September 16, 2023 • 24 mins
Artisans in and around Attleboro are teaming up for a great cause: to fight food insecurity in their neighborhood. They're doing it using clay, glaze, a kiln, and a really good bowl of soup! Members of Empty Bowls Attleboro work throughout the year to create unique, stunning soup bowls to help generate income for local non-profits helping to feed those who are hungry. Sarah Mott and David Laferrier join Nichole this week to talk about their mission and their upcoming event.
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(00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston.This is New England Weekend, where each
week we come together talk about allthe topics important to you and the place
where you live. Great to beback with you again this week. As
always, I'm Nicole Davis. Well. Recently, I was in the newsroom
and I was doing some work andI came across a program in southeastern mass
called Empty Bulls. This is aprogram that focuses on alleviating food insecurity in
(00:31):
that part of the state. Andif you're a longtime listener of the show,
you know that we talk a lotabout food and security here on the
show and efforts to try to tacklethis massive problem that seems to be only
getting worse all over the state.What I love about this program after doing
a bit more research, is thatit not only focuses on neighbors helping neighbors,
no questions asked, but it alsohelps local artisans get their work out
(00:55):
to people who are going to takeit home and treasure it for years and
years to come. Let's talk aboutit with a couple of founding members of
Empty Bulls in Addleborough, Sarah MottDavid la Farrier. So great to have
you both on the show, Sarah, I'm going to start with you because
from what I've heard, this isnot just a hyperlocal program in Addleborough.
This is actually a nationwide, ifnot international program. So tell us more
(01:19):
about the water ranging impact of emptybowls. Empty Bowls is an international program
that was started, i believe inMichigan probably in the late eighties by two
school teachers and they came up withthis idea that they wanted their art students
to have some way to connect withthe idea of giving back to the community.
(01:42):
So they it's brilliantly simple and it'sbeautiful. They got the ceramics students
to make bowls, and they gotthe local restaurants to get together and donate
a meal of soup because you know, everybody associates soup kitchens with you know,
having to help people who are foodand secure. And then they put
(02:05):
on an evening. And what theydid was they advertise the evening as a
community meal, and if you wantedto attend, you paid, say a
nominal fee of twenty five dollars.The twenty five dollars bought you a chance
to pick out any bowl on thetable and you would keep that ball as
a reminder of all of the unfilledbowls that exists not only in our local
(02:29):
community but around the world. Andthen you would take your bowl, you
know, during this event, andthe local restaurants would have these wonderful soups
and you'd fill your bowl with soupand you'd sit down, your friends and
neighbors, your family would be there. So it was a total coming together.
And so it was a way forthis organization to grassroots start to build
(02:50):
an awareness in their students, buildan awareness in the community. And all
of the money they collect, thisis a mandate of any empty bowls,
all of the money has to godirectly to food and fighting food insecurity in
their area. So from that firstevent, it's there. There is an
Empty Bolls Bowls International. But it'snot like an organization that you could contact
(03:15):
and they say you need to dothis, this and this and this.
It's very much tied to a communityflavor of if you're just two potters and
you want to just have fifty bowlsand you invite your neighborhood in, yeah,
that's okay. If you want tobe like for instance, Route Rhode
Island gets together the food Bank andthey have probably one hundred and fifty potters
(03:38):
and do five thousand bowls or somethinglike that. So it can it can
have a lot of different faces.But we decided we really wanted to make
an impact locally for a lot ofreasons. First and foremost, you know,
it seems like the world over thelast several years has been filled with
a lot of angst and insecurity,and not just in the food area,
(04:00):
but there's a lot of unsettled weather, let's say, in the community and
with our friends and neighbors, andand this is a way to make an
impact where a couple of you know, artists can get together in the community
and enlist their friends and really trulymake a big difference in addressing a problem
that exists within the Adeborough area.That's it's like I said, it's beautifully
(04:24):
simple, you know. And everybodythat we've approached has been so so generous,
from you know, the people whogive us money, our supporters,
to the people who give us bowls, so the people who give us food,
to all of our volunteers. It'sjust it's a it's a dire situation
when you don't have enough food foryourself and your family and it's very,
(04:46):
very sad. It's a really beautifulthing to watch people come together to try
to help with that. Yeah,here in Massachusetts, it's overwhelming to me
the scope of food in security.I've done a lot of work with Project
Bred on the show and so onand so forth, and we talk a
lot about food and security here inMassachusetts and also the stigma as well,
trying to break the stigma that yourneighbor could probably be struggling with food in
(05:09):
security, even if they're driving aBeamer or have an iPhone or whatever.
Appearances can be deceiving, and I'msure that's the case in Attleborough as well.
