Focus Magazine Fall 2014

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FALL 2014 SALADO RETAILER SPINS SKILL INTO STORE P. 3 4

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT POSTAL WORKER TAKES ART GLOBAL P. 1 4

A BAYLOR UNIVERSITY STUDENT PUBLICATION

DISCOVER THE GEMS CENTRAL TEXAS HAS TO OFFER

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entral Texas has unmatched shops and stories to offer residents and visitors alike. These hole-in-the-wall secrets and modestly adorned establishments are easy to miss, but if you know where to look, you’ll likely find yourself in the middle of a fascinating place among people with amazing stories to tell. We wanted to capture a few of them in this edition of Focus Magazine and share them with the Waco and Central Texas communities. We hope you enjoy taking a closer look at a few of this spectacular region’s unique offerings, jewels that are hidden in plain sight.

CONTRIBUTORS WRITERS

kristen bennett rayne brown liz hitchcock ashley altus elizabeth arnold ashlyn thompson kyndall jirasek nicollette niles

PHOTOGRAPHERS alyssa rummel hannah haseloff ashley altus mike trozzo ashlyn thompson

SPECIAL THANKS

paul carr, julie freeman, jim anderson, macarena hernandez, curtis callaway

CONTENTS A FINELY TUNED CRAFT

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WACOTOWN

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A WELL-WORN HISTORY

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METAL MEETS JESUS

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ALL WHO ARE HUNGRY

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AN OLD-FASHIONED BURGER

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WATCHING A DREAM TAKE SHAPE

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EDITORS-IN-CHIEF emily roberson and derek byrne focus magazine | 3

photo by Derek Byrne

A FINELY

tuned craft From wooden logs to beautiful lutes, Hewitt resident Tim Johnson creates one-of-a-kind masterpieces by kristen bennett

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hroughout the last century, emails have replaced handwritten notes and washing machines have replaced hand-washing clothes.

No one uses encyclopedias anymore, because looking up something in a book is so 20th century. Changing camera film?

Nope, we’ve gone digital.

These technological advances have spawned a society in which very few people have the patience to accomplish a task in an “old-school” way — we are a busy and efficient people.

Except Tim Johnson.

Johnson is a luthier, or maker of stringed instruments. A Hewitt resident with more than 30 years of experience, he has become an expert at using hand tools to turn wooden logs into beautiful and professional lutes, violins, violas and cellos.

Answering why he chooses to make instruments when machines can do the same thing, he reflects on conversations with musicians and acknowledges what keeps him

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grounded in the hand-making tradition.

“A lot of people who have shop-made instruments have told me that the instrument is soulless,” he said. “They can tell that somebody hasn’t put their labor and love into it, and I have to believe there is something about making the instrument by hand that gives it life.”

The son of a Connecticut minister and a stay-at-home mother, Johnson grew up knowing that if he wanted something, he had to make it. So when he saw a photo of a Renaissance lute in eighth grade, that’s exactly what he did.

“Making stuff is what my family did,” he said, adding that the family’s lack of money was almost a blessing because being handy led to his eventual career.

Though Johnson played the oboe growing up, he gravitated toward building instruments, and he attempted making another lute during his senior year of high school. The finished product accompanied him throughout his studies at Harvard University, where he began as an oboe performance major, changed to history, and ultimately received a degree in general studies.

His education continued at Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass., where he received a music performance degree in baroque oboe and renaissance winds, and culminated at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he studied violin making and restoration.

“I really didn’t think about making instruments for a living until I got to Indiana,” Johnson said. “I thought it was too much fun and I wasn’t taking it seriously, but my destiny really caught up with me.”

He has since built a network of clients in cities including New York, Boston, San Francisco and The Hauge, located in the Netherlands.

Because of the physical distance between himself and a client, it is necessary to speak via telephone about what kind of music will be performed on the instrument and what kind of sound the musician is looking for.

“Players come up with wonderful ways of describing sound, and many talk about it as they would coffee or dessert, like dark or chocolaty,” he said.

Dr. Kathryn Steely, professor of viola in the Baylor University School of Music, has worked extensively with Johnson and his instruments, and said he is one-of-a-

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“ kind in the business. She cited his deep historical knowledge, interest in his craft, research participation and attention to detail as being a perfect combination for making “works of functional art.”

“Many choices are made in the process of instrument construction, and those choices result in a particular sound in the end,” she said. “The luthier must have a keen understanding of how even the most minor adjustments can have a major impact on the player’s ability to perform well.”

Johnson compared his profession to those of NASCAR mechanics, explaining

how one tweak to a car part and one small change to an instrument both have the potential to drastically improve the outcome of the performance.

“As a maker, I have to try from the very start to get as many little things right as possible,” Johnson said, “It basically starts from the log, when I select the proper stiffness, density and quality of wood before I can begin to shape it.”

One quality he has developed from his intensive work is synaesthesia, or the concept of hearing with the eyes and seeing with the ears. Simply hearing an instrument allows Johnson to visualize the shape of it, and simply seeing it allows him to imagine the sound it will likely produce.

The instrument doesn’t have to be beautiful to sound beautiful, he said. But it certainly helps.

Steely said the instruments that emerge from Johnson’s workshop are always “shaped to perfection,” a result of the many minutes, hours and months he spends laboring over the details of the wood.

“I spend a lot of time looking at the wood as I shape it and it becomes a beautiful thing,” he said.

With the huge quantity of welltrained classical musicians today comes incredible pressure for players to perform at their peak at all times, which results in musicians setting high standards for the luthier. Johnson credits critical feedback from his clients as the best teacher he’s ever had.

“I have to put my ego aside and just listen when people are giving me feedback so I can constantly perfect the craft,” he said.

His ability to interpret specific requests has spilled over into his personal life as well.

“Words are an imperfect medium sometimes, and I find my craft has helped me to really listen and be more empathic when others are speaking to me,” he said. “The world would be a much better place if people tried to feel the meaning behind the words of others.”

Whether building stringed instruments or learning how to listen intently, Johnson believes the energy, labor and love he invests in his work forge instruments with souls.

Left: Tim Johnson, a Hewitt resident, holds a violin he crafted by hand. Johnson studied violin making and restoration at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and has been a luthier, or a maker of stringed instruments, for over 30 years.

Top: One of Johnson’s violins lies on the table in his workspace.

Johnson skillfully turns wooden logs into lutes, violins, violas and cellos. Above: In his workshop, Johnson’s tools are carefully displayed. Baylor School of Music Professor of Viola Dr. Kathryn Steely, who has worked with Johnson regularly, said he uses historical knowledge, interest in the craft, research and intense attention to detail to make his instruments stand out among the pack. photos by derek byrne

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RENEWING THE HEART

AND SOUL OF A CITY

MEET MIKE TROZZO, THE MASTERMIND BEHIND A MOVEMENT.

by rayne brown

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t’s hard to imagine downtown without the colorful murals, an abundance of local businesses and community engagement, but when Baylor alumnus Mike Trozzo lived in Waco, that was the reality.

