since I got a head start on things then I will be able to live my dream for the rest of my life and be able to support a family and such. But if not then it will be a hobby till I die and I will be able to spread a little joy to lots of people through my work.
What I really want to get at is kinda just an update on where I am at right now.
-I own my own business. At Last Enterprises, inc which provides a base for my 2 sub companies At Last Ceramics (A pottery Studio@ http://www.atlastceramics.com) and Fanzden.com (A ecommerce website)
-I am single, 21, a year out of graduating from college with no 9-5 and a head full of ideas
-I have the greatest friends in the world who love me and who I love.
-And most of all I am strong in the faith and have a lot of motivation to push my accelerating dreams forward onto something bigger then I know.
You can read more about my studio at: www.atlastceramics.com

Creating the Ultimate Fanz Den!

Its been a wild ride to this point getting everything started in the business but things are starting to roll now. I have found that I have an idea for something that could be great but at the same time could be the same idea that everyone else has so... what do you do.
All in all I have been building a website that incorporates everything that you need to be the ultimate fan. This is mainly for the Man cave but hey if you are a fan then you need a room to show that you are a fan. Weather it be a game day room with the crew or just a small piece to hang on the wall then you can get it here at Fanzden.com
It is an ecomerce store and has been in progress for the last 3 months. When I began the adventure I had some big ideas in mind so I hope that it will be able to progress to that point. There are still a lot of things left to be done but I wanted to get the word out about it. Go find whatever it is that you are a fan of and show it off.
Have fun with it because I know that I have!

Eye Opener

It seams as if every time I start working in one direction I find myself wanting to go in another. It is almost aggravating how many different routes my life is going right now. In every one of those routes I am in a roller coster of emotion and thought. Like today for example... I almost blew up the house after I found out that what I had been working on for the last 3 months just went down the drain... Like that disaster with the ceramics piece without being able to make it again. My heart sank for about 2 min then I found myself so happy to be with a friend that really just wanted to just hang out and be in my life. It was so nice so we sat and did not worry about a thing until it was time to go and when I got back... BOOM the problem within the business... and then school enters the equation which takes my already sunken heart and pounds it into the ground... and then it gets lifted by a call from a friend or some good news about the business... which then reminds me of the success I will have... which gives me an idea that is literally so blatantly obvious its just stupid! The idea just makes me happy to think that I am getting all of this and am doing pretty good at keeping up with it. A moment of peace and knowledge that everything is going to be alright... and then an understanding that I am up at 2 AM and have school in the morning and realizing that I will be a zombie for the next couple of days because of it.
Heck this is my life at this point now time for some decisions to focus a little more on some priorities and understand that everything I have now will always be there whenever I get back from were ever I am going. I am 21 years old with nothing really to tie me down and a mind that will take me farther then anything I have imagined yet. Its time to not just be but to live! Heres to the next couple of months and were ever they take me!

Just go with it!

I find that most of the time I spend when making something new is made with an idea in mind. From that point I just start feeling it out and it typically turns out. Well this last week I have been working on another vase since the first one ended up on the floor of the local high school (that was just a sad day so we wont go into it). So I started on this new vase and I figured that I would see if I could make it better... I had no idea how though so I just started and it was turning out quite nice but it was still nothing more then what I had already created. And then the pieces of the vase started to break out and I was deviated. I put just a little too much pressure on once fragile piece and crack....

I sat there and hoped that I would be able to glue it back in after it was fired but decided then and there that if I was going to make it then it had to be right.

So I got bold and started to just go with what had just happened. I took what I had and I pushed the limit of what I have done.

In the end it turned out like this.

Kinda fun Huh?

I am excited to get it all glazed and we will see how it turns out after I put a few more little tricks I have into place but in the end it should turn out as something quite unexpected.

Guess thats just a part of my style. 

Go in with an idea and come out with something completely unexpected.

Just goin' with it!

If you like my stuff click here to go to the At Last Ceramics Facebook Fan Page.

