Empty Bowls in Berkeley Springs!

Not for long!  Thanks to a group of mission-minded youths, visual artist Lynn Lavin, and a generous donation from the Seely Foundation in collaboration with the Morgan Arts Council, First UMC, and the WV Commission on the Arts!  "Empty" bowls will soon be "filled" with not only soup for the hungry but seasoned with a little thanksgiving and a lot of  hope on the top!

While a substitute teacher in Morgan County, I came across a number of students locally that need our help.  Did you know that several kids actually go home without a meal until they return to school the next day -- even over the weekend!!!  MAC's Ice House School of the Arts offers a class in hand built pottery where students will create bowls to be a part of Starting Points "Empty Bowls" project, a fundraiser which helps to feed our community -- and your neighbors! 
(See http://www.emptybowls.com/ for more information.)

Recently, I joined the Arts Council part time as the Art School Coordinator.  My busy "mom schedule" finds me all over town, including the soccer field.  It was here when soccer coach and Family Ministry Coordinator, Jenny Ellis, asked if Dan and I would be a part of her team to plan events that bring families together.  Nothing brings a family together more than dinner time over a hot meal, right?  So, from soccer balls to "Empty Bowls," students taking Hand Built Pottery this semester are learning the skills and craft of pottery creation while generating awareness of hunger issues both locally and worldwide as Ms. Ellis' includes "Empty Bowls" as part of a larger program to raise awareness across the globe!

As Thanksgiving season approaches, "Empty Bowls" will conclude with a final event scheduled in Berkeley Springs on November 18th.  We have asked the congregation at First UMC to "bless the bowls" prior to the event.  Pictured here is artist Lynn Lavin (of http://www.icehouseartistsco-op.com/lavin.htm) student Abby Wood:

With clay under finger nails and smiles on faces, students of "Empty Bowls" hope to warm the hearts -- and bellies -- of a fellow child in need.  Serving over 160 children in the rural community of Berkeley Springs, the Youth Art After School program continues to provide classes in visual arts, art and technology, performing, and dance.  Okay, so here's my plug:  Help send a kid to an art class!  Or, stop by and learn pottery - YOU can make a difference and make bowls too!  Sponsors for students as well as entire programs are needed! 

It's "art with a mission!" Here is my little girl Violet learning to make pinch pots, early instruction leading to bowls!   For more information, leave me a comment or call me at the Morgan Arts Council at 304-258-2300!

"For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'
Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? And the King will tell them, 'I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" --Matthew 25:31-40 NLT