It is absolutely so. You havesome of the groups that we give
money to our on like different levels, and they go from a a local
Unitarian church that has a food pantrythat is more accessible to someone who's coming
(05:34):
in for first time and not wantingto go to where there's a larger group
of people who come on every Thursdayat this larger food pantry that you know,
it's it's one of these things wherewe have we hit like four different
sized groups that that truly help withinthe Attleboro area. There the boots on
(06:00):
the ground and so the last threeyears we've we're able to raise over one
hundred thousand dollars each year each year. That's really impressive, isn't that impressive?
Nicole? That's what I'm saying.Our community is just unbelievably generous in
(06:21):
so many ways. Yeah. Forsure, we have a an an honest
stoner that that matches the money sothat that there's actually the last four years,
Seremony have to ask me that Ithink every year it spent forty thousand
(06:42):
that was they would match. Wow, this year it's forty five and then
we have an extra ten. Soactually we can match up to fifty five
thousand dollars, which is pretty good. I think. I say that's a
good amount of phone. It's goodincentive to have them. And then other
community groups that will give like uh, the Sturdy Health which is the healthcare
(07:13):
group in Addleborough. That's they've giveus like a five grand wow. And
so it's you know, so thereand they are boots in the ground people
too, and they know that theyknow what it means to have people who
can be fed and stay healthy andstay stay out of our areas. But
(07:35):
but it's it's still having a grouplike that, having the Rotary Club giving
uh, you know, five thousand, this and and other. We have
a couple of the funds that aremaintained by some families in Addleborough, Marcus
Robins Family and Cedarburg Boston Ceedarburg FundFoundation. They're they're Adeborough based family funds
(08:01):
foundations that are know what they're givingto in that what help they're giving the
to help fight locally. Absolutely,all right, So let's talk about the
process here, because Sarah, yousaid you work with a lot of different
(08:22):
artists. You work with a lotof people in the community to bring these
bowls together, and we're talking abouta lot of handmade bowls. And you,
as a potter yourself, you understandthere's a process. You have to
really put the love and the timeinto way. You got to put it
in the kiln and then you gotto glaze. It's a whole process.
So so how does this all cometogether each year? It's interesting you sound
like you know a little bit aboutclay. I did it in high school.
(08:43):
That's about the extent. So Ihave a group of several professional potters
within the community. They're about threeprofessional potters who give a lot of bowls
locally and then I collect some bowlsfrom some other friends who are around the
(09:03):
country. And we also have beenreally lucky in that we have one person
who started with us who just helpedglaze, who actually learned how to throw
since last February and he's got overone hundred and fifty bulls, so it's
been amazing. So the process isthat you enlist artists who want to help
with this, and for Dave andI, just a little side story,
(09:28):
we've been working helping to, youknow, support the arts in our Addeboro
area since like nineteen eighty five,so we've been kind of raising money for
the arts. But how cool isit for the arts to raise money for
the people. So it's got anice little twist. So basically, some
of the potters will make the bowlsin their own studio and then drop them
off that day, but we've actuallyformed this kind of bowl community where they
(09:54):
come into my shop usually Tuesdays andThursday nights, and either make the bowls
or glaze the bowl. So peoplewho aren't throwers on the pottery wheel will
come in and they take their directionwell and they're just geniuses with their brushes
and they paint, paint, paintaway, and the bulls basically go into
the kilns two times they get made. They get fired once to make them
(10:16):
so hard enough so you can workon them and paint your glaze on them
and not have them fall apart.And then you glaze them all and then
they go back into the kiln.And that's like the Christmas morning when you
open the kiln and it's like,oh my god, look, because you
saw the pictures of those bulls rightstunning. Yeah, when you open the
kiln, it's just it's it's reallyit's like the sun comes up. It's
(10:39):
beautiful. So we've been making bowlsbasically since last Empty Bowls, which is
you know, Empty Bowls has beenin September, which is a great time
for us. And our goal forbowls has kind of gone up each year.
I think the first year we saidwe were going to have two hundred
and fifty bowls and sell two hundredtickets. This year we are goal is
(11:00):
to sell over five hundred tickets,and I think right now in the shop
there's about six hundred and fifty bowls, so we're all a little cramped.
Sometimes you feel like a dragon surroundedby all these gemstones, because it's all
the corners. So but I willsay we have some truly beautiful balls.
(11:20):
And part of our mission has beento try to get the professional potters in
so that when you come to ourempty bowls, yes you're gonna go home
with a bowl and go, oh, yes, somebody made this. But
honestly, Nicole, we have peoplewho go home with bowls who love their
bowls. They take pictures of themselveswith their bowls and become very attached and
so they're you know, I amblessed that I have some really talented friends.
(11:43):
How about that? Oh? Absolutely? And then David, I mean
day of tell me about what it'slike during the event, you know,
when you're trying to put all thistogether and then when people show up,
how does it all go? Evenstarts at eleven, but before that we're
like setting up tables where we're puttingall the balls out on the tables.