“When I was in school, the only part that was downtown was the Ninfa’s corridor,”

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Trozzo said. “It felt much less viable as a place you could live after Baylor. I don’t know if you really thought, ‘What can I do or what can I give here?’ That tone seems to have changed.”

After graduating in 1999, Trozzo spent 10 years in Los Angeles working in production on shows like “Without a Trace” and movies

like “Spiderman 3.” After a decade in the industry, Trozzo found the city of Waco on his mind. However, Waco was not yet on its way to reaching its full potential. Trozzo and other residents felt like the look of the city failed to adequately reflect the people in it. So they set out to improve the town they loved.

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“My favorite thing about Waco is the quality of people there,” said Jenny Jameson, the artist responsible for the starry night mural at 11th Street and Columbus Avenue. “Waco is full of people that are excited about culture and art. The actual physical structure doesn’t reflect that well.”

Opportunity presented itself the day Robert Griffin III won the 2011 Heisman Trophy—a first for Baylor and a moment Trozzo regards as a win for the university and Waco. He began imagining a new era for the city, complete with a new title for the movement: Wacotown.

“We both got to celebrate it equally,” Trozzo said. “There was this memorializing moment to this Heisman Trophy. Wacotown wasn’t completely different, but it was a spin on the name of the city. I thought, ‘This is a way to point people towards a slightly different Waco.

Something to rally behind’.”

Armed with inspiration from the Heisman win and a desire to bring Waco to life, Trozzo began working on his first mural. After some design changes stemming from licensing issues, he decided on the general idea to have a bear doing the Heisman pose. Knowing that he wanted to continue bridging the gap between Waco and Baylor, it was important to him that the design consisted of something that embodied both the university and the city. Playing on the word “oso”, Spanish for bear, he came up with the tagline, “oh so special Wacotown.”

The Heisman bear mural, located on Franklin Avenue and Fourth Street, was the first time the term “Wacotown” was introduced as an alternative name for the city. Since then it has become a thriving movement.

According to the Wacotown official website, Wacotown is “an effort to improve [the] community by creating art, hosting events and promoting all thing positive and progressive.”

Trozzo attributes some of the progression to a “growing, aspiring, getting better Waco,” partly because of the active citizens who are investing in the community and making improvements.

Noting that an active citizen base is

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THIS IS A WAY

TO POINT

PEOPLE

TOWARD A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT

WACO. Top Left: Dichotomy’s Waco graphic mural stands boldly on the coffee shop’s rooftop in front of the ALICO building. Top Middle: A visitor to downtown Waco takes a moment to play the keys on Austin Avenue. The bright blue piano is one of many public art pieces featuring the Wacotown theme. Top Right: The original Wacotown mural resides at the intersection of Fourth Street and Austin Avenue. Middle: Waco native Mick Burson’s mural adds color to Austin Avenue. Right: The countdown mural on Fourth Street and Franklin Avenue designates eight months left to Baylor football’s return to the Brazos. photos by mike trozzo and derek byrne

crucial to the project, Trozzo describes the Wacotown project as somewhat of an underground city brand, put together by a group of people who want to see Waco prosper.

“People in Waco were doing things,” said Becky Murphy, an artist who worked on the countdown to football on the Brazos mural. “They were starting projects or nonprofits or they were in grad school

for something they were really passionate about. It’s a very alive group of people who live with so much intention and purpose.”

Working to engage the community and bring a sense of pride to the students and residents of Waco, the movement has blossomed. While Trozzo is hesitant to take sole credit for the Wacotown project, he is responsible for some of the recent art adorning the walls of downtown.

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“It’s okay to love Waco and still think, ‘I’d like to see some growth in certain areas,’” Trozzo said. “I wanted to see people excited and not walking by trash. When there’s creativity, there’s energy and there are moments to grab on to.”

Trozzo created one of those moments in 2012 when he designed the mural on Dichotomy’s second floor deck. Originally, he planned on the Dichotomy mural being Waco’s skyline with the ALICO building

and the courthouse. Once he got up on the deck, he realized how little sense it made to see the skyline on a wall when it was within view from the deck. Incorporating the letters of Waco, Trozzo came up with the mural that visitors of Dichotomy see now—a crisp blue and white linear design that subtly spells out the name of the city.

The opening of McLane Stadium was another big moment that called for commemoration. Rather than a one-time

permanent mural, Trozzo thought a better idea was to amp up the energy by creating a collection of transient murals counting down the months until kickoff.

Individual artists were contracted to design each month resulting in a variety of style. A new design was unveiled on the first Friday of every month. The idea was that the revealing of each design would be a part of the First Friday festivities held in downtown once a month, supporting

THE WILD SIDE

CRITTERS BRINGS UNLIKELY COMPANIONS TO HEWITT

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by nicollette niles

n a small shopping center in Hewitt you can purchase coatimundis (members of the raccoon family,) micro mini pigs, chinchillas, sugar gliders, leopard geckos and many more exotic animals.

Established in 2012, Critters Exotic Pets brings an animal experience to the region unlike any other. Owner Tierny Krueger wanted to open an exotic pet shop because nothing like it had ever been built before in the Waco area. Manager Jessica Saenz helps open and run the shop.

The shop also offers small animal boarding, “critters cutz” grooming, parties and educational events.

Krueger and Saenz share their insights on Critters Exotic Pets.

Why did you decide to open this store?

Krueger: I’ve always had a love for animals. I’ve had several of these animals throughout my life. I actually worked in [human resources] for 10, 15 years and my job transferred to Dallas, so I just decided to take the plunge.

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the commitment to community that the Wacotown project has expressed.

While the majority of his Waco murals have been memorializing a moment that Baylor and Waco share, Trozzo notes that a lot of the art people see on the walls downtown is not Baylor-oriented.

“There’s something really organic and really positive about people doing it at their own will as opposed to being paid by an institution to do it or supporting an

institution,” he said.

Whatever the balance in art may be, Trozzo’s ultimate goal is to continue to support a thriving, community-based Waco where art can flourish. Wacotown is not and was never intended to be a commercial city brand aimed at driving tourism. It’s a movement rooted in authenticity to remind the residents that someone cares and to allow Waco to reflect its residents.

“Sometimes, city brands don’t feel really authentic,” Trozzo said. “Wacotown did things that help the city—made it prettier, made it more fun to be in, made it more interesting, made little moments of delight. We didn’t do advertisements.

We didn’t do print ads. We didn’t do TV spots. I think that has far more value to a place of residence.”

Welcome to Wacotown.

Why exotic pets?

Krueger: There’s so much controversy over dogs and cats since there’s so many out there for adoption, so I didn’t want to make it tough for the adoption clinics. So I decided to just focus on the exotic type pets.

had been on the floor. He didn’t really damage, he just made a mess, basically.

