Table of Elements 2010

This weekend, The Manchester Craftsmen's Guild will be hosting a fundraiser featuring ceramic art by local and national artists (and some two dimensional works, as well).

I'll be donating a 20-piece bicycle-themed dinnerware set (5 pieces for 4 settings). I didn't actually get a chance to properly photograph the pieces, but you can see the ones I didn't choose on my Flickr page. Rest assured, the actual pieces in the set are similar, but tacitly superior. If you happen to be interested in something on my Flickr page, just drop me an email and I'll let you know if it's available.

Click here for more information on Table of Elements 2010.

Empty Bowls Decal Workshop

This afternoon I led a ceramic decal workshop at the Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh. Organized by Mary Martin, I was one of four visiting ceramic artists working to help community members produce functional pieces for Pittsburgh's annual Empty Bowls dinner.

       

I created about 24 sheets of decals using Adobe Photoshop and images found online. Participants in the workshop, who ranged from grade school to senior citizens, applied them to pre-made pottery. I encouraged them to be creative with the decals, and I was truly impressed at the level of ingenuity they displayed.

If you would like to know more about ceramic decals, visit Justin Rothshank's website.

Empty Bowls

Yesterday was MLK Day, so I had the day off from work. I went in anyway to volunteer at our company's annual celebration, which included hosting an Empty Bowls workshop. The idea behind Empty Bowls is that pottery studios and volunteers create handmade ceramic bowls for charity. The bowls are collected and then a dinner is hosted where people pay $20 for a meal of soup and bread—and they get to keep the bowl they choose. Some bowls are made by school children (like the Girl Scout troop that came in today) or by master potters like many of the people I work with. Some of the fanciest bowls made by celebrity artists are bid on in a silent auction.

The money raised goes to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Just Harvest. One of the best reasons to contribute to Empty Bowls is because it helps provide free school lunches for children from low income families. It also helps provide many of these students with free breakfast, so they are better prepared to deal with the day's challenges.