That's a lot of balls. Sothis year there's five hundred and twenty five
(12:07):
bulls, where we have five hundredtwenty five tickets for five hundred twenty five
bulls, but we have six oversix hundred bulls. So there's bowls that
go some balls go on a ona for sale a sale table where they
can buy purchase other bowls of differentsizes. So these these all the balls
that they're getting are basically soup bowlssize, so that they're they're that size,
(12:31):
and so it's and it represents theempty bowls that people have that you
know, just a fighting food insecurity. We have our one of the
local restaurants, Lawren's Downtown Cafe andLawren's Catering that does the soup, the
fantastic soups. There's always a vegetarianoffering. So it's like a really awesome
(12:58):
mushroom suit is there's been a chowderin the past, some food chowder.
Yeah, then actually like a ministrone and it's they're good. So there's
a choice of soup. The firstyear we did it, we we did
it at the y M c Aand the gym and and it was you
know, everyone came at once topick up balls. But then the pandemic
(13:18):
hit and we were able to dothis in September of twenty twenty and do
it outdoors at Capon Park. There'sthe Newell Shelter. It's it's got a
big roof, big area out.It's all opened on the sides and we're
able to just be there and ifit if it ever rain, we're protected.
(13:41):
But so far, knock on wood, it has it. But uh
so, the the what happened atthe pandemic is we we timed it people
at fifty tickets every half hour andthat worked out perfectly, and we still
do that and it works really wellbecause we kind of split up the balls
(14:01):
on different tables so that they allthe people who coming in first can pick
here. But they're all like thesame bowls on each table and we just
uncover, you know, once thatthe first one's gone, the next one
and then the next one. Sopeople are timed coming in, they grab
the bawl or bowls. They buythe tickets through our website on an event
(14:22):
right that that ticket will get them, you know, a bowl, bowls,
a cup of soup, and acoupon for Brothers for Bliss Brothers Dairy
ice cream cone. The dairy givesall these coupons out also, so and
and and they get a lot ofthose cupons back too, which is pretty
(14:43):
cool and they love it that thatpeople are coming in like that way too.
But that the and so you cansit and have your soup. There
have a picnics we have. Wecall it a bowl pick up and a
bowl pick out because you're picking outyour bowl and a picnic if you want
to stay there and have your soup. But it's it's it just moves right
(15:07):
along. One o'clock comes by prettyquick. But you you we have a
good group of people. There's somesome volunteers. It's like they're the ones
that I'll see once a year there, you know, And I used to
see them at other places over theyears of the things that we've done,
but it's lately it's like we youknow, I see them there and it's
(15:30):
like like hey, you know,it's like you're meeting and meeting your old
friend again. And then we're alljust working, just helping people pick their
bulls out. We have music liveusually live music. Yes, we have
Andy and Jackie Solberg and maybe there'ssome accent I don't know, but two
local, really super talented musicians.Everybody loves them. So people will get
(15:54):
their bowl of soup and then ifit's a nice day, because we're in
the center of a park, they'llfind a park bench or bring their blanket
it and just you know, havea picnic and listen to the music,
and as Dave says, meet friends. It's really it's lovely. Absolutely so
right now of the today's the counttoday on the tickets for the balls,
(16:14):
we've already sold three hundred and fortythree tickets of the five twenty five and
in twenty twenty two, we wehad only sold four hundred nine tickets total
last year, so it's in threehundred and fifty year before that. So
we've we're we're selling more tickets.We're making we're making more balls and and
(16:36):
I and selling them, so we'rehoping that it'll sell out again. And
but it's it's it's really fun.I'm gonna I'm a illustrator designer, and
I get to decorate budles. Iget to so I get to glaze them
too, but I get to actuallylike draw some of my uh my,
(16:56):
my, my characters on the ballsand and and even last night we were
we were sitting in Sarah's studio glazingwith some of of our of our artists
friends. We're all just like drawingand doing underglazing. It's like painting on
the balls and doing the types ofthings we love to do, but on
(17:19):
a curved surface. Yeah, notexactly like drawing on your tablet. There
you have to get a little morecreative, I'm sure. And then like
we were doing, and all thisother magic happens. It is there's a
lot of happy accidents, I callthem. But but it's it's it's fun.
It's still the ball comes up reallywell and they usually go on those
(17:42):
particular balls may go on the salessale table. We also have a raffle
of some other special bowls and artworkalso that people can can try to win,
right, and we all want tosupport local artists, so that seems
like a win win situation. Really, we're helping people eat and we're supporting
(18:04):
local art I mean, how couldyou say no, honestly, But like
I said, you end up bringinghome a really wonderful piece of ceramic artwork.
So and you get that good bullof soup too while you're at it.