Our decorations were all hanging on the floor cause he thought he could swing on them. The hardest part was trying to find him, cause he’s nocturnal. We spent maybe three hours trying to find him. He was asleep in the trash bag box in the cabinet in the kitchen.

What’s the process like to raise and sell exotic pets?

Saenz: We try to socialize all our animals at early ages, that way they’re good with customers and when you get them home you don’t have to worry about wild behaviors and them not being friendly and not being able to pet or interact with them.

So we try to socialize our animals at early ages and any of our exotic pets we sell, we always sell as babies. We don’t sell anything that’s full grown or preowned, just because if you’re going to buy an exotic pet you need to know that you’re the one raising it and you can raise it how you want to be raised.

Have you come across any special challenges?

Saenz: Unexpected challenges to me — that’s coming in and finding a litter of babies, and finding time to accommodate their needs.

Do you have any crazy or funny stories about anything that’s happened with the animals?

Saenz: When I came in one day and the kinkajou had gotten out, he had climbed all over the store, tore everything down, ate through all the packages of food. You would’ve thought the place had been robbed, just because of all the cages that

How do you monitor the health of the animals?

Saenz: We have a vet that we take them to and we have inspections, and just knowledge of the animals. You can kind of tell when one of them is lethargic and just the experience of having animals and researching it. We’re always doing anything we can to learn about different things so it’s not we just buy the animals, turn around and sell them. We actually research them, see what their needs are, and see what their health care requires. It’s our responsibility to make sure they are kept healthy.

Which animals do you take to your birthday parties and educational events?

Saenz: We take anywhere from the hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets to the chinchillas, hedgehogs, the boxed turtles, the tortoise, a python and then if you have any special requests we consider those. We take the kinkajou and the marmoset as well. You get about 10 to 15 animals.

Do they get to interact with the animals?

Saenz: Yes, the birthday kid gets to hold mostly all of the animals and the other kids can pet and touch some. Depending on the animals’ temperament that day will also depend on how long we let them hold the animals as well. Educational events are somewhat the same. Sometimes we put certain animals in pens, like a petting area.

The monkeys and the kinkajou we leash up so that way we can control their behaviors, in case they get scared.

Opposite Page: A sixteen-week-old cottontop tamarin smiles while being held by an employee.

Above: A coatimundi peers through its cage while customers walk by. Since 2012, Critters Exotic Pets has given the Waco community access to a variety of unique animals. photos by derek byrne

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HERMÈS SCARF DESIGNER FINDS COMFORT IN SOLITUDE, LETTING HIS ART PROMOTE ITSELF story by liz hitchcock

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In a rare moment in front of the camera, artist Kermit Oliver smiles in front of one of his paintings. photos by Hannah Haseloff

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tacks of National Geographic copies sit in front of the window as light pours through, illuminating the smallest brush strokes on a piece of white Canson paper. His glasses rest on the bridge of his nose and his curly black hair glistens in the light. If looking closely, paint stains decorate his blue buttondown shirt and a U.S. Postal Service patch adorns the front.

The scene of this seemingly disheveled, yet organized and serene studio in East Waco is home to the only American scarf designer to ever work for the Parisian design house, Hermès. Kermit Oliver is an unlikely candidate for a leading fashion brand designer. He leads a very quiet existence, away from the hustle and bustle of the fashion world, just out of the reach of the public and the art community that appreciates his work so greatly.

“It’s all these events that happen that illuminate something and people respond to it,” Oliver said, “But compared to an artist’s work, it’s very modest. It’s serendipity. You’re there in a place and you can take advantage of it, but a lot of times

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I don’t.”

A true Texas artist, Oliver designs scarves that are unique in style, bold in color and American-themed, portraying old Western scenes, Native Americans and explorers coming to “les ameriques.” He has worked for Hermès for 30 years now; 30 years which he claims to have been relatively uneventful despite working for one of the premier names in fashion.

Oliver grew up in South Texas and moved to Waco in 1984. His wife, Katie, had family in Waco and had attended Baylor when she was younger. After her grandparents left her their home, the same one she and Oliver still live in, they ended up staying.

“My grandparents lived here. They were both very ill. She wanted me to have her home so we came to live here while she was still alive to help out,” Katie explained.

“That was the main reason we came here.”

Despite his bachelor’s degree in fine arts, Oliver never intended to make a career of his work, only showing it when it was sought out. In fact, he said that a career in commercial arts was discouraged when he was in school.

“It’s very modest,” Oliver said. “My art is very ordinary. It wasn’t something urgent that I had to do. It wasn’t something that was primary in my life. It was very down the road. I never went out to promote or engage other people with my art. It was always events that made it happen. With as much restraint as I could, I was able to keep secluded.”

After moving to Waco from Houston, Oliver continued his employment of six years with the U.S. Postal Service and worked for the Waco post office for 30 more years. This has always been his main source of income, enabling him to work freely on his art. He was able to lead a normal life outside of the limelight while working night shifts at the post office.

“My security was never based in my art, so I was able to go out and leisurely do things that I wanted to and any advancement of notoriety came about by happenstance,” he said. “I was just made available every once in a while so it grew out of that. My art was nothing dealing with the art community.”

Oliver is represented by Houston gallery Hooks-Epstein after leaving his previous

gallery in Houston, DuBose, because of their insistence of promotion of his work.

It was also a driving factor in Oliver’s employment at the post office.

“It was one of the reasons I decided to start at the post office,” he said. “The format had changed with the new owner of the gallery I was with. You had to go out and be more promotional and I had never done that.”

Oliver only has one solo exhibition of his work every two years, keeping out of the public spotlight, but was still able to draw the attention of Hermès during one of his gallery showings in Houston.

“Every two years I have a one-man exhibit. That’s the only time I have an offering of my work,” Oliver said. “Every two years I make a public showing of myself for about three hours and that’s it.”

It just so happened that Hermès contacted him through Hooks-Epstein after Lawrence Marcus, the late son of

entrepreneurial giant Neiman Marcus, recommended him for the job of designing scarves for the brand. Marcus, who lived in Dallas at the time, had stopped by one of Oliver’s rare solo exhibitions and fell in love with his work. “[Hermès was] interested in introducing American themes,” Oliver said. “It would either be the history of Neiman Marcus or the opening of the Forth Worth Weston museum or a choice of my own. Lawrence Marcus had suggested me as an artist. Xavier [GuerrandHermès] Dumas came and interviewed me.

I decided to do an American Indian theme.

That’s where it all began.”

With an idea of what the scarf will look like, Oliver uses photo references to place specific images in a design that will eventually become an ornate and colorful silk scarf. WacoMcLennan County Library on Austin Avenue is his largest source for references, he says, and he spends a good amount of time there selecting images he can use for ideas.

“When they suggest a theme, there are artists working toward it,” he said. “It’s a matter of finding references and putting them together. I know where everything goes; it’s just a matter of finding an object I can put there.”

