MIDDLESEX TWP - A patent pending on poured plaster proves a Valencia artist positively peerless.

Joe Vivirito worked his way up the ladder in the construction trades after college, but continued an affair on the side with art, his first love.

Vivirito spent hundreds of hours contemplating a unique and aesthetic way to enhance architecture, and remembers the very day he hit upon the idea that is now under consideration in the US Patent Office.

"I thought, people are into stenciling, so why couldn't I put a three-dimensional piece of art on the wall?" said the 1989 Mars High School graduate and Middlesex Township resident.

Vivirito then went to work creating latex molds of a pod of grapes and grape leaves, respectively, into which plaster would be poured. One side of the pod, as well as the leaf, would be flat, thereby suitable for placement on a wall.

Once the solid plaster dried inside the molds, Vivirito popped out the pods and liberated the leaves with the idea of permanently installing them on a wall in an artistically pleasing arrangement.

Vivirito first adorned the powder room at the home of his parents, John and Beverly Vivirito, also of Middlesex. When other family members and guests raved over the three-dimensional decoration, he promptly outfitted the walls of his sister's kitchen with grapes, leaves and grapevine.

"She entertains a lot, and the people that came to her house always loved it," said the unassuming artisan.

Vivirito realized that such 3-D art was non-existent, so he quit his construction job and spent a frantic two weeks preparing dozens of grape sets to display at a home and garden show in Pittsburgh.

"It got a great response," Vivirito recalled. "People had never seen anything like it. I have a cousin in Los Angeles who is a successful artist, and he had never seen plaster art like this."

Through word of mouth, Vivirito began going to people's homes to help design the grapevines' placement in a room, then returning to install it. The process is not cheap, as the grapevine designs are 8 feet long, at $110 a linear foot. Vivirito has applied for a patent on the solid-plaster art.

Vivirito's product accidentally found its way into a national kitchen and bath magazine when a Wexford home in which he had worked was featured. Soon his name got out, and Vivirito found himself travelling to Texas, California and New York to design, create and install the 3-D fruit.

"It gave me the idea that even people in other states had never seen this," said Vivirito.

Hoping to tap into the do-it-yourself craze, Vivirito decided to create a kit containing grapes, several sizes of leaves, flexible wire for the vines, wall adhesive and explicit written instructions and a video on how to install the artwork.

"I designed the kit so I could approach home improvement stores and (home) shopping networks," said Vivirito.

Then came a nationwide search that threw the entire Vivirito family into overdrive and will hopefully transform Joe into an artist and business owner.

Vivirito heard that QVC, the cable shopping channel based in West Chester, Pa., planned to visit 10 U.S. cities to search out unique local products. One stop in the "Decades of Discovery Tour" was Arlington, Va., so Vivirito packed up a kit and prepared a 4-foot-square display board and set off.

Vivirito waited in line with the somewhat unwieldy objects d'art until QVC representatives were ready to see him. Once he got to the head of the line, Vivirito quickly discovered that the QVC people had also not seen such a wall decoration."They kept calling each other over and saying 'Come see this. I've never seen anything like it.'"Vivirito received a call from QVC a few weeks later informing him that he is indeed among the lucky 100 entrepreneurs - out of the 3,000 products perused in the 10-week tour - whose product would be sold on QVC. The shopping channel is currently showcasing products discovered during the tour each Friday from 2 to 4 p.m.Vivirito was further elated to find out he will be one of the 10 lucky entrepreneurs who will be featured in a 10-minute segment during each Friday show.Vivirito will travel to San Francisco next month to appear live with his art on QVC on the 2 to 4 p.m. "Decade of Discoveries" segment Sept. 9.Vivirito had to meet rigorous quality, packaging, labeling, shipping and content standards for his product to be approved by QVC. He said the quality control department performed a UPS test on his kit, which involves an 11-point drop test and a 45-minute vibration test.QVC then told him exactly how to package and buffer the 49 breakable solid plaster pieces in his kit, which he then sent back to QVC for approval. If he did not meet the standards, he would be issued a $500 fine. The same went for uniform labeling and bar code placement, box shape and size, and all other areas of his product.Vivirito was also subjected to complex and exacting paperwork to get his product on the show, which reaches more than 87 million homes in the United States."Hey, they are the big guys, so it's OK," said Vivirito.While Vivirito expended considerable time and energy on meeting the strict standards imposed by QVC, he and his family also went to work frenetically cranking out plaster pieces to meet the 475-kit order placed by QVC.Vivirito's parents, sister, wife, brothers and even his two toddlers pitched in to mass-produce the materials for the kit in his small Cooperstown studio.He stored the boxes and packing foam in a warehouse in Callery provided by his brother-in-law, then packed the kits there, where white dust did not cover every surface. The family worked together day and night to produce the 24,000 pieces for the kits ordered by QVC."I couldn't have done it without the help of my family," said Vivirito. "Lots of nights, we were here until 2 or 3 a.m."Vivirito then set about the task of shipping the 2-by-2 foot boxes."The QVC warehouses in North Carolina have to be filled before I can go on TV," said Vivirito, rubbing his forehead. "I shipped 11 pallets on Monday, and I was driving the fork truck, which I don't usually do. The first truck wasn't big enough, so we had to get another one. We filled up a tractor-trailer, and we just barely got the doors shut."To say Vivirito was relieved to finally be shipping the parcels is an understatement."I broke the bottle of champagne on the truck's bumper as it was leaving," said Vivirito with a laugh.QVC told Vivirito they plan to sell all 475 kits in the third or fourth minute of his segment. Each kit will sell for $79.99 plus shipping and handling. Vivirito's share of the profit will be held by QVC in case of returns.Vivirito has no idea what could happen after the grapevines debut on QVC, and he is still wrestling with expansion possibilities should his business explode. He plans to branch out into ivy and rose vine kits as well.Until then, Vivirito will return to earning a living in historic renovation, in which he replicates moldings, pillars, ornate panels and the like by making a molding and pouring a plaster cast or freehand creation in plaster."Who knows what the future holds," said Vivirito. "After Sept. 9, I may have to find a bigger place, and quick. But if not, that's OK too."