Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Empty Bowls

Just over three years ago Hurricane Katrina hit and organizations all over the world contributed their time and money to help. UNC's Clay Club did their own part and started the first annual throw-a-thon. Professional and student potters from the whole Greeley community joined together one weekend to throw as many pots as we could. After finishing them over the next week or two we held a sale in the University Center and donated all proceeds to the hurricane relief fund. It was the most successful throw-a-thon yet. There was an immediate need for help and both potters and consumers alike realized this - we had a lot of help making and a lot of people buying pots. The following two years there were no catastrophes, yet we wanted to make the throw-a-thon an annual event. Of course when there was no immediate need for help there was less excitement and involvement. We donated to Habitat for Humanity the 2nd year, and to ourselves this year (to help six students go to NCECA).

I was informed of the Empty Bowls project when I went to my first NCECA in Louisville, KY, and I was just reminded of it reading through Emily Murphy's blog. I think it'd be a fun way to get more involvement with the community in the next throw-a-thon event. We could throw all the bowls in one weekend, give them to other students in the community to decorate, and instead of selling the bowls themselves, we'd host a dinner. Honestly, would the general community be more interested in feeding the hungry, or helping six students go on vacation?

2 comments:

Cynthia said...

Hey Erin,

First off, congratulations on graduating! I heard UNC has a great ceramic department. Beautiful work and I'm sure you are going to go far with your career.

Next, in regards to ocarinas. My kid's class made whistles but there is only one hole. It was a challenge to get them to whistle properly. I'm teaching a week long class at the Art Student's League of Denver concentrating on clay pieces that make noise to 1st and 2nd graders that is going to be a challenge. I'm going to pick up a book on whistles and make some more myself. Rattles are pretty cool - I wish there was a way to record the different sounds they make.

In regards to website hosting, I've decided to switch my whole website to my blog platform on wordpress. It's self hosted, but takes some time learning the software.

I LOVE flickr for photos!

Erin said...

Hey Cynthia,

Thanks for all your comments (long responses are always welcome!). UNC has a pretty good ceramic department, and I think it will only get better over time.

Thank you for your input on the whistles! I actually have a clay ocarina that works wonderfully (though I didn't make it), and instructions in a Pottery Making Illustrated on how to make them, so I think I'll give it a shot. Rattles sound like a great idea too. Maybe we could have a whole musical week!

Annie Chrietzberg suggested otherpeoplespixels.com as a website service for artists, so I think I'll try their free trial for a couple weeks.

I've heard good things about flickr, too. That will going on my to-do list next week!

 
Ceramics Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory