Empty Bowls

Ted Calver

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Location
Yorktown, Virginia
I read that my local Empty Bowls organization was holding a fund raiser in March and out of curiosity checked to see if they accepted wood items. To my surprise, they would love to have wood bowls and so far, I would be the only turner to donate. I'm not a pro and don't sell my stuff--it goes too family, friends and the neighbors, so EB sounded better than gathering dust in my shop. Here are a few photos of my contribution. The first two are for a silent auction of larger pieces. The first is sweetgum 7"h x 17"w
EB-1(Med).jpgEB-2(Med).jpg
This one is spalted holly, about 12"h x 5"w
EB-3 (Large).jpg
Here are the small bowls in maple, cherry, elm, apple and bradford pear:
EB-5(Med).jpgEB-6(Med).jpg
Feeding hungry people seems like a good cause and I hope they do well. Thanks for looking.
 
Wow.....I am happy to see you guys talking about Empty Bowls. Great organization. AAW did an small article on them last year in American Woodturner. Living in the Dallas-Ft Worth-Denton metroplex, there are 3 woodturning clubs and we have a friendly rivalry each year about how many bowls we can donate to our local Empty Bowl charities which benefit food banks and food shelters. I belong to the Golden Triangle Woodturning club in Denton and last year we made/donated over 300 bowl....this year's goal is 350 bowl. I don't have accurate numbers but I believe over 3000 bowls have been donated in the metroplex since woodturning clubs go involved. Our local Empty Bowls organization also enjoys the participation of the ceramicist (potters) community, too. My club actual has a Bowl of the Month club where members sign up to one bowl a month for a year.

If anybody is planning on going to the National AAW Symposium in Tampa this year, they have established their Community Outreach opportunity to be http://www.tampacrossroads.com/ which is their local Empty Bowls organization. If you are going, take a bowl or 3 with you and donate.

Then there is "Beads of Courage"....benefiting children with catastrophic diseases such as cancer.
 
....By the way...you should be selling stuff like that!
Jim,
Strangely enough I just had an offer from a gallery, but a 60/40 split with a liability waiver didn't seem worth the hassle of a business license and potential troubles with my homeowners insurance. I know there are a lot of folks selling their turnings out there way more talented than me, even at the local level. Seems like too much trouble for the occasional sale. Maybe I'm exaggerating the problems. Would be interesting to hear what others do.
 
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