I mean, you can't argue withit. It has been a recipe
that works so well that, likeI said, are our support just keeps
(18:27):
growing from year to year to year. So you know, we've been really
happy that it seems like the interestin our community goes from all different age
groups, so we can you know, the high school kids are there,
the young families are there with theirlittle kids. You know, people retirement
age and seniors are there. It'sthis is a really nice family gathering.
(18:52):
And honestly, having having the abilityto have a website and social media,
I think I know everybody will saythis, but it's caused our reach to
really expand so strongly that I thinkthat's what we do see every year is
that these timeslots Day were talking istalking about, they tend to send out
sell out really quickly at the beginningof this, and so anybody who has
(19:15):
any questions they can find us onthe internet and they can find us on
Facebook and see some of the beautifulbowls and see, like Dave was saying,
our our artists. Raffle is wheresome of the professional ceramicists put in
some really like gallery worthy pieces sothat our public can say, well,
yes, these are bowls, butthis is what ceramic artists really can do.
(19:37):
Yeah, and then yeah, thatthey can do their Christmas shopping.
At the sales table, we foundmore ways to raise money. It's kind
of very cool because everybody comes inthe room, it's like, Okay,
how do we how do we getmore money to go to people? And
the other thing that we have thatwas new last year is empty bowls now
has a pet division. Like earlierin the program when you made the statement,
(19:59):
you know, you've learned so muchabout food insecurity and amazingly how much
of it exists in Massachusetts in ourcommunities. I was the same way when
I started on this project. It'sbecause I knew about empty bowls and I'm
a potter, and it seemed likefun. But having learned as much as
I've learned about food insecurity and howpeople, as you said the stigma and
Dave made reference to, some peoplewould rather go to a food pantry,
(20:23):
some people would rather go to ahot meal. We actually, through the
YMCA, have a program for seniorswho maybe can't cook that well or can't
get out, and that program deliversfood to people. So I've learned that
there are so many faces to foodinsecurity and so many challenges that people who
(20:44):
are food insecure face in terms oftrying to get that food on the table
for themselves, for their kids,make the decision over food or rent,
face homelessness, and a lot oftimes they have pets, so you don't
think about that. But if youknow, I don't know if you're a
pet person, but if you're apet person, you know your pet people.
(21:07):
If you're understress, a pet canmake a huge difference in your life.
And the last thing you're going towant to do is not feed your
pet. And the last thing wewant to see is if your food insecure,
our little packet of food for yougets fed to the dog or cat,
because that's where your heart is.Yeah, I've heard of many people
who are food insecure who will feedthe dog or cat before they feed themselves.
(21:30):
So you are right on point withthat. And look again, you
said heart is in the right place. But there is enough food out there,
so let's get it to everybody whopossibly can get it. So David
talk to us about the specifics ofthe event, when, where, how
you can get tickets, so onand so forth. So the event is
on September twenty third at Capron Parkin Audibor, mass It's in the Null
(21:56):
Shelter is where it's in the park. You can go to empty Bowls Attlboro
dot com and right on the topit'll right in the home page, you'll
see this two buttons. Want topurchase a ticket and want to make a
donation if you like to also rightnow, all donations are matched. So
(22:19):
you give twenty five bucks, it'sworth of fifty bucks, and that fifty
bucks is worth something like five hundreddollars in the Boston Food Pantry for some
of these food pantries to buy theirfood, so that money goes a really
really long way. And and wehave four groups see Food and Friends.
(22:45):
The Heaban Food Pantry, the AedberoYMCA, Alboro Norton YMCA and the my
Re Unitarian Universal's Church are the fourgroups that we split the money out to
divvy it up to them and sothat they, with their boots on the
(23:07):
ground, can do work their magicto help these people. So again you
mentioned, Sarah that you're on socialmedia. Where can we find you on
social Facebook, Instagram, that sortof thing. Our website is empty Bowls
Attlborough dot com and that will takeyou to tell you all about us.
It'll take you right to buy tickets. You can become a sponsor and have
(23:30):
your name on the wall, soto speak. And then we are also
on Facebook at empty bowls Attelborough andthat will link you to Instagram. I
think, Dave, I'm not thepretty much on Instagram. If you go
there, you'll see we're always postingpictures of new bowls coming out of the
kilns. You'll see the faces ofthe makers of the bowls, and you'll
(23:52):
see people glazing. There's a lotof activity going on. Yeah, I'm
on the Facebook page right now andI am seeing so many beautiful balls.
