The Empty Bowl-Artists Making a Difference

One of the many big events that was impacted by our recent record snow fall was the Empty Bowl Fundraiser. This is a highly anticipated event in the Fredericksburg area because of the impact that it makes on a very fragile community and because of the incredible bowls that are made and donated by many local pottery crafts people!!! Above you see a small sampling of the hundreds of bowls that await the attendees as they file in to fill their bowls with wonderful steaming soups and stews also donated by local restraunts and chefs. It truely is a delightful event that is put on to support the Rappahanock Council on Domestic Violence (RCDV)

This event was the brain child of several Liberty Town artists and several of the Administrators of the Council, as a way to get the community involved in lifting up those in need, by using the amazing powers of beautiful art work and wonderful warm food. The Council uses the funding to support many local families to re-establish functional and happy lives and break the cycle of violence. Many families of women and children have been given new homes and a huge safety net because of the efforts of our local arts community to give of their time and talents.

Because of the storm , many were not able to turn in their tickets this year and therefore did not get to choose their bowl. This past Saturday, all of the remaining bowls were laid out on a huge table at Liberty Town, for any who wished to come by and redeem their tickets and choose a bowl. What anincredible sight that was!!! It was very, very difficult to pick a favorite and it helped knowing that we will have a chance to participate in this wonderful event again next year!! (Of course, if we all could not wait for more glorious works of pottery, everyone is encouraged to go and visit the numerous sites in town where the pottery can be purchased directly from the artists!!!) Just to give you an idea of how selfless and generous our local potters are, I know of one artist who threw 100 bowls to serve as her donation to this event!!!!

Yet again, Art makes a huge difference!!!!!

After a good twenty minutes of deliberation, I went home with the cobalt and red bowl two rows from the back, that you see in the picture above!