The designs of the scarves are typically radial, with a dominant focal image in the center and other smaller objects set around it in a circular manner, but others are simply detailed scenes and images set in the silk square. Much like his paintings, Oliver primarily focuses on people in his designs, using objects and patterns to support the figurative nature. Other designs include cornucopias, different Texas wildlife and even the occasional historical figure, such as Marquis de Lafayette.

During his time with Hermès, Oliver has designed 17 scarves for the brand. His first, released in 1982, is called Pani La Shar Pawnee, and his most recent was released in limited quantities in February of this year.

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Kermit Oliver, surrounded by his collection of National Geographic magazines, ponders his current painting.

La Vie Sauvage du Texas was designed for the Caesar Kleburg Wildlife Research Institute and some proceeds went to conservation efforts made by the King Ranch, owned by the Kleburg family.

Oliver’s scarves go for about $425 retail, if buyers are quick enough to reserve one since many times they sell out quickly. Used, on eBay, his scarves can range up to $1,000.

Despite his ongoing work and relationship with Hermès, Oliver intends to keep to himself. He even turns down the offer to visit their factories and mingle with the upper echelon of the company in Paris.

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“We’ve gone twice and refused 28 times,” Oliver said. “They want us to come every year. It’s been about 30 years working for them. It’s been a quiet 30 years.”

Oliver’s paintings are just as impressive as his scarf designs. Contrasting many traditional Texas artists, Oliver’s paintings are not only primarily figurative, they are graphic and minimal in their design, using negative space, tight rendering and solid colors. He uses acrylic and acrylic washes in the majority of the paintings to create a loose feel that doesn’t have the look and feel of being painted. Since Oliver studied the history of art, he admits that his

influences do not come from one or two specific artists, but a number of different artists and just as many time periods in art history.

Throughout almost every painting Oliver has created he uses allegorical symbolism, often referencing biblical events or symbols, using his paintings to tell a story. He says he prefers that the viewer interpret the story of his work in their own way before they learn what he meant the images to mean. That way they can find their own meaning in it.

Dr. Mary Ruth Smith, professor of fine arts at Baylor and fabrics and fibers artist,

describes Oliver’s work as elaborate yet minimal in its design.

“Kermit Oliver’s work is full of symbolism,” Smith said. “Composed of thoughtfully selected and arranged images that provide the viewer with a wealth of information to decipher. The way he places images is deliberate so that he is able to tell the story that is depicted in his pictorial compositions. His work is very intricate; simple, yet complicated. Many are radially designed, especially the Hermès scarves where colorful and detailed drawings fill squares of silk fabric with style, insight and beauty.”

In May 2014, Oliver’s work was displayed at the Martin Museum of Art at Baylor, in which museum director Karin Gilliam, said all different mediums of his work were displayed, including paintings, drawings, prints and even his renowned scarves.

“We feel very privileged and honored that Kermit has done these exhibitions with us because he does so few,” Gilliam said. “Even he was saying that he has only spoken publicly or given a lecture three or four times, and two have been at Baylor.

We recognize that it was an extraordinary effort on his part to do the exhibition.

He did that to support the arts in Central

Texas, which is really important to him.

Especially the efforts of young, emerging artists.”

Aside from his few shows at either HooksEpstein or at the Martin Museum, there aren’t many places people can view Kermit Oliver’s work. He continues to be an anomaly in the art world, promoting himself as little as possible but still managing to obtain great opportunity and even greater recognition and respect.

“Everywhere we’ve gone I’m always the best-kept secret of the place that I’m at,” Oliver said. “It shows that I’m really reclusive.”

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Two Waco natives use an unconventional medium to minister to crowd at Victorious Life Church

story by Ashley Altus

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or young metal fans in Waco, finding a space to experience roaring vocalists and shredding guitars used to be challenging. All-ages venues closed their doors in recent years, making metal shows largely inaccessible to fans under 18. Instead of drowning in nostalgia because their favorite venues had vanished, two Waco natives took action by pulling their personal funds together and bringing their beloved music scene to their church.

Will Bishnow and Adam Richards just met a few years ago as teenagers at a local metal concert. Their friendship quickly developed as they continuously saw each other at concerts on the weekends. Not only

did they both attend shows, but they also joined the scene by performing in different bands. They eventually formed their own band, Modern Day Kings.

Growing up, Richards started listening to metal music because of its raw relatable lyrics. He’s convinced the connections people feel to the music is the reason for the tight-knit community found in this genre.

“The community of the metal scene is like our blood,” Richards said. “If someone is down, you help them up.”

On the other hand, Bishnow sees metal as an emotional and physical outlet. At shows, kids are able to mosh and fully express emotions of anger, frustration, or simply the joy of being at a show.

When they first became friends,

photo by derek byrne

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“ Waco resident Remington Stallard performs in front of a crowd of students in the gym at Victorious Life Church on Oct. 19. Aether Productions and Management has been putting on shows at Victorious Life Church for two years. photo by derek byrne

the metal scene in Waco was thriving.

Shows at all-ages venues, like Art Ambush and Beatnix Burger Barn, brought national acts to Waco. These venues also gave local bands opportunities to play their music.

However, the glory days of metal shows occurring almost every weekend ended.

Beatnix Burger Barn closed its doors in

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2012, shortly followed by Art Ambush in 2013.

Both Richards and Bishnow are heavily involved in the student ministry at the nondenominational Victorious Life Church. Richards has been attending Victorious Life Church since he was 3 years old and later became an intern. He also leads worship during Wednesday

night student services, and Bishnow contributes guitar. With Richards’ strong connections to the pastoral staff, he approached lead pastor Kevin Harrison with his idea to book concerts at their church.

With their love of God and metal music, the two McLennan Community College sophomores decided to take on

the responsibility of restoring the scene.

Their friendship evolved into a partnership as they formed Aether Productions and Management in an effort to put on shows at Victorious Life Church.

Their emerging company aims to give kids a haven for expression through metal music, encourage the formation of new bands by giving them a place to perform,

and spread the message of Jesus.

By day, Victorious Life Church is a place of Christian worship with ministries for men, women and children. The church has a casual jeans-wearing dress code, worships to contemporary music, and preaches relatable and applicable messages about Scripture.

On select nights local and national

bands transform the church gym into a concert experience for all ages. The church provides a safe environment so parents don’t need to worry about dropping their kids off for a concert. The 500-personcapacity location gives kids who want to listen to music a refuge away from the bar scene where drugs and alcohol are present.

“A lot of venues in Waco, they’re bars

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t stor Austin Scot urch Student Pa Victorious Life Ch

Pastor Ministers Through Music story and photo by Ashley Altus

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ustin Scott, student pastor at Victorious Life Church, doesn’t listen to metal music on a regular basis.

When the church hosts concerts, he focuses on ministering to young people who don’t typically come to church services.

Depending on the band lineup, he will get up on stage for a chance to welcome the audience and invite them to church, but he prefers personal conversations.

