The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH ceramic is the traditional medium, there are a myriad of materials like paper, cloth and wire that can also be used to create some of intricate, artistic, handmade bowls.

Inspiring people to think outside of the box and to use whatever materials are at their disposal is what members of the charity organisation Empty Bowls hope to do with their art exhibition, entitled “It’s All About Bowls”, which opens this December.

Already Joann Behagg, a recognised ceramicist, sculptor and lecturer, and founder of Empty Bowls, says her imagination is running wild with ideas of what she believes people, whether veteran artists and beginners, will create.

She said anyone can make a bowl and is encouraging the participation of the general public in this exhibition.

An invitation is being extended to various schools across the island, including primary, junior and senior high schools, as well as amateur and professional artists.

“We are trying to make people aware of the different materials used to make bowls. One of the problems that I have noticed over the years is that some schools do not participate, especially if they do not have clay. What I would like to do is make people more aware that bowls can be made out of any media possible. You can use paper – paper mache or paper pulp. If you look at the pi�ata that comes from Mexico, they are actually paper pulp. And a lot of things that come from Third World countries, they use a lot of raw material. Wire is another one that can be used because it is very light-weight and easier to bend with the fingers. I just want to encourage teachers on what their students can use,” Ms Behagg told Tribune Arts and Entertainment.

Ms Behagg said she is excited to see what participants are able to come up with when the show opens in December. She said people who have never made a bowl in their lives, can try their hand at doing so and enter the show, which is divided into categories.

“Over the past seven years I have called schools and asked them if they would participate and the first response I have gotten is that we do not have clay, what else can we use. And when I hear that I am little bit puzzled. There are a lot of talented artists and there are a lot of gifted students, and I want them to come up with their own ideas for the show,” she said.

“The bowls do not have to be functioning bowls. People think a bowl has to be able to hold soup, but it does not. There are a couple of bowls that have been made for the Cancer Society and they in no way shape or form can hold liquid. People can use anything they wish to make the bowls.”

Currently, Ms Behagg said they are trying to find a venue for the exhibition to be held.

The Empty Bowls charity was founded in the United States by Mr and Mrs John Horton. The idea was to raise funds to feed the hungry by selling bowls of soup.

Ms Behagg introduced the concept of Empty Bowls to the Bahamas in 2009. The group’s volunteers spend months making ceramic bowls in which soup will be sold at the charity event. Additionally, local artisans are invited to exhibit their work and participate in a silent auction and students can work the event to receive credited hours for their school community service requirements.

Bowls for the charity that will take place on February 22, 2015 at Queen’s College are already being made.

To date, many local charities have benefited, including: The Salvation Army Corps (New Providence and Grand Bahama); Great Commission Ministries International, which provides food, clothing, shelter and after-school programmes); Eljhay’s Hilltop Cottage Ministries, which offers feeding programmes for children and the elderly in the Kemp Road and surrounding areas, and the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church Habitat for Humanity.