That's Clever!

I'll be on tv this month (Feb. 16th at 1:00 on HGTV) demonstrating how to make the clock on the right. This program was taped in April 2006, so it seems like old news to me. I think the best part is that I've gained a lot of perspective since then, so the story now seems less traumatic than last year.

Applying to be on That's Clever seemed like a great idea at the time. I figured it would be some work; however, I'd taught classes before, and I knew how to make clear instructions. Also, the segments are pretty short (5-6 minutes), so how difficult could this be? With that logic in mind, I applied to do two segments, a main one and the short one they show at the end of the program.

My first contact was with a pre-program taping gal who wanted me to basically change the whole design of the project I sent in. I had made a clock with an orange-burgundy-ochre color scheme using daisies. Mostly it was an assemblage project, putting the different pieces together. She thought that was too simple, so she wanted me to dry my own flowers, perhaps something from my garden. (We have deer. Enough said.) She also wanted me to change the text (punched out into diamond shapes) from a dictionary page to my own poetry. (When did I become a poet!?)

Because it was February in Oregon, I had to figure out what kind of flowers I could 1. find to make a "hero" clock (the clock that is done and ready to go so there is  something to show at the end in case the in-progress clock is very messed up) and  2. would also be available whenever they showed up to do the taping. I decided on hydrangea flowers, which completely changed the color scheme of the project. I had to get a device to dry the flowers (a Microfleur) and figure out how to dry hydrangea. Taping a segment had started to turn into a full-time occupation.

My next contact was with a gal who would actually be coming to the house to tape. In our first phone call, she directed me to create "step out" samples for each step of the clock making. I'm sure she'd had plenty of experience with crafters who really didn't estimate well, so even when I told her the paint would dry in 5-10 minutes, she insisted I have a sample with dried paint. That means I had 5 clocks in various stages of completion. Now the project was getting labor-intensive and a little costly.

Two days before the taping, the step-out gal and the producer visited our house to scout the location. I'm sure this was also to confirm I was a real person and wasn't going to beg off at the last minute. The step-out gal had me show her all of my in-progress clocks and explain the steps. The producer wandered around our house while I was trying to communicate the steps. He wanted to know why the gumball machine wouldn't work for him.

The next day the producer and step-out gal arrived with a camera guy and a sound guy. They took over our kitchen with lighting and rearranged most of the furniture in our kitchen and dining room. It was a super-intense day (from 3-9pm) filled with a little drama and a whole lot of smiling. I didn't realize that each clip needs a few seconds before and after a shot for the editors to "grab" when splicing tape. I ran on adrenaline for at least three hours and collapsed when they left.

My last contact was with the web gal who posts directions for the show. She had seen the tape and was asking me about directions that didn't make sense with the clip. Since it had been almost a year, I told her to make whatever changes she thought were necessary. My fingers are crossed! I decided to quit being a chicken and tell people the show will be on Feb 16th at 1:00 on HGTV. I hope I don't regret it!