I got a call from Drew Perine asking if I’d like to be part of his photo-essay on Work Clothes for the Tacoma News-Tribune. It would also appear in the Olympian. Both are McClatchy papers. Well, duh. The Trib has a 78K+ circulation and the Daily O has 33K+ circulation! What did he want? Well, to interview me as I got into character and see me in action.
I conscripted a few confederates and arranged to deliver pies to their willing faces at the Tacoma Museum of Glass on Tuesday the 5th of August. [Thanks to the speedy opportunism of Hillary Ryan, the head of their PR dept, seeing my Facebook post.]
Hillary and her two children were among the five confederates to accept pies in honor of National Clown Week. I also brought artist Bil Fleming and patron of the arts, Erin Oly, with me from Olympia. Erin had supported my Quest for the 100th pie in the face and wore her limited edition hand screened commemorative T-shirt for the occasion. She was honored to be the 1101st pied face on that day.
I chose to do the pie-ings on the Chihuly bridge of glass outside the museum to allow for public interactivity and appreciation. Sure enough, as we were basically blocking traffic, I was able to convince a random traveler to accept a pie. Breezy was a good sport. When offered a complimentary pie-in-the-face her two companions declined, but she said, “Sure.”
“Clown clothes” make Justin B. Wright’s occupation instantly recognizable but attitude and gesture are what make his performances memorable. The 45-year-old’s signature gag is a pie in the face. He’s delivered over a thousand whipped cream salutations, “from Washington to Washington, D.C.,” including a series at Tacoma’s Museum of Glass recently. “I only do willing faces. It’s not meant as an assault or insult … people enjoy the tactile feeling of it, the surprise … ”
http://www.thenewstribune.com/static/pages/work-clothes/#clown
Jusby the Clown – Safe, Unique & Affordable 