“A personal invitation is going to go way farther than an invitation from a stage,” Scott said. “Any one-on-one conversation I can have with a student about something meaningful is always the best part.”

Scott said he tries to connect with the bands performing and with the diverse people who walk through church doors on show days.

“I think it’s a great place to remember what it’s like not to be a church kid,” Scott said. “It helps me reach people and build a relationship with people that aren’t just church kids.”

Scott believes the shows Waco natives Will Bishnow and Adam Richards have been putting on at the church gym have brought in a different crowd of people than the typical churchgoers he usually preaches to.

“On a Wednesday night, you’re dealing with kids that have been in church most of their lives,” Scott said. “On a show, it’s totally different to see tons of people you would never get to interact with on a normal basis, and just be able to guess what their life is like.”

Instead of preaching to kids when he meets them, Scott focuses on building friendships.

“They don’t need someone standing in front of them telling them information and what they’re doing wrong,” Scott said.“They know if you’re faking it and they know if you’re just talking to them to get them into your church.”

24 | focus magazine

with a stage,” Bishnow said. “People go there to drink rather than pay attention to music.”

The metal genre as a whole is often mistakenly identified as being anti-religious, even satanic.

However, many of the bands that Aether Productions and Management book are Christian.

“We really enjoy putting on these shows so these kids feel comfortable, have an outlet and feel safe, get anger off their chest or just have someone to talk to,” Bishnow said.

The ministry work accomplished through shows is giving kids a unique way to find Jesus.

“I’m not worried about them coming to church because I think the church isn’t a building, it’s a people,” Richards said, “Talking to someone about God is church for me.”

Head-banging, heavy bass guitar plucking, and men dripping in sweat, screaming lyrics right in the audience’s faces are just a few of the experiences witnessed at a metal show. This type of atmosphere and music at a church may seem ludicrous to some, but these two Waco natives believe metal creates a sincere sense of unity.

The shows have enabled a blossoming ministry for kids who attend the events and don’t show up to church. Richards said he prefers to connect with kids in this fashion and meet them in their own environment.

“You can shove doctrine down people’s throats 24/7, but that’s not going to do anything if you don’t love them,” Richards said. “The biggest thing about these shows is loving people, and giving them a place to have a good time and feel comfortable.”

Bishnow said he feels called to a ministry in music because he turned to music as a teenager when he didn’t have people to reach out to in his life. Bishnow and Richards invite kids to come talk to them about their lives at every show they host.

“We’re doing this because we believe Christ died for our sins, and if any kids need any help or want to talk about God, they can come to us and talk because we’re open,” Bishnow said.

Mouth of the South, a national progressive Christian ministry band that headlined a show last spring at Victorious Life Church, preached during their set. Richards said he remembers seeing a kid fall to his knees crying and praising God, while others worshipped during the band’s set.

“They were speaking Christ into people’s lives and people were raising their hands to God, for a metal band,” Richards said. “It was the best thing I could see at a show.”

Not only do Bishnow and Richards try to foster relationships during shows, but so does Victorious Life Church student pastor Austin Scott. He plays foosball with the kids and one time even bought them pizza.

GLOWHOUSE performs to a room full of students in the gym of Victorious Life Church in Waco.

“He’s more about making a personal connection with them and then inviting them to church,” Richards said.

Although Bishnow and Richards want to celebrate local bands in their hometown, they also desire to bring in more popular national Christian metal bands such as For Today, Memphis May Fire and The Devil Wears Prada.

The team wants to give kids the chance to be inspired to create their own music, just like they were as children.

“The whole reason I’m in this scene is because I had bands that inspired me and I definitely want to see metal grow,” Richards said. “I don’t want it to die out.

So how am I going to get that to happen

when there are no shows going on?”

Deceived by the Fallen, a metalcore band from Hewitt, is one of the younger bands that has recently emerged in the Waco metal scene.

Alex Rosas, a 17-year-old sophomore at Midway High School and the band’s drummer, said Bishnow and Richards have given their band opportunities to play at the Victorious Life Church and have welcomed their band into the Waco music scene.

“Seeing bands perform at the VLC drives me more to play shows and be more active in creating and writing music,” Rosas said.

Evan Vaughan, a 16-year-old Midway

photo by derek byrne

High School sophomore who contributes bass guitar and vocals to the band, said the shows at Victorious Life Church have increased their exposure in the Waco community. With the platform Aether Productions and Management has given his band, they have found a sense of community in the local metal scene.

Sixteen-year-old Midway High School sophomore Noah Stracener adds vocals and plays guitar. He said he feels a part of the movement that Bishnow and Richards are trying to keep alive.

“It feels like a giant brotherhood,” Stracener said. “With a local show we’re basically resurrecting the scene.”

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ALL who are HUNGRY GOSPEL CAFE OFFERS MEALS, HOPE TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN NEED

I

Gospel Cafe staff members greet a patron from behind the counter on Nov. 5. The cafe’s record high for number of lunches served in one day stands at 278, according to founder Sherry Castello. photo by alyssa rummel

by Elizabeth Arnold

nside the kitchen, a smoothly operating staff hustles to keep up with the rush of customers.

They wear personalized white aprons speckled with faded yellow stains. The 15-by-15-foot space is crowded, walls stacked floor to ceiling with an array of pots, pans and canned

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vegetables. A worn paper sign above the serving window reads, “All are to be welcomed as Christ.”

A line of hungry people stretches out the door and stays constant for two full hours, an organized flow of people shuffling atop creaking floorboards and faded blue carpet. The aroma of hot

casserole and meatloaf wafts through the room. Sunlight pours through the windows and colorful worship banners hang throughout the room, declaring “Peace like a river” and “HOPE in a time of waiting.”

This is CrossTies Gospel Cafe.

The cafe serves a free, hearty lunch

from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Wednesday through Friday in a refurbished crack house on the west side of 10th Street, just a two-minute drive from Baylor’s campus. On any given day, one can see a myriad of tattoos, piercings, ages and skin colors.

But Gospel Cafe does not serve the

homeless, druggies, drunks or punks. It serves people.

“The last thing I want to do is make generalities about the people,” said Sherry Castello, one of the founders of Gospel Cafe.

The ministry runs on donations from local churches and ample amounts of

faith. Donations are welcomed during lunch, but more often than not the collection basket at the front of the cafe stands empty. Even still, they don’t deny anyone.

“They never fail to respond to the needs of the people who show up on their doors,” said Charles

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Sutton, a longtime Gospel Cafe diner.

Sutton has served time in prison and been drawing Social Security for 20 years. While he admits he could have done better for himself, he is grateful for the cafe’s benevolent presence in the community.

Dorothy Warren is also keenly aware of the impact Gospel Cafe has made on her neighborhood. She’s

lived in the house next to the cafe for 25 years and watched the building transfer ownership from a Hispanic family to crack dealers and now to a nonprofit ministry. She has mothered eight children, 24 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and much of the neighborhood in the dilapidated house’s shadow.