I mean, these are just stunning. Lots of incredible original artworks and gold
plated stuff here too. I mean, this is going to be this is
going to be a great event.So Sarah and David, thank you so
much for your time and all thebest for your event, and thanks for
what you're doing to help those inneed around our area. Well, thank
(24:15):
you, Nicole, we really appreciateit. All Right, that's the show
for the week. Thanks again forjoining us as always, and please have
a safe and healthy weekend. Joinme again next week for another edition of
the show. I'm Nicole Davis fromWBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
From WBZ News Radio in Boston.This is New England Weekend, where each
week we come together talk about allthe topics important to you and the place
where you live. Great to beback with you again this week. As
always, I'm Nicole Davis. Well. Recently, I was in the newsroom
and I was doing some work andI came across a program in southeastern mass
called Empty Bulls. This is aprogram that focuses on alleviating food insecurity in
(00:31):
that part of the state. Andif you're a longtime listener of the show,
you know that we talk a lotabout food and security here on the
show and efforts to try to tacklethis massive problem that seems to be only
getting worse all over the state.What I love about this program after doing
a bit more research, is thatit not only focuses on neighbors helping neighbors,
no questions asked, but it alsohelps local artisans get their work out
(00:55):
to people who are going to takeit home and treasure it for years and
years to come. Let's talk aboutit with a couple of founding members of
Empty Bulls in Addleborough, Sarah MottDavid la Farrier. So great to have
you both on the show, Sarah, I'm going to start with you because
from what I've heard, this isnot just a hyperlocal program in Addleborough.
This is actually a nationwide, ifnot international program. So tell us more
(01:19):
about the water ranging impact of emptybowls. Empty Bowls is an international program
that was started, i believe inMichigan probably in the late eighties by two
school teachers and they came up withthis idea that they wanted their art students
to have some way to connect withthe idea of giving back to the community.
(01:42):
So they it's brilliantly simple and it'sbeautiful. They got the ceramics students
to make bowls, and they gotthe local restaurants to get together and donate
a meal of soup because you know, everybody associates soup kitchens with you know,
having to help people who are foodand secure. And then they put
(02:05):
on an evening. And what theydid was they advertise the evening as a
community meal, and if you wantedto attend, you paid, say a
nominal fee of twenty five dollars.The twenty five dollars bought you a chance
to pick out any bowl on thetable and you would keep that ball as
a reminder of all of the unfilledbowls that exists not only in our local
(02:29):
community but around the world. Andthen you would take your bowl, you
know, during this event, andthe local restaurants would have these wonderful soups
and you'd fill your bowl with soupand you'd sit down, your friends and
neighbors, your family would be there. So it was a total coming together.
And so it was a way forthis organization to grassroots start to build
(02:50):
an awareness in their students, buildan awareness in the community. And all
of the money they collect, thisis a mandate of any empty bowls,
all of the money has to godirectly to food and fighting food insecurity in
their area. So from that firstevent, it's there. There is an
Empty Bolls Bowls International. But it'snot like an organization that you could contact
(03:15):
and they say you need to dothis, this and this and this.
It's very much tied to a communityflavor of if you're just two potters and
you want to just have fifty bowlsand you invite your neighborhood in, yeah,
that's okay. If you want tobe like for instance, Route Rhode
Island gets together the food Bank andthey have probably one hundred and fifty potters
(03:38):
and do five thousand bowls or somethinglike that. So it can it can
have a lot of different faces.But we decided we really wanted to make
an impact locally for a lot ofreasons. First and foremost, you know,
it seems like the world over thelast several years has been filled with
a lot of angst and insecurity,and not just in the food area,
(04:00):
but there's a lot of unsettled weather, let's say, in the community and
with our friends and neighbors, andand this is a way to make an
impact where a couple of you know, artists can get together in the community
and enlist their friends and really trulymake a big difference in addressing a problem
that exists within the Adeborough area.That's it's like I said, it's beautifully
(04:24):
simple, you know. And everybodythat we've approached has been so so generous,
from you know, the people whogive us money, our supporters,
to the people who give us bowls, so the people who give us food,
to all of our volunteers. It'sjust it's a it's a dire situation
when you don't have enough food foryourself and your family and it's very,
(04:46):
very sad. It's a really beautifulthing to watch people come together to try
to help with that. Yeah,here in Massachusetts, it's overwhelming to me
the scope of food in security.I've done a lot of work with Project
Bred on the show and so onand so forth, and we talk a
lot about food and security here inMassachusetts and also the stigma as well,
trying to break the stigma that yourneighbor could probably be struggling with food in
(05:09):
security, even if they're driving aBeamer or have an iPhone or whatever.
Appearances can be deceiving, and I'msure that's the case in Attleborough as well.
It is absolutely so. You havesome of the groups that we give
money to our on like different levels, and they go from a a local
Unitarian church that has a food pantrythat is more accessible to someone who's coming
(05:34):
in for first time and not wantingto go to where there's a larger group
of people who come on every Thursdayat this larger food pantry that you know,
it's it's one of these things wherewe have we hit like four different
sized groups that that truly help withinthe Attleboro area. There the boots on
(06:00):
the ground and so the last threeyears we've we're able to raise over one
hundred thousand dollars each year each year. That's really impressive, isn't that impressive?
