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When Jeremy Brennan was nearing the end of his illness, he and his wife, musician Rosi Golan, had less than five hours to make something together before a flight from Los Angeles to Australia. With ceramic artist Patrick Johnston, they shaped a vase by hugging it. After Brennan’s death, Golan said the finished piece became both a beautiful reminder and a difficult place to mourn.
How Rosi Golan and Jeremy Brennan made the vase
Golan and Brennan met in 2004 while both worked at a New York City bar. They began dating months later, married on August 27, 2014, settled in Los Angeles and fostered a child, according to a People feature published March 13, 2025 and republished by Yahoo and AOL.
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On December 23, 2023, Brennan went to an emergency room after back spasms. Scans found growths on his liver and spine. The feature says he was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma on January 2, 2024. When doctors later reportedly told the couple he might have only weeks, Golan contacted Johnston, a ceramicist she had met through pottery classes, and asked whether they could still make a vase together.
Johnston agreed. On the day Brennan left the hospital, he brought an unfinished vase to Golan’s home. The couple had less than five hours before their flight. They embraced the vessel while Golan’s mother filmed, turning a shared physical gesture into the form of a ceramic object.
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What the embrace means in Johnston’s practice
Johnston’s work is known as Pot Hugging. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, he said hugs can make people feel “safe, heard, seen, and happy,” while the pot serves as “the vessel in the middle of their unique embrace.” His official biography identifies him as a ceramic designer with a degree from Rhode Island School of Design and an artist-in-residence role at Temple of Mediclaytion.
That explanation describes the process, but it does not define what the vase means to Golan. Its significance comes from this couple’s particular moment: a hospital discharge, an imminent flight and an embrace made while Brennan was seriously ill.
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The timeline reported in the feature
| Date or period | Reported event |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Golan and Brennan meet while working at a New York City bar. |
| August 27, 2014 | They marry. |
| December 23, 2023 | Brennan visits an emergency room after back spasms; scans reveal growths on his liver and spine. |
| January 2, 2024 | The feature reports his cholangiocarcinoma diagnosis. |
| Later in 2024 | After doctors reportedly give him only weeks, Golan asks Johnston to help make the vase. The couple complete the embrace shortly before a flight to Australia. |
| August 24, 2024 | Brennan dies at age 44, according to the feature. |
| March 13, 2025 | People publishes the feature later republished by Yahoo and AOL. |
Why the finished vase is painful and beautiful
After Brennan died, Golan retrieved the vase and shared a video of it alongside footage of the couple making it. She said she intends to display it and keep fresh flowers in it.
Golan has not described the object as an uncomplicated comfort. “And in a way, it’s a heavy reminder, but also a beautiful one,” she told People. Because Brennan was cremated, she said, the vase became her place of mourning. The same object holds the memory of his final embrace and the fact of his absence.
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She also explained why she chose to make it despite the time pressure: “Even though it felt like there was no time, I knew it would be something I could forever be grateful for.” Her account presents the vase as personal evidence of a last shared act, not as a universal answer to grief.
What Golan wants people to take from their experience
Golan’s advice is about making room for connection before a crisis removes that opportunity. “I want people to do things like this when others are at their best — make art, create memories, spend time together and say the hard things while you’re healthy and good,” she said.
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- COMPACT TABLETOP SIZE – Measures 5.12 x 7.28 x 5.12 inches, making it suitable for bookshelves, desks, side tables, console tables, and small display areas.
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That message is grounded in her own experience with Brennan. The story does not establish that making a particular kind of artwork produces a general medical or psychological benefit; it shows what one collaborative object came to mean after a husband’s death.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How this vase differs from Johnston’s other work
Johnston’s official catalogue currently lists other hugged-pottery pieces, including a Big Brown Hugged Vase and a Hugged Table Vase, as well as a Hugged Pot Experience and related options. Those listings are separate from the custom vessel made with Golan and Brennan.
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- The couple’s vase: a one-time collaborative keepsake shaped during Brennan’s final illness.
- Other listed pieces: Johnston’s separate finished works, with availability and prices determined by his current catalogue.
- Participatory experience: a booking option in which participants make a hugged pot; it is not the same object as the couple’s personal vase.
Readers searching for similar objects may encounter the phrase “handmade ceramic hug vase.” That category can describe related work, but it should not be taken to mean that a retail piece reproduces the couple’s story or their custom collaboration.
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