-At Last

Illuminessence

The other night I woke up in a fit which included what seemed to be an upside down world and some serious delusions... What happened? Well I think every one has been there when they find themselves in a strange place but swear you have been there.... Then realizing that what you think is some kind of dungeon/paradise turns out to be your bedroom. Maybe I am just strange like this cause it happens to me all the time. Actually before the other night I thought my drum set was some sort of bush and I tried to jump through it. Bad idea in the end were I woke up the house with my "crash" symbol and a low tom-tom boom. 

Well... What do ya do... 

BUT the other night I became conscious and I felt as if I was in a complete dream state and some strange things happened. First off I was in the dark and I mean like PITCH BLACK darkness.  Then  there was some floating sensation like I have a wings and there was stuff floating all over the place.  At this point I was a little freaked out BUT taking it in stride so I was good. 

Even though I was trippy all I could think of was Light and if I could break the Darkness... 

I then felt like I was dropped and realized the objects were pillows and the complete darkness was actually were I had thrown the blanket over my head. All in all I was standing on my bed and realized I was about to jump off the bed and you would think being kinda sorta an athlete that reaction would kick in at this time... No... instead of a leap and land I went ugh and squealed a bit and hit the ground with an Umph. 

At that point IT HIT ME!

Breaking the Darkness... 

I thought and thought and I did not sleep for hours after that because of what had just come to me.

This could be what I have been looking for

My dream finally coming to life

So I planned and planned and found by the morning I had all the things in place. 

I understood that it would take time and a lot of trial and error but it is going to happen.

This has started what I feel may become my signature line. 

I will call it 

"Illuminessence"

Now to bring it to light!

-At Last

I just thought of Zoolander and the look he was working on.

...Magnum... 

A New Idea

A couple of weeks ago I was playing with some ideas that I have had for a style... I have wanted to find my style since I started really getting into throwing pottery and art.

I mean I think I have always been kind of creative and stuff but I don't know if I have found MY style just yet. I remember one of the grad students up at the U told me that I was just fighting my true style... Trying to replicate other styles that I have seen and done in the past. Well I took that at face value and have been trying to just start creating. I have a few ideas for a line called "Shattered". This line is going to include somethings I have never even played with before so we will see what happens in the end. I have played with this idea once before but I think I got it right this time. 

I will keep playing with it in the future but what do you think?

~Cheers~

At Last

It's Vegas Baby!

Vegas is a city of some pretty strange stuff and really,

if you don’t have your wits about ya,

then you might just get a little freaked out!

While walking the strip Pop saw two Michael Jackson intimidators and after that it seamed like it was all that much more important to get to wherever we were going. 

He simply, sped up.

Now I have found it a strange experience here in the infamous Las Vegas, which is kinda my celebration for a 21^st birthday that happened a month ago, and I just cant kick this “I should be having the absolute time of my life…but I really don’t care being here” feeling. 

Now first off do NOT get me wrong, I love the experiences that I have had with my Ma and Pa and will cherish them forever and I love just being with them and having a good time.

It’s great to be here but ya know I wish I were throwing clay back home with maybe a movie and a popsicle (even though its snowed a foot outside).

 Kinda strange I know… But what do ya do.

I will say right now that if and when I do come back to sin city that I wont be coming back for the gambling or the lights and casinos. I will be coming back for the out of control shows they put on and… THE FOOD... and maybe the shopping. 

(Weird I know but my Ma taught me Shoes,Ties, and Cufflinks... Lotta Love!)

Since it is somewhat of MY trip. I get to pick were we eat and the tally so far… Sushi for lunch on the first day at a little Chinese place in the MGM that we found while perusing through the casino to get our tickets to see KA, which turned out to be a mind blowing experience!

Dinner that night was Pizza, and when I say pizza I mean like that gourmet pizza that has the really freaky ingredients but is a complete masterpiece.

Ya, that kind of pizza.

Now the one I got was not that particular and it didn’t have any amount of crazy ingredients but it was still a masterpiece in which I DEVOURED.

