Wake Up and Smell the Roses was one of the few automata that came to me fully formed. At the time, my studio was located in a building that had formerly been a casket factory, now re-named Casket Arts. Artists were planning an event called “Open Casket” and immediately I knew what I wanted to make. Wake up and Smell the Roses humorously reminds up to take time to smell the roses while we still can. It also doubles as a cremation urn for when the time comes that we can no longer smell the roses.