Nicole? That's what I'm saying.Our community is just unbelievably generous in
(06:21):
so many ways. Yeah. Forsure, we have a an an honest
stoner that that matches the money sothat that there's actually the last four years,
Seremony have to ask me that Ithink every year it spent forty thousand
(06:42):
that was they would match. Wow, this year it's forty five and then
we have an extra ten. Soactually we can match up to fifty five
thousand dollars, which is pretty good. I think. I say that's a
good amount of phone. It's goodincentive to have them. And then other
community groups that will give like uh, the Sturdy Health which is the healthcare
(07:13):
group in Addleborough. That's they've giveus like a five grand wow. And
so it's you know, so thereand they are boots in the ground people
too, and they know that theyknow what it means to have people who
can be fed and stay healthy andstay stay out of our areas. But
(07:35):
but it's it's still having a grouplike that, having the Rotary Club giving
uh, you know, five thousand, this and and other. We have
a couple of the funds that aremaintained by some families in Addleborough, Marcus
Robins Family and Cedarburg Boston Ceedarburg FundFoundation. They're they're Adeborough based family funds
(08:01):
foundations that are know what they're givingto in that what help they're giving the
to help fight locally. Absolutely,all right, So let's talk about the
process here, because Sarah, yousaid you work with a lot of different
(08:22):
artists. You work with a lotof people in the community to bring these
bowls together, and we're talking abouta lot of handmade bowls. And you,
as a potter yourself, you understandthere's a process. You have to
really put the love and the timeinto way. You got to put it
in the kiln and then you gotto glaze. It's a whole process.
So so how does this all cometogether each year? It's interesting you sound
like you know a little bit aboutclay. I did it in high school.
(08:43):
That's about the extent. So Ihave a group of several professional potters
within the community. They're about threeprofessional potters who give a lot of bowls
locally and then I collect some bowlsfrom some other friends who are around the
(09:03):
country. And we also have beenreally lucky in that we have one person
who started with us who just helpedglaze, who actually learned how to throw
since last February and he's got overone hundred and fifty bulls, so it's
been amazing. So the process isthat you enlist artists who want to help
with this, and for Dave andI, just a little side story,
(09:28):
we've been working helping to, youknow, support the arts in our Addeboro
area since like nineteen eighty five,so we've been kind of raising money for
the arts. But how cool isit for the arts to raise money for
the people. So it's got anice little twist. So basically, some
of the potters will make the bowlsin their own studio and then drop them
off that day, but we've actuallyformed this kind of bowl community where they
(09:54):
come into my shop usually Tuesdays andThursday nights, and either make the bowls
or glaze the bowl. So peoplewho aren't throwers on the pottery wheel will
come in and they take their directionwell and they're just geniuses with their brushes
and they paint, paint, paintaway, and the bulls basically go into
the kilns two times they get made. They get fired once to make them
(10:16):
so hard enough so you can workon them and paint your glaze on them
and not have them fall apart.And then you glaze them all and then
they go back into the kiln.And that's like the Christmas morning when you
open the kiln and it's like,oh my god, look, because you
saw the pictures of those bulls rightstunning. Yeah, when you open the
kiln, it's just it's it's reallyit's like the sun comes up. It's
(10:39):
beautiful. So we've been making bowlsbasically since last Empty Bowls, which is
you know, Empty Bowls has beenin September, which is a great time
for us. And our goal forbowls has kind of gone up each year.
I think the first year we saidwe were going to have two hundred
and fifty bowls and sell two hundredtickets. This year we are goal is
(11:00):
to sell over five hundred tickets,and I think right now in the shop
there's about six hundred and fifty bowls, so we're all a little cramped.
Sometimes you feel like a dragon surroundedby all these gemstones, because it's all
the corners. So but I willsay we have some truly beautiful balls.
(11:20):
And part of our mission has beento try to get the professional potters in
so that when you come to ourempty bowls, yes you're gonna go home
with a bowl and go, oh, yes, somebody made this. But
honestly, Nicole, we have peoplewho go home with bowls who love their
bowls. They take pictures of themselveswith their bowls and become very attached and
so they're you know, I amblessed that I have some really talented friends.
(11:43):
How about that? Oh? Absolutely? And then David, I mean
day of tell me about what it'slike during the event, you know,
when you're trying to put all thistogether and then when people show up,
how does it all go? Evenstarts at eleven, but before that we're
like setting up tables where we're puttingall the balls out on the tables.
