The first time that do-it-yourself crafter Kara Walker applied to join NBC’s Making It was a few years ago, as she hoped to compete on season 2 of the popular TV series (which aired in 2019). But after a few preliminary Skype interviews, Walker was turned down.
“I was devastated. This was made for me, how could they not pick me?” said Walker, a self-employed artist and interior designer. “I applied again for season 3, and I told them, ‘You might as well just put me on because I’m not going to stop applying.’”
Her efforts were not in vain. In October 2020, Walker got the official confirmation she had been accepted into season 3’s lineup of crafters, but with short notice, she explained.
“I didn’t know I was going to be on the show until two days before I had to go down to LA,” the Orcutt resident said.
After getting to her hotel, Walker—like her fellow contestants—was quarantined for a week before filming, due to COVID-19 safety protocols. Filming lasted about five weeks, during which Walker enjoyed bonding with her crafting peers, as well as connecting with co-hosts Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman.
“They’re not even acting, that’s just them,” Walker said of the duo. “Amy is definitely like the mom type you just want to tell all your secrets and where you bury the bodies. And then, Nick, he’s more, you know, the strong, silent type.
“I always like when he [Offerman] comes up with these criticisms, and I would find a way to flip it right back at him,” Walker added, before dishing out an example.
“Nick made a comment that I use foam a lot. He said, ‘Can you do anything other than foam?’ and I said ‘Why don’t you keep me around to find out,’” Walker said, laughing.
Foam is in fact Walker’s favorite medium to craft with, especially while creating her lavish Halloween props she’s become locally known for. Tim Burton-esque arches, spiraled trees, and other handcrafted creations await trick-or-treaters who frequent her home in Orcutt each year. The tradition started during the fall of 2018, after Walker became inspired to try making some Halloween-themed molds after browsing on Pinterest.
“I saw some spooky trees, and I’m like, ‘Oh that’s cool, I want to try that,’” said Walker, who gave it a whirl and hasn’t stopped crafting since.
That Halloween marked Walker’s first foam sculpting endeavor, but her first artistic passion was oil painting, which she became interested in as a teenager.
“I discovered I could paint when I was 16, and it was at that point that I started getting creative,” said Walker, who discussed her intro to painting during her interviews while applying to join season 3, which currently airs Thursday nights on NBC at 8 p.m. (the next episode, the sixth of the season, airs on Aug. 12).
Bringing up aspects of her young adulthood and childhood made this round of the interview process feel a lot more personal than Walker’s previous experience applying for the show, she explained.
“I just started bawling, like ugly crying—and they loved it,” the 40-year-old artist said. “They’re like, ‘This is what we want. Everyone says they like art, they like to make stuff, but we want to know why.’”
During these interviews, Walker brought up the multiple surgeries she had gone through as a child. Diagnosed with Goldenhar syndrome, Walker was born without an eardrum in one ear, and is half deaf in the other ear.
Following her first appearances on Making It, Walker said she has been receiving some heartwarming feedback from viewers who also have Goldenhar syndrome.
“I’ve had so many people contacting me—at least five—saying that they have the syndrome that I have, and how encouraging it was for them to see someone with the same disability on TV being presented in a positive manner,” Walker said.
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is rooting for Kara. Send comments to [email protected].
