I am finally finished with my Empty Bowls project. I also just did that last glaze firing in my own kiln for the first time. I must say that I am very pleased with the way my bowls came out. So much room for improving, but at least I am still learning.
I did the photographing of each of these bowls and did a presentation video to show them to everyone. I like it this way because it gives me something to look back on if I ever wondered which bowls I gave. I finished photographing them, delivering them and making the video yesterday. I spent alot of time this morning looking for some music to go with the video. My son says the music is depressing. I think it is relaxing music. I wanted something soft and smooth. Well, I thought this one fit the bill, so I bought it off of Itunes and then used it on the video. Hope you will like it.
I thought I'd write about something else here for a moment. Yesterday while my son Austin and I were photographing the bowls, I told him, "I know you won't understand why I make a big deal out of these bowls, and the pottery, and not just that, but just learning how to do this in general". I proceeded to tell him that I've wanted to do this since I was a little girl. I told him that my parents had hobbies but those were their hobbies and we were not taught to do them. I said, when I was 15 years old, a lady I baby sat for taught me how to cross stitch. At the age of 15 years old and learning that skill, excited me so much and caused me to believe that I could do anything if I wanted to. From then on I learned how to crochet, knit, and some folks don't know this but I've played the guitar since I was 15 years old too. I got my dad to teach me a few chords and I remember I learned those chords so quickly, I'd tell him, "Come on, I'm ready to learn another one". He never seemed to be quick enough to teach me the next one so I got some books and I learned some new ones and then I learned how to put those together and play songs. You see, that was one talent that I was born with. I did not have to force myself to learn... beg anyone to learn, take lessons really... I could hear a song a few times and I was playing it. It just came natural. I was never pushed to learn a skill... never really offered a chance to learn many things, so as I became older I got involved in so much. I LOVE to metal detect. When I was growing up, I would look for arrowheads, flint, pottery... I was about as addicted to that as anything else I have tried. About approximately 8-10 years ago, I got myself a metal detector and now my husband and I go to Myrtle Beach each year and hunt. Most of the time, at night when folks are off the beach. And so while telling my son some of these things, I started to really think about my passions for different things and I told my son this. "See son, I am already 48 years old. I am getting older every day and although not OLD... I find myself trying to catch up every day. I'm trying to learn as fast as I can about ALL those things I've wanted to learn all my life". He just sorta looked at me like... "You're not old". I said to him, "Every chance I get, I want to teach you about what I am doing. If you choose not to do any of it, it's fine with me. But at least when you get older, you won't say, "Mom did this and that, and dad did this and that... but they never showed me how to do any of it". I told him I wanted him to have hobbies too and that it was very important to have them.
Back to Empty Bowls now...
I enjoyed doing this project. The real reason is, back in 2009 someone tried to burn my home down. It took us a year to get it re-built. (long story) We lived in our burned home for a while too. (another long story). We were sent an hour away to a warehouse to see about getting food. When we got there we were told there were 2 places in our home town to get food. We came back home and never really found out where those 2 places were that had food pantries. I can tell you that through a really wonderful home school mom, kids from the girl scouts and boy scouts went door to door and collected food for us. I will never forget meeting this wonderful lady an hour away to pick up all the food. I was so thankful for what they did. What generosity was shown that day through a bunch of kids. I vowed that one day I would try to help others so that there would be no-one searching for food and not be able to find it. We never went hungry, and I had family I could have run to if we were starving and they would have fed us, I'm sure. But there were supposed to be places you could go to for help when things like this happened. At least that is what I thought. I remember going into United Way with my husband and them telling us they had nothing at all to give us except a 10.00 card we could use at Walmart. Well anyway, when this project came up, I knew I wanted to help. Although I started off doing pinch pots in a class and the bowls were going to be donated to empty bowls, I never dreamed 7 mos later I'd be turning bowls on the potter's wheel in order to donate bowls for this cause. Life is funny sometimes... You just never know what's up ahead.
Well, I am going to close. If you have never been involved in Empty Bowls in your area, and you'd love to be a blessing to your community. Ask around and see if you have such a program in your area. We all might not be able to do much, but when we put together just a tiny bit from each of us, it's amazing what we all can do by giving just a little. I was inspired to help and I hope somehow or someday, you'll be inspired to do the same.
Blessing to each of you who read my story :)
Sonja