That's a lot of balls. Sothis year there's five hundred and twenty five
(12:07):
bulls, where we have five hundredtwenty five tickets for five hundred twenty five
bulls, but we have six oversix hundred bulls. So there's bowls that
go some balls go on a ona for sale a sale table where they
can buy purchase other bowls of differentsizes. So these these all the balls
that they're getting are basically soup bowlssize, so that they're they're that size,
(12:31):
and so it's and it represents theempty bowls that people have that you
know, just a fighting food insecurity. We have our one of the
local restaurants, Lawren's Downtown Cafe andLawren's Catering that does the soup, the
fantastic soups. There's always a vegetarianoffering. So it's like a really awesome
(12:58):
mushroom suit is there's been a chowderin the past, some food chowder.
Yeah, then actually like a ministrone and it's they're good. So there's
a choice of soup. The firstyear we did it, we we did
it at the y M c Aand the gym and and it was you
know, everyone came at once topick up balls. But then the pandemic
(13:18):
hit and we were able to dothis in September of twenty twenty and do
it outdoors at Capon Park. There'sthe Newell Shelter. It's it's got a
big roof, big area out.It's all opened on the sides and we're
able to just be there and ifit if it ever rain, we're protected.
(13:41):
But so far, knock on wood, it has it. But uh
so, the the what happened atthe pandemic is we we timed it people
at fifty tickets every half hour andthat worked out perfectly, and we still
do that and it works really wellbecause we kind of split up the balls
(14:01):
on different tables so that they allthe people who coming in first can pick
here. But they're all like thesame bowls on each table and we just
uncover, you know, once thatthe first one's gone, the next one
and then the next one. Sopeople are timed coming in, they grab
the bawl or bowls. They buythe tickets through our website on an event
(14:22):
right that that ticket will get them, you know, a bowl, bowls,
a cup of soup, and acoupon for Brothers for Bliss Brothers Dairy
ice cream cone. The dairy givesall these coupons out also, so and
and and they get a lot ofthose cupons back too, which is pretty
(14:43):
cool and they love it that thatpeople are coming in like that way too.
But that the and so you cansit and have your soup. There
have a picnics we have. Wecall it a bowl pick up and a
bowl pick out because you're picking outyour bowl and a picnic if you want
to stay there and have your soup. But it's it's it just moves right
(15:07):
along. One o'clock comes by prettyquick. But you you we have a
good group of people. There's somesome volunteers. It's like they're the ones
that I'll see once a year there, you know, And I used to
see them at other places over theyears of the things that we've done,
but it's lately it's like we youknow, I see them there and it's
(15:30):
like like hey, you know,it's like you're meeting and meeting your old
friend again. And then we're alljust working, just helping people pick their
bulls out. We have music liveusually live music. Yes, we have
Andy and Jackie Solberg and maybe there'ssome accent I don't know, but two
local, really super talented musicians.Everybody loves them. So people will get
(15:54):
their bowl of soup and then ifit's a nice day, because we're in
the center of a park, they'llfind a park bench or bring their blanket
it and just you know, havea picnic and listen to the music,
and as Dave says, meet friends. It's really it's lovely. Absolutely so
right now of the today's the counttoday on the tickets for the balls,
(16:14):
we've already sold three hundred and fortythree tickets of the five twenty five and
in twenty twenty two, we wehad only sold four hundred nine tickets total
last year, so it's in threehundred and fifty year before that. So
we've we're we're selling more tickets.We're making we're making more balls and and
(16:36):
I and selling them, so we'rehoping that it'll sell out again. And
but it's it's it's really fun.I'm gonna I'm a illustrator designer, and
I get to decorate budles. Iget to so I get to glaze them
too, but I get to actuallylike draw some of my uh my,
(16:56):
my, my characters on the ballsand and and even last night we were
we were sitting in Sarah's studio glazingwith some of of our of our artists
friends. We're all just like drawingand doing underglazing. It's like painting on
the balls and doing the types ofthings we love to do, but on
(17:19):
a curved surface. Yeah, notexactly like drawing on your tablet. There
you have to get a little morecreative, I'm sure. And then like
we were doing, and all thisother magic happens. It is there's a
lot of happy accidents, I callthem. But but it's it's it's fun.
It's still the ball comes up reallywell and they usually go on those
(17:42):
particular balls may go on the salessale table. We also have a raffle
of some other special bowls and artworkalso that people can can try to win,
right, and we all want tosupport local artists, so that seems
like a win win situation. Really, we're helping people eat and we're supporting
(18:04):
local art I mean, how couldyou say no, honestly, But like
I said, you end up bringinghome a really wonderful piece of ceramic artwork.
So and you get that good bullof soup too while you're at it.
I mean, you can't argue withit. It has been a recipe
that works so well that, likeI said, are our support just keeps
(18:27):
growing from year to year to year. So you know, we've been really
happy that it seems like the interestin our community goes from all different age
groups, so we can you know, the high school kids are there,
the young families are there with theirlittle kids. You know, people retirement
age and seniors are there. It'sthis is a really nice family gathering.
