Is Your Bowl Empty or Full?

Throughout the year, many of you probably get so many requests: to donate an item for a gift basket, an auction, a charity event or Fundraiser. Of course, we are not in business to give away everything we make, but often, a cause will speak to our hearts and we feel impelled to give.

There is a nationwide organization Empty Bowls through which potters across the country make bowls and then sell them at events to raise money for the hungry in their communities. Sometimes the bowls come with soup (for a $10 or $15 donation). Sometimes they are sold through Silent Auction. Some events have performances and music; others are quieter affairs.

When you are an artisan and do much of your work isolated in your studio, it’s so easy to get tunnel vision. But if we have a gift and a passion and can afford to do so, I believe there is nothing as rewarding as giving back to the community that sustains you.

I’ve been a part of Empty Bowls in Warwick, NY for the last several years, and when the date for this year’s event was announced, I was already feeling on overload from having committed to so many other things, and trying to keep up with stocking the stores I am in, getting ready for shows, updating my Etsy site….writing blogs…you know, the familiar gamut.

Yet there was no question in my mind that I had to make time to start making bowls because the effect of “giving” in my experience has always been life giving. It sustains me, it cleanses my soul, it makes me happy. So if there is an organization that speaks to you and makes your heart leap a little, I encourage you to make the time to get involved. I promise you that the energy you will get will be immeasurably more than you expend and will spark your creative juices in new ways.

Roberta - RG Clay Creations