Now for today’s choices… 

I think breakfast will be something exotic like French Creep (its just what I like to call em), or French Toast with some fruit and stuff.

The Lunch I think we will find one of those really expensive finger food places I have herd so much about. Delectable

See if I they can surprise my taste buds into that sense ecstasy when you eat it. 

And then… 

yup you guessed it… 

STEAK! 

mmmMMMMMmmm! 

Its going to be the end all be all for my trip I think. SHWING!!! Well then of course go watch The Lion King... I mean really why not!? 

In between well we will see what I can find. Hopefully a new pair of kicks a new fly tie and some cufflinks.

Yup thats what I am going to do.

And tomorrow when I get home I am going to set up my little corner and throw a little bit of clay.

That I would say is going to be pure bliss... like that Vegas Roll I ate yesterday... *Drool*

I mean I could maybe throw in some homework along the way.

Or not I guess.

Ya never know when you get in that mood to actually do homework... 

It's rare but as I learned in Vegas...

 Like being able to stand on the top of the world at a world class club...
It could happen!
But really I can't wait to be back home with a piece of clay in my hands and an idea!

Random Thought and an Idea

I do love a good night hanging with the family! Especially when there is a raging thunderstorm outside and were watching some intense movie. Tonight it was "Unstoppable" and boy I say I was in clinch mode the entire time... Oooo boy I was quite on the edge of my seat! 

Second thought of the night... I always think that I need to put a blog post up that is either 1) emotional and sappy 2) thoughtful and inspiring or 3) something of note... and now that I think of it... well thats kind of dumb cause I am only partially sometimes a philosophical tike and the other part of my life I am either an 8 year old kid or the 21 year old self I am now... So ya! I am just going to write whatever it is I want to write... right now?

Angels and Airwaves are practically well.. Angels... and... Airwaves. Huh I just understood why they call themselves that. Well they are Angelical in Nature and flow like the true nature of Airwaves... Except I don't think air has waves except it you think of air as flowing were then you get an image of the ocean which definitely has waves... Big ones in which you can ride. 

I REALLY want to surf one day! 

Ugh I remember writing a poem in Australia after experiencing Sea Kayak surfing. 

(I was really poetic that day...its an every once in a while thing for me.)

You know what I just had an idea... I have always wanted to share my experience in Australia with everyone out there who is willing to read it... For the next however long it takes I am going to write down and recount everything in my journal from that trip! I don't know why I want to do this but... Sounds kinda fun to share the experience... I think I am going to start now... Come check it out... 

Two Brothers w/ Guns

As of late my brother has been one to shoot at things in his spare time... These things typically include clay pigeons, random pieces of wood, soda cans

... La di da di da... 

Well I have never been one to shoot other then the occasional black powder rifle...

 and then there is always the bb gun... 

maybe a paintball gun in there a few times... 

o and there was that stint with archery back in the day ( I really miss that...). 

Well ok so I have done my fare share of shooting things, which to think about it is probably the greatest stress reliever I have ever taken apart in, and on this day I just really felt like laying a few pieces of lead into some clay. 

SO 

Nick and I went and blew some things up for a while... 

Its kinda funny how two guns can bring a couple of pelicans together.

All in all the fun part about all of this is the fact that my brother and I are becoming not just siblings...

but best friends.

Because of my brother I have been kicked and punched ; placed at a random door while strapped to a chair with duct tape ; constantly tormented ; and forced to live as the little brother.

Yet along with this he has taught me how to be a better father when I have my own child ; 

He has given me the strength to pursue my own dreams ;

He has shown me my own faults in order to make me a better man ;

He has had my back at every turn ;

And at this time I realize that he has made me so much better, I am grateful for my brother. 

He will never tell you this but he has the biggest heart I have ever known and thats why I can say he is not just my brother... but my guardian.

This is for the one I look up to in my life-

Nicholas Last

New Shape. New Ability.

What in the world is happening to me?

I have been introduced to a world that I understand and actually like... Cubicles and Co-Workers who all want the same thing as I do. Success. I figure that I would always hate working for corporate America. I figured it would always be dreadful days watching my life go by without my noticing. 

