[ ♪♪ ]
Everyone has their own idea of what a monster is.
I think a monster is whatever your imagination
thinks a monster is.
I remember being a kid
and not wanting to let a hand or a foot dangle
too far off the bed, because I had this fear
that there was a monster that was going to grab it.
I think with my monsters, I kind of wanted to give kids
the permission to realize that a monster could be
the playful, sort of curious monster,
or the one that’s scared,
and not the monster that wants to eat your foot or your hand.
This monster thing I do has been just unlimited for me
of where it can go and what I can do with it.
You know, when I first think of a monster,
especially one I’ve never made before,
there’s a lot of sketching involved.
I always have sketchbooks with me.
So I’ll get an idea for a monster,
especially when it’s something I’ve never made before,
just to get it down so I remember
this new idea that I thought of.
And a lot of times it’s just a really, really rough idea.
This was for a salt-and-pepper shaker.
You know, I’ll work out details, too,
of how I think the horns are going to come into the body
or the expression that I want.
This guy here holding his sign,
and that’d be a big, tall monster.
And he’d hold this sign that says "don’t poop on the lawn."
You know, what else would a monster say, right?
A lot of times, the lid of a handle
of any vessel I make is a found object.
So I have here my wall of parts.
Good old bathtub cold faucet handle.
This is a toilet flusher.
This is an old radiator opening and closing knob.
To me, it’s just dying to be the handle
to the monster’s cookie jar lid.
How can you throw something that beautiful away?
As I started making and selling monsters,
I got approached by a mom who said,
"Would you come to my son’s birthday party
and show the kids how to make monsters at a party?"
And now that’s this whole other world I do
where I’m exposing kids and adults
to getting their monster out.
It’s really easy; second graders do this, so...
ALL: Ohh...
[ ♪♪ ]
See how the legs come out at the base?
Gently massage your monster, okay?
So you have the underbite monster,
you can put it that way.
If you flip the whole thing over,
you have the overbite monster.
So I’m hosting a monster party for my birthday.
DeROSSO: Work the water back and forth.
She’s drinking her water cup
and she’s dipping her finger in her wine.
You can just relax and be silly and have fun with this,
and believe me, you’re going to get something that works,
because it’s a monster.
I’m going to keep moving to eyeballs now.
You do need to listen to James
when he tells you how to do something,
but I think they all turned out great.
[ women laughing ]
DeROSSO: This subject matter to me is endless.
This year was now my second year
being a part of the Country Fair,
going there as a vendor.
I quit my day job and went completely full-time,
just doing my clay and doing the monsters
and doing more shows and enjoying
just being able to say I’m now an artist.
Monster cookie jar.
I’m James DeRosso, and that’s my art.