(18:52):
And honestly, having having the abilityto have a website and social media,
I think I know everybody will saythis, but it's caused our reach to
really expand so strongly that I thinkthat's what we do see every year is
that these timeslots Day were talking istalking about, they tend to send out
sell out really quickly at the beginningof this, and so anybody who has
(19:15):
any questions they can find us onthe internet and they can find us on
Facebook and see some of the beautifulbowls and see, like Dave was saying,
our our artists. Raffle is wheresome of the professional ceramicists put in
some really like gallery worthy pieces sothat our public can say, well,
yes, these are bowls, butthis is what ceramic artists really can do.
(19:37):
Yeah, and then yeah, thatthey can do their Christmas shopping.
At the sales table, we foundmore ways to raise money. It's kind
of very cool because everybody comes inthe room, it's like, Okay,
how do we how do we getmore money to go to people? And
the other thing that we have thatwas new last year is empty bowls now
has a pet division. Like earlierin the program when you made the statement,
(19:59):
you know, you've learned so muchabout food insecurity and amazingly how much
of it exists in Massachusetts in ourcommunities. I was the same way when
I started on this project. It'sbecause I knew about empty bowls and I'm
a potter, and it seemed likefun. But having learned as much as
I've learned about food insecurity and howpeople, as you said the stigma and
Dave made reference to, some peoplewould rather go to a food pantry,
(20:23):
some people would rather go to ahot meal. We actually, through the
YMCA, have a program for seniorswho maybe can't cook that well or can't
get out, and that program deliversfood to people. So I've learned that
there are so many faces to foodinsecurity and so many challenges that people who
(20:44):
are food insecure face in terms oftrying to get that food on the table
for themselves, for their kids,make the decision over food or rent,
face homelessness, and a lot oftimes they have pets, so you don't
think about that. But if youknow, I don't know if you're a
pet person, but if you're apet person, you know your pet people.
(21:07):
If you're understress, a pet canmake a huge difference in your life.
And the last thing you're going towant to do is not feed your
pet. And the last thing wewant to see is if your food insecure,
our little packet of food for yougets fed to the dog or cat,
because that's where your heart is.Yeah, I've heard of many people
who are food insecure who will feedthe dog or cat before they feed themselves.
(21:30):
So you are right on point withthat. And look again, you
said heart is in the right place. But there is enough food out there,
so let's get it to everybody whopossibly can get it. So David
talk to us about the specifics ofthe event, when, where, how
you can get tickets, so onand so forth. So the event is
on September twenty third at Capron Parkin Audibor, mass It's in the Null
(21:56):
Shelter is where it's in the park. You can go to empty Bowls Attlboro
dot com and right on the topit'll right in the home page, you'll
see this two buttons. Want topurchase a ticket and want to make a
donation if you like to also rightnow, all donations are matched. So
(22:19):
you give twenty five bucks, it'sworth of fifty bucks, and that fifty
bucks is worth something like five hundreddollars in the Boston Food Pantry for some
of these food pantries to buy theirfood, so that money goes a really
really long way. And and wehave four groups see Food and Friends.
(22:45):
The Heaban Food Pantry, the AedberoYMCA, Alboro Norton YMCA and the my
Re Unitarian Universal's Church are the fourgroups that we split the money out to
divvy it up to them and sothat they, with their boots on the
(23:07):
ground, can do work their magicto help these people. So again you
mentioned, Sarah that you're on socialmedia. Where can we find you on
social Facebook, Instagram, that sortof thing. Our website is empty Bowls
Attlborough dot com and that will takeyou to tell you all about us.
It'll take you right to buy tickets. You can become a sponsor and have
(23:30):
your name on the wall, soto speak. And then we are also
on Facebook at empty bowls Attelborough andthat will link you to Instagram. I
think, Dave, I'm not thepretty much on Instagram. If you go
there, you'll see we're always postingpictures of new bowls coming out of the
kilns. You'll see the faces ofthe makers of the bowls, and you'll
(23:52):
see people glazing. There's a lotof activity going on. Yeah, I'm
on the Facebook page right now andI am seeing so many beautiful balls.
I mean, these are just stunning. Lots of incredible original artworks and gold
plated stuff here too. I mean, this is going to be this is
going to be a great event.So Sarah and David, thank you so
much for your time and all thebest for your event, and thanks for
what you're doing to help those inneed around our area. Well, thank
(24:15):
you, Nicole, we really appreciateit. All Right, that's the show
for the week. Thanks again forjoining us as always, and please have
a safe and healthy weekend. Joinme again next week for another edition of
the show. I'm Nicole Davis fromWBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
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