Hub City Empty Bowls 2013 Gets Off to an Early Start at the Spartanburg Art Museum in Spartanburg, SC – June 15, 2013

The popular grassroots fundraiser that helps feed the hungry in Spartanburg, SC – Hub City Empty Bowls-is cranking up early for 2013. The first two bowl-making dates are Saturday, June 15, 2013, from 10am-noon and 1-3pm at the Spartanburg Art Museum School in the Chapman Cultural Center, and Thursday, June 20, 2013, 6-8:30pm at the West Main Artists Co-op in Spartanburg.

The goal of the organizing sponsor, Carolina Clay Artists, is to make more than 1,000 handmade clay bowls to be used on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013, when hundreds of people will donate cash in exchange for the colorful and creative bowls filled with soup donated by local restaurants. Everyone is encouraged to help make bowls. No experience in pottery is required. All materials and instruction will be provided free.

After four years of raising tens of thousands of dollars for different hunger-based charities in Spartanburg, the Carolina Clay Artists return for the fifth year determined to make the event even bigger and better. In the past, Empty Bowls has been about a three-month project. This year, it will run for five months in an effort to give citizens more opportunities to participate. It has been one of Spartanburg’s most successful events in helping feed the poor. The fundraiser – Soup Day – will be held in the lobby of the David W. Reid Theatre and in the plaza of Chapman Cultural Center on Saturday, Nov. 9, 11am-7pm. In addition to soup, bread and tea, live music, and fellowship are provided for a community event that generates a groundswell of grassroots charity, as well as much needed funds. Patrons especially enjoy taking home the clay bowls, as sentimental reminders of how they have contributed to Spartanburg’s advancement. Traditionally, patrons donate $15 per bowl. The soup is all you can eat, and there will be a variety of restaurants providing soup throughout the day.

Empty Bowls is an international phenomenon that is virtually administrative and overhead free. All work is done by local volunteers, most of whom are potters. All of the money raised stays in the local community. Last year, more than $12,000 was given to the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen. This year’s recipient of the funds will be TOTAL Ministries of Spartanburg. Public bowl-making events will be held at both the Spartanburg Art Museum School, located in Chapman Cultural Center, 200 East Saint John St. (10am-noon and 1-3pm) and the West Main Artist Co-op, 578 West Main Street (6-8:30pm).

The dates are: Spartanburg Art Museum/Chapman Cultural Center, Saturdays, June 15, July 20, Aug. 17, Sept. 14; West Main Artists Co-op, Thursdays, June 20, July 18, and Aug. 15—all of which are ArtWalk dates. Sponsors of the 2013 Empty Bowls fundraising event include: Carolina Clay Artists, Spartanburg Art Museum, Chapman Cultural Center, the West Main Artists Co-op and Chris Williams, owner of local pottery supply house, Clay-King.com.

For more information about Hub City Empty Bowls Soup, call 864/621-2768.

Vista Studios in Columbia, SC, Host the Midlands Clay Arts Society’s 12th Annual Holiday Sale – Nov. 29 – Dec. 2, 2012

Vista Studios in Columbia, SC, will present the Midlands Clay Arts Society’s 12th Annual Holiday Sale, on view in Gallery 80808, from Nov. 29 through Dec. 2, 2012. An opening reception will be held on Nov. 29, from 5-8pm.

The Midlands Clay Arts Society’s 12th Annual Holiday Sale features one-of-a-kind, handmade gifts by South Carolina based ceramic artists. It is a much anticipated opportunity to view and purchase unique, original, works of art, from whimsical sculptures to classic functional pieces, decorative accessories, and everything in between.

Work by Tuula Widdifield

Participating artists for this year’s event are: Adele Thornhill, Alice Klaas, Anne Schultz, Barbara Mitchell, Becky Leonard, Betsy Kaemmerlen, Dawn Caldwell, Jeannie Lindler, Margaret Arial, Mary Lou Price, Mary Lou Wu, Pam Bailey, Patz & Mike Fowle, Renee Rouillier, Rick Shackleford, Rita Ruth Cockrell, Susan Kennedy, Susan Tondreau-Dwyer, Susanne Sievers, Suzy Shealy, Teresa Tipton, Terry Meek, Tim Graham, and Tuula Widdifield.

