Project Empty Bowls

Silent Auction season is among us and I've been sifting through my emails to decide which causes I want to support.  Every year I usually pick a handful of fundraisers, hopefully spreading out the time-frame so they aren't all in the same month.  As much as these events can be a 'business' exposure thing, I would way rather think of them as just doing my part the best I know how.  Hopefully whoever goes home with a piece that I've created will be reminded to give and give generously to the needs of others both locally and globally. 

I first heard about Project Empty Bowls back in my art school days when all us ceramic students got together once a year to throw and glaze a bunch of bowls to donate to this fundraiser.  Within the last few years I've once again had the opportunity to be involved.  A Loving Spoonful provides free meals for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Greater Vancouver area.  The fundraiser is an annual event that potters in BC have been involved with since it started. A really simple concept of Soup and a handmade bowl in exchange for a donation was started by a high school art teacher who had his students make bowls for the event. Since then many of the potters I know have generously donated their hand-made bowls year after year.