What truly blows my mind is that doing in my life is not just doing. Its not just sitting in a box waiting for something to happen. Its not just finding joy. Its finding truth. 

This truth in the one thing in life that has made every day go by like I did something better. 

What is it that has made things so good? A promotion... A riddance of something never wanted...A movie night with someone in my arms. This sounds almost trivial to most people. Like its just something that is normal. 

Its not.

 Its a moment of pride. A moment of peace. 

You figure that its just another stepping stone onto another place. I figure its just another path. I have made many paths into one and I mean to graft this path to correspond with my dreams.
The Ultimate Path.

A better person by doing... A better man by simple truths... A change in shape... 

New shape. New ability.
The simple idea that we as human are based on.

Every body has a secret...

Every body has a secret…

I for one have always held something back in order to keep the idea of who I am away.

Away from the blundering thoughts of what other people think,

which is kind of pathetic I dare say.

Its always what I have known but I have come to know a little bit of life as of late.

It doesn’t matter what you hide…

it still seams that people can see it anyways.

Maybe I am just a bad bluffer…

 well I am a bad bluffer especially when it comes to emotion and thought
and how my body language practically screams those emotions.

Yup…

when I am awkward… I am awkward

when I want attention… I am loud

when all I want to do is just be noticed… I flaunt everything I have

BUT

when I feel I am making a difference… I feel alive

when everything is still…I feel empowered

when my mind stops…and my spirit takes over… I am invincible

…

I get into this mode when I am doing what I love to do most and doing what I love most contradicts what everyone else thinks I should be doing.

Have you ever felt like this?

I don’t want to be loud…I want to be proud

and

I don’t want to be awkward… I want to be free

and

I don’t want to be to be noticed… I want to be humble

and

I seriously need to start taking more pictures! 

Ugh!

 I say pictures are a must on blogs! Makes em fun to look at eh??

-Always Always,

At Last

Inspired by a Friend: Facts

I'll never become an avid football fan... Ill cheer and shout but usually wont know what I m shouting about

I am the jungle gym at all the family parties and love it... but when the crying starts I just pass them along to the parents

Mexican food and I have a very good relationship

College Nutrition has ruined my eating habits... every time I eat I break it down into how much I am going to regret it until I can get to the gym

I am a nerd... and every once in a while, even now, like to go play nerd games for the fun of it

I want to make a ceramics studio out of an old rundown barn... Paint it red and everything

I want to get in a fight one day just to see how I would do...

I love to teach

I love to play lacrosse but hate the stress of competition

I want a dog but don't know what kind

I want to hike to the top of a mountain then snowboard back to the base...or sled back to base... doesn't matter

I have too many dreams at this point but will achieve all of them in due time

When I am stuck in traffic I am extremely obnoxious 

I think I have felt love but know I have no idea!

I work best when I am doing my own thing around other people

Sunday truly is a perfect day

I have many places that I feel are truly mine and somethings that I see that are truly remarkable - I want to share them all with another

The stars and the ocean are my perfect combination

I suck at blogging... but still like to do it every once in a while

The Beginnings of Business

And so I start off in yet another direction of what is going to one day, hopefully, 
be the fulfillment of a dream. 
I can not believe the plethora of directions my life is taking and the to tell you the truth I am digging it. So the next endeavor that I am tackling is going to be one of business. 
I am laying the first pieces of foundation to what will one day be known as
At Last Enterprises inc.
 This is going to encompass a website and name for my ceramic art work
as well as other various business ventures.

 Its kinda wild to start talking about getting a business license and being able to say that I am a business owner. Well I guess not yet but soon enough I think things are going to be that way.
All I have to do is say when and I will be off on this new idea. 

Weird.
Here is a little snippet of some things I have been doing.

Broken Vase

The Insignia 

A Wood Fired Bowl

So a toast...

Heres to starting something bigger...

Heres to being someone better...

Heres to Dreams!

Cheers!