“Most people call me Mom,” Warren

said. “I don’t care what color they is, even the grown folks.”

When one of Warren’s sons was shot and killed 20 years ago, Gospel Cafe came alongside her. Their kindness made an unthinkable tragedy bearable.

“These are my family right here,” Warren said.

In 1992, the four-person community of the newly formed CrossTies

“

MOST PEOPLE

CALL ME

A patron at Gospel Cafe savors her lunch on Nov. 5. Located on Tenth Street on the west side of I-35, Gospel Cafe has been serving meals to residents of its neighborhood since 1996. Opposite Page: A worker slices tomatoes in the Gospel Cafe kitchen for a Wednesday lunch. photos by alyssa rummel

Ecumenical Church purchased the rundown building for $15,000. They were all Baylor graduates, and all women, with thriving professional careers.

At the time, Sherry Castello, 56, had been editor of the Baylor Line alumni magazine for 25 years. Marsha Martie, 37, was moving up in a local construction company. Susan Cowley, 43, was working at her family’s marketing and advertising firm. Still, they each felt called to something higher.

“We came here very much aware of how little we knew about a poverty neighborhood,” said Castello, now 78 years old. “We knew the only way we were going to learn was to be here.”

They spent the next four years and over $80,000 dollars repurposing the house into a functional restaurant complete with industrial cooking equipment, two full dining rooms and several meeting rooms in back. Some of the money came from their own pockets.

When the doors finally opened on April 15, 1996, Castello was the only chef. The cafe might serve 15 to 30 people for lunch each day. Now the record stands at 278. In 2013 they served 24,000 meals. As needs continue to increase and word about the cafe continues to spread, the ministry continues to grow.

MOM. I DON’T CARE WHAT COLOR THEY IS,

EVEN THE

GROWN

FOLKS. “It’s been a matter of mutual trust,” Castello said. “They’ve trusted us that we will be the same people we were last week. That’s really vital, as much as feeding people, are the relationships we build with people.”

While the ministry calls itself Gospel Cafe, it doesn’t force religion on its guests. They don’t hand out tracts, force prayer before meals or anoint heads with oil. They simply let their actions speak.

“If you want to serve God, this is it,”

said Gail Froberg, who has volunteered with the cafe for the last decade and now serves as one of the standing chefs.

A 75-year-old retired nurse, Froberg worked in the ICU for 35 years and taught nursing several additional years. Now, she goes with Gospel Cafe diners to their medical appointments, demanding they receive excellent care regardless of their financial standing.

“Once you’re a nurse, you must keep on helping people,” she said.

Gospel Cafe is open roughly 11 months out of the year, only closed during spring break, Thanksgiving and Christmas break. Most days feature two different menu items, like chicken spaghetti or Mexican casserole.

“I’m going to write my book on the resuscitation of casseroles,” Castello jokes.

The famous chef salad and staple Gospel Cafe chili dog are also served daily. Many boast it’s the best chili dog in town.

Gospel Cafe doesn’t just meet their diners’ immediate physical needs.

CrossTies and Gospel Cafe volunteers have worked to get their guests steady jobs at local establishments like H-E-B, Aramark and Uncle Dan’s BBQ. Marsha Martie, the CrossTies pastor, leads both an Alcoholics Anonymous and a Narcotics Anonymous group in the cafe building. After 20 years in the neighborhood, these diners are their friends.

The cafe relies heavily on volunteers to operate smoothly. Some come regularly, like members of First Baptist Waco, who volunteer the last Friday of every month. Others come only when they can. Still others are familiar fixtures at the cafe, as much a part of the atmosphere as the stifled air itself.

Ernesto Andiño, a former military officer and retired schoolteacher, has been volunteering every Wednesday since last year when his wife of 40 years died. Elijah Hudson, similarly, has been the cafe’s sole dishwasher for more than six years.

Gospel Cafe is more than a charity, more than an altar call. It’s not a pity party. Gospel Cafe is a tangible expression of faith lived through everyday relationships.

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AN OLD-FASHIONED BURGER story and photo by ashlyn thompson

After 60 years, Christi’s Burgers still serves up the same old recipe to its loyal customers in Bellmead.

H

air pulled back into a John Deere cap, a busy woman hollers, “Mom, more buns!” as she throws fresh patties on a sizzling grill. Antique pallet-framed

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photos line the wood paneling and halfempty white trash bags find their home stuffed in corners. Six generations of grandkids are slapped unevenly across the back wall. Outside, a small blue awning is adorned with a single plastic

sign with a name and phone number.

You wouldn’t think much of this holein-the-wall cafe sitting on the corner of a slow Bellmead street, but you would be wrong.

Christi’s Hamburgers, located a

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quick drive north of Waco, is the kind of down-home place your pappy takes you after church on Sunday, the kind only the locals know about. For years, resident Wacoans have been making the short drive up I-35 to this classic southern diner. Perched on Beale Street, Christi’s shares its home with about five or six other small businesses. Locals know Christi and her staff by name and often find their orders ready when they arrive.

With booster seats hidden in the corner and mostly kin behind the cash register, Christi’s screams family-friendly.

But the real story behind this hidden treasure is how the small-town southern diner has stayed true to its character since the 1950s.

The joint was formerly Shorty’s Hamburgers, owned by the Campbell family of Bellmead. The Campbells passed

N

away soon after opening the shop in the 50s, leaving their children to take over for the time being. Ed and Janise Allison were friends of the family from church, and when they heard the Campbells weren’t interested in maintaining ownership, they took a leap of faith and bought it. The Allisons had three children; when they bought the burger joint they decided to name it after the only one still living at home, Christi.

“Back then, [the restaurant] was doing 40 pounds of hamburger meat a day; now we run around 75, but we’ve never changed much of anything,” Christi Allison said. “My daddy always said, ‘Never make anything big; keep it simple.’”

When they opened, you could buy hamburgers for only a dollar, but not much else has changed at this southern

early 100 years ago, Jasper DeMaria set up a fruit stand on the side of Waco’s interurban railway station, the last stop before Dallas. Weary travelers came to fill their hungry stomachs before continuing their long journeys.

About three years after opening the fruit stand, Jasper expanded the business. He put up a building and started selling chopped brisket and bologna he purchased at a local slaughterhouse a few blocks down the street. Today, Jasper’s Bar-B-Q proudly stands as the oldest restaurant in Waco.

Though Jasper’s has changed ownership at least six times in the last century and grown a little each decade, the food stays the same.

They still serve meals on butcher paper, the way Jasper did when he first opened the business in 1915. Even the original seasoning recipe and cast-iron smoker are still the same.

“It’s upgraded, you know, from a little old barbecue place to a nice one,” said 67-year-old Tony Bones, who has worked at Jasper’s for 21 years. “It’s been around so long, and it’s the only thing I know to do, food service.”

