On Saturday, April 2, Empty Bowls hosted a modest bowl sale in the center court of the Mountaineer Mall. In the absence of our annual Soup & Bread Luncheon, we still wanted a way to connect with our community.
With the help of Shoji Satake, Boomer Moore, Kristina Olson, and Keith Jackson of the College of Creative Arts at WVU hand-thrown pottery bowls were created, glazed, and fired. Showing off the creativity of the students, these gorgeous bowls in muted natural colors of blue, green, and brown were offered for sale along with the brightly painted ceramic bowls done by artists in conjunction with the Wow Factory.
The participating artists were Heather Lapp, Stacy Larson, Ray Brown, Crystal Xiong, Shuhan Liu, Brian Morganlander, Taylor Ullman, Emma Posey, Kat Davedan, Esperanza Arbaca, Kathleen Greundler, and Kristyn Rorher. Every artist put their own 'spin' on the bowls and while some were similar, each one was different and highlighted the creativity of the artist.
Because there were several events at the mall that day, the response to the sale was excellent. A total of approximately 325 bowls and ceramic plates were sold to many happy customers. Several customers who said they didn't need a bowl instead gave generous donations. Board Members were on hand to help people complete their purchases and talk one-on-one about the goals and mission of Empty Bowls.
The sale was spearheaded by Bowl Procurement Chairperson Bernie Schultz, with assistance from Lisa Giuliani of Lockhouse Studio as well as EBM Board Members. Without the assistance of Dave Buchanan of the WVU Craft Center; Dina Mutillo, Jo Watson, and Monica Edwards of The Wow! Factory; the Osher Lifelong Learning Center at WVU (OLLI); and the generosity of the Mountaineer Mall we would never have been able to hold this event. We thank them for their help!
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