Who needs a real job anyway?

What have I been up to? As always when I'm tight on money, life gets in the way of my passion. Looking for a job is a full-time job in itself, then add to that looking for roommates... In this economy. In this city. Life is tough at the moment, though I'm trying to stay optimistic. This month will be one of our worst yet financially, but I think it'll get easier come March. Anyway, I've started mystery shopping as a part time job. It's an odd job, but a friend suggested it, so I'm trying it out. No interviewing necessary... makes it easy to get started.

Oh, I'm sorry, this is a ceramics blog isn't it? Alright, back to that... in between all the job-hunting I've found a few hours this week to make pots. One thing I'm excited for are my berry bowls - medium-small bowls with holes to rinse off berries in, with small plates to sit underneath, so you can rinse your berries and eat them too, all in one attractive dish. Lovely!

Today I helped my friends back at UNC with their annual "throw-a-thon" ... We started it a few years ago in response to Hurricane Katrina. We invited students & local potters to join us in making pots for a weekend, then held a sale at the University & donated all the proceeds to benefit the hurricane victims. We decided to make it an annual event and donate to a different charity each year. This is the second year that the proceeds will be going back to the ceramics students to help them go to the NCECA conference. It was like a reunion with everyone in the ol' UNC ceramics studio, it was great!

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?