Cooking the meat is a lengthy process, which current manager J.D. Bost has now perfected. He cooks the meat for four hours in

diner. It still serves the same menu items and many of the same customers. Before college, Christi worked afternoons, weekends and summers flipping burgers.

She loved meeting the customers and working for her parents, but swore that she would never make it a career.

“My daddy always said, ‘You don’t wanna be flippin’ burgers for the rest of your life,’ and I would say, ‘No!’” Christi jokes.

After high school at Connally, Christi went to school to become an X-ray technician, but soon found the medical field was not for her. She finished her degree in business, got married and finally decided in 1996 that Christi’s Hamburgers was more than just her parents’ dream. It was home. She says she has never considered expanding. To her, it isn’t about the money; she just wants to

serve the community she’s grown up in.

With the same get-it-done attitude her parents had, Allison arrives at the shop four hours before opening at 10 a.m. to prepare for the day. The meat is freshly ground each day and she prepares all of the trimmings herself, chopping each tomato slice by hand.

“I don’t do any packaged stuff, and I don’t cut any corners,” Christi said.

She also employs several of the same women her parents did. Christi’s veteran employee, Margaret Skains, has been working by her side for 17 years. Born and raised in Bellmead, she was in high school when the shop was still Shorty’s.

At the time, she was working at Wimpee’s Hamburgers down the road, which held a Sunday men’s group led by several men (including Ed Allison) in town.

“We were all tied up like family,

everybody in this town,” Skains said.

“When Christi was getting married I got hired on part time. I’ve been here ever since.”

Skains isn’t the only one who feels like Christi’s Hamburgers is home. Kay Morgan is a customer-turned-employee who has been coming to Christi’s for over 16 years. When her granddaughter was diagnosed with Leukemia, Christi’s parents supported the family in every way they could.

“When we lost her, I was at a loss. I had quit my job to take care of her, so Janise took me in. They haven’t thrown me out yet,” Morgan said, laughing. “They’re all-around good people; you won’t find a person to say a bad word about the whole family.”

Together, Christi and her crew know almost every face that comes through

the door and do their best to support the local community. In fact, Christi’s only form of advertisement comes from sponsoring little league and football teams in the area. Word of mouth is the way they have always attracted new customers.

If asked, Christi would say her greatest accomplishment isn’t keeping the diner in business, but making her parents proud.

“Most people have problems one way or another with their parents,” Christi said.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”

Christi calls out to you to “come on back now” as you close the door behind you. The smell of greasy burgers and buttery buns follows you out the door. It’s unassuming, a moment frozen in time that tells a good story and serves an even better burger.

Manager J.D. Bost stands next to some of Jasper’s Bar-B-Q’s cooking equipment. Jasper’s has stood on Clifton Street in East Waco for almost a century. photo by alyssa rummel

the afternoon, then continues to cook it at a reduced temperature overnight. When he rolls into the restaurant at 6:30 every morning, he raises the temperature back up to finish the cooking process.

According to Bost, Jasper’s is one of only two restaurants in Texas still using the original “Texas BBQ” technique. Rather than serve chopped beef from leftover parts of the animal, Texas BBQ uses cow meat cooked specifically for chopping, resulting in the Texas equivalent of a French Dip. It’s much of what keeps customers coming back year after year.

“We have a really diverse crowd of people,” Bost said. “They want to walk in the door and step back in time.”

Many of these customers have been coming to Jasper’s since they were children and watched the establishment change with the times. A chopped beef sandwich that used to cost a quarter now costs $4.25. The menu, too, has added a few new specialties, like the popular “Crazy Balls,” smoked bacon-wrapped jalapeños stuffed with chicken thigh, and “Jasper Rolls,” bacon-wrapped chicken breast stuffed with cheese and jalapeños.

No matter how many other things change in the years to come, Jasper’s intends to continue serving good ol’ Texas BBQ.

A Century of

BARBECUE by elizabeth arnold

32 | focus magazine

focus magazine | 33

Watching

a dream

TAKE SHAPE Lifelong potter with sweet skills shares passions

S Titia Califano shapes a piece of clay on her pottery wheel in the back of her store. She retails her wares at Mud Pies Pottery in Salado, which has expanded to selling fudge as well. photos by hannah haseloff

34 | focus magazine

by kyndall jirasek

ilver hair tied back in a loose ponytail, a few strands sweep across a woman’s face as she leans over the wheel. Wearing a red apron with the word “sister” stitched across the front, Titia Califano shares the journey of faith that led her to become a potter and an unexpected fudge maker.

Califano’s passion for pottery began in childhood. She lived next to Coleman Creek, where as a child she dug up clay and shale.

By second grade she discovered her dream of becoming an artist. Although she practiced art at Little Rock Central High School, Califano didn’t fully pursue it until 1981 at Harding University in Arkansas.

Califano’s professor, Paul Pitt, was her mentor.

She would sit for countless hours watching the movements of his hands work the clay. “My hands hit the clay, and I said, ‘This is it,’” she said.

Califano’s pottery plans were put on hold for 11 years as she followed her husband’s pursuit

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Above: Titia Califano stands in front of her store on Main Street in Salado, where she sells her pottery and fudge. Right: Califano displays a few of the flavors of fudge she offers. Califano absorbed Sir Wigglesworth’s Fudge, a popular shop in downtown Salado, into her store in 1986.

in ministry. He was a pulpit preacher and she was a preacher’s wife. Faced with the frustration of an unprogressive congregation, the Califanos began to apply for ministry positions at other churches.

When no offers came, they decided it was time for Califano to pursue her own dream. Little did she know, it would become a ministry as well.

She spotted property for sale in Salado, but at the time, her family was facing eviction from their home and couldn’t afford it. Califano worked multiple parttime jobs while her husband struggled to run a new furniture business. Opening up

36 | focus magazine

a pottery shop seemed impossible.

Just when it seemed time to pass up the property, the family received a check from a young couple who had heard about Califano’s interest in purchasing the shop. The young couple was interested in using the front room of the building for a cappuccino business. It was just enough for a down payment. One of the couple’s relatives even wrote a check to help Califano purchase a kiln.

Generosity from the community didn’t stop there.

With only 30 days left to raise the money needed to open the business, Califano

received cash and checks from family and friends. Some knew they would be paid back and others didn’t want repayment.

“People would come up to me and say, ‘Are you Titia?’ and I’d say yes, and then they’d grab me, put money in my hand and start praying with me in the middle of the store,” Califano said.

When she would ask for their names, they often replied, “That’s not important.

You just know that God told us to do this.”

Califano was grateful for all of the help she received, but with every donated dollar came more responsibility.

“It was so scary,” Califano said. “I was in

tears thinking that everything is going to have to come from my hands to provide for this entire family and I had never had that responsibility in my life.”

For two and a half years, Califano, her husband and four children lived in a 350-square-foot room in the back of the shop, trying to get business at the Village Potter to pick up.

