Empty Bowls

I have the honor of participating in a fund raiser for an organization called "Empty Bowls."

Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to raise both money and awareness in the fight against hunger. The project was initiated by a Michigan art teacher during the 1990-91 school year as a way to raise charitable funds for his community. His idea has expanded across the US and to at least a dozen other countries.

The basic idea of Empty Bowls is simple. Local potters create and donate handcrafted bowls. Guests purchase tickets to a simple meal of soup and bread. Each guest selects a handcrafted bowl to keep as a reminder of the empty bowls this event will help to fill. One hundred percent of each meal’s proceeds is donated to local hunger-fighting organizations.

My clay instructor at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Beth, is in charge of the local effort this year for Empty Bowls. She asked us to donate bowls for the event. As they did not have to be a vessel to hold food, I chose to crochet one and put a little bear holding his empty bowl inside.

Thought you might like to see how Edward came about and the bowl he will be sitting in hoping someone will pick him!!

He began as a lump of polymer clay. At this point, I had added glass teddy bear eyes.

Then he got a nose and some pawpads - more polymer clay.

Then I added dark accents to ears and mussle and pawpads with mica powder, and made his little empty bowl - also polymer clay.

I crocheted the bowl out of hemp and added turquoise colored beads.

And here he is! I delivered him to Beth yesterday and she was pleased! She may even use him in an auction instead of just being one of the give away bowls. 

One of the nicest things in the world is to be able to create something that can be used to help others!! I hope we are able to fill lots of empty bowls!!