Still, the community provided. An elderly couple would often call to check up on Califano and offer to buy toilet paper and other grocery items for the family.

“I bet you’re out of toothpaste too,” the elderly woman said. “And you need some more pimento cheese and moon pies for those kids.”

Neighbors would bring food and offer favors, like letting Califano charge and pay later at Westside Drug store when her children got sick so they could have medicine.

“It was the biggest walk of faith I’ve ever done,” she said. “But I figured if we were being evicted and creditors were calling and we were losing everything anyway, what does it matter? Let’s go for it.”

In 1986, Sir Wigglesworth’s Fudge, the popular fudge shop in downtown Salado, was about to close its doors.

Califano stopped by with the intention of purchasing a glass display case she could use to showcase her pottery at her store.

The owner of the fudge shop, however, had different plans for Califano. She asked her to take over the business.

“I left rolling my eyes at the thought of taking over the fudge business,” she said.

But the owner, Susan Stockton, did not give up. She called her every two weeks to

“THIS

MY HANDS HIT THE CLAY

AND I SAID,

IS IT. ask, “Well, what did you sell today?”

When Califano would tell her she sold less than $50 on any given day, Stockton would ask how she was surviving on that kind of profit.

“The Lord works it out at the end of the

month,” she recalls telling her.

But Califano couldn’t deny that her pottery business could be better. Soon after, she decided to take over Stockton’s fudge business and learned how to make homemade fudge. She sold her building and moved into a new one complete with a pottery room, fudge kitchen and a new name, Mud Pies Pottery.

Califano’s stepdaughter, Amie Dunn, recalls her children’s reactions to their granny throwing pottery.

“When the girls were little it was the first time they had seen her throw pottery,” Dunn said. “Hailey, who was 2 at the time, said, ‘Why you all muddy, granny?’ Ever since then she was muddy granny.”

“People always wanted to know if she made mud pies,” Dunn said with a laugh.

“It was always a running joke and when she got the fudge business the fudge looked like mud pies.”

Before Stockton passed away, Califano asked if she could have the sign from the old Wigglesworth’s business: a big wooden painting adorned with bunnies sitting in a pumpkin patch. Today, the freshly repainted sign sits outside of Mud Pies Pottery and reads “home of Sir Wigglesworth’s Homemade Fudge.”

“In 2003, and for the first three months, I wondered if I was still a potter because everyone was coming in for fudge and not much pottery,” Califano said. “But now it’s different.”

As the business grew, customers entered Mud Pies Pottery understanding they weren’t just getting fudge and pottery, but also a piece of Califano’s ministry hidden within.

Isaiah 64:8 is etched on the bottom of all Califano’s pieces, referencing the verse, “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

Just like trying to center the clay on the pottery wheel, “when your life is centered it just sits there and hums,” Califano said.

“When you have issues and it’s off balance then your life isn’t centered in Christ,” she continued. “You can still kind of throw a vessel, but it’s going to be thick on one side and thin on the other, and it’s not going to be as stable and strong.”

When customers come into her store, Califano sees it as an opportunity to share the Gospel. She asks herself, “How will I be his witness in my Jerusalem—where I

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work every day for the Savior, in my shop.”

Customers often ask if she makes all of her wares.

Califano usually responds, “Not by my strength, not by my might, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

One particular moment Califano remembers is her response to a man, Al Hoeksema, who is also a potter, who

questioned if God actually helped her make all of the fudge.

“This business wouldn’t be here without him,” she recalls telling him. “It’s his business, his money, his clay, everything.”

Hoeksema said he respects the manner in which she uses faith to run her business.

“She focuses on her faith and is more of a spiritual potter,” he said. “She invited me

to throw pottery for her when I needed work.”

Califano’s journey has been a bumpy one, but she recognizes that it was all a part of God’s plan.

“In the same sense of the word, it’s not about me, it’s about him,” she said. “I’m supposed to shine for Christ and for God through every circumstance.”

TITIA CALIFANO DETAILS HER POTTERY-MAKING PROCESS

STEP by STEP STEP ONE The clay is weighed

Using scales, Califano estimates the amount of clay needed to make a particular piece of pottery.

A lid is around 3 pounds and a bottom around 5 pounds.

STEP TWO The pottery is thrown

Califano throws prepared clay on the wheel and applies water and pressure from the top and sides.

She locks and centers the clay on the wheel and makes it smooth with her hands. If the clay is off center, the vessel will not be sturdy.

Using her thumbs, Califano drops the middle. The bottom is then compressed and compacted to make it strong and resistant to cracks. She forms the vessel into the shape of a volcano with a wide bottom.

Making a wall with her hands, a ridge forms and the wall rises in a spiral direction as the wheel spins. A ledge begins to form between her fingers.

The entire throwing process takes about 10 minutes—any longer, and the vessel would flop and lose its shape. When the shape is formed, Califano stops the wheel and undercuts the piece with a wire.

She then transfers it to a “wear board” to dry.

The simpler pieces that don’t have knobs or handles could be placed on the shelf in a week to a week and a half. The more complex pieces can take up to three weeks.

STEP THREE The wait and the potter’s mark

After the pottery is thrown on the wheel, it is placed on a rack and covered with a sheet of plastic until it dries. If it weren’t for the plastic, the pieces would dry too quickly and crack. If it rains, the moisture has a great effect on the pottery, slowing down the overall process.

Each piece of pottery made by Califano is marked with Isaiah 64:8: “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand,” and “the potter’s hand,” a small stamp with a miniature plastic hand protruding at the end.

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STEP FOUR The first firing

After a week of drying, the pottery begins to turn brown. It is placed in the kiln for its first firing, lasting a day and a half. The kiln is controlled by a computer that digitally increases the heat. Before computers existed, Califano had to monitor the kiln every hour to manually change the temperature.

STEP FIVE Wax and glaze

When the pottery is removed from the kiln, its color is now orange and it is ready to be waxed and glazed. The glaze she uses is not like paint. It is a mixture of silica and “colors of the earth that God made,” Califano said. Silica is quartz sand. It is ground into a white powder substance that is used to give glass and ceramics their shine. The combination of cobalt and silica produces a shiny blue glaze on the pottery.

STEP SIX The second firing

After the glaze, the piece is placed back in the kiln for a second firing for one day. This second firing produces the most drastic change in the pottery process. When heated, the different elements used in the glaze produce rich contrasting colors and shine.

STEP SEVEN Selling the finished products

Califano’s most popular pottery pieces are the apple baker and the egg baker. The apple baker is a small pottery piece used to make miniature apple pies. An apple is cored and placed over the ceramic spout in the middle of the dish. The ceramic dish heats up the apple while in the oven or microwave for a quick dessert.

The egg baker is also a small ceramic dish. One to two eggs are dropped in the dish and a lid is placed on top. A hole in the knob of the lid is used to let pressure out as the egg cooks in the microwave. In less than one minute, a poached or scrambled egg is ready to eat.

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