Work by Mike & Patz Fowle

The event takes place at Gallery 80808 at 808 Lady Street, Columbia SC 29201. The sale takes place over four days: Thursday, Nov. 29, noon-8pm; Friday, Nov. 30, noon-8pm; Saturday, Dec. 1, noon-4pm; and Sunday, December 2, noon-4pm. Admission is free; cash and checks only are accepted.

MCAS was organized in 1987 to foster fellowship, education and creativity among local potters and clay artists and to promote appreciation of all things made from clay.

If you would like more information about the sale, contact Adele Thornhill by e-mail at (adele@adelethornhill.com) or call 201/839-6386 or visit the MCAS Facebook page at (www.facebook.com/MidlandsClayArts).

Rock Hill Pottery Center in Rock Hill, SC, Offers Annual Holiday Sale – Starting Nov. 23, 2012

The Rock Hill Pottery Center in Rock Hill, SC, is hosting our 5th Annual Holiday Sale from Nov. 23 – Dec. 3, 2012.  Everything from functional dinnerware to decorative vases will be available for sale, just in time for the holiday gift giving season. Selected items are 20% off.

Our pottery is handcrafted by skilled artists in our studios at the Gettys Art Center, 201 E. Main Street in Rock Hill.  Convenient parking is in the rear of building. Enter from the loading dock entrance.

Hours are 10am – 4pm.

For further info contact Bob Hasselle at 803/370-8109, or Christine White at 803/327-1294.

USC Lancaster in Lancaster, SC, Opens Native American Studies Center – Oct. 4, 2012

On Oct. 4, 2012, the USC Lancaster Native American Studies Program in downtown Lancaster, SC, will host a public open house to inaugurate the opening of its new center.

Faculty and staff of this 15,000 square foot facility in historic downtown Lancaster invite the public to tour the new Native American Studies Center at 119 South Main Street from 5-7pm. Guests will have the opportunity to tour the NAS Center’s gallery spaces, archives, classrooms, and archaeology, language, and audio-visual labs. Refreshments will be provided and performers and artists will be on hand to demonstrate Native American traditions.

Artwork in the background by Fran Gardner; large wedding jug on the right by Earl Robbins (Duke Energy Collection); and small wedding jug on the left, teaching piece by Monty Branham and Evelyn George (Duke Energy Collection).

Through a partnership between USCL and the City of Lancaster, the Native American Studies Center was established to promote regional Native American art, culture, and history. Home to the world’s largest collection of Catawba Indian pottery, the NAS Center will offer exhibits of regional Native American Art, classes and programs focused on Native American history, culture, archaeology, folklore, and language.

Following the Oct. 4 open house, the NAS Center will be open Tue.-Wed., 10am-5pm; Thur., 10am-7pm; Fri.-Sat., 10am-5pm; Sun., 1-5pm; and Mon. by appointment. Both the public open house and regular admission are free.

For further details, call 803/313-7172, e-mail to (criswese@mailbox.sc.edu), or visit (
http://usclancaster.sc.edu/NAS/
).

 

 

 

Hub City Empty Bowls Returns to Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg, SC – Nov. 10, 2012 – Help Make Bowls Now

For the next three months, community-minded citizens will make soup bowls as part of Spartanburg, SC’s fourth annual Hub City Empty Bowls project that will raise and donate money to the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen.

At various scheduled bowl-making events, the public will be invited to make clay bowls at either the Chapman Cultural Center or the West Main Artists Co-op in Spartanburg. The bowl-making events are free and professional instruction from members of the Carolina Clay Artists group is provided. The bowls will be made in preparation of Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012, when they will be used to serve soup to the general public at the Chapman Cultural Center. The soup will be donated by various restaurants in the region, and patrons will be asked to donate $15 for a handmade pottery bowl. The bowls will be kept by the patrons as souvenir reminders of the constant need to help hungry citizens in Spartanburg. A silent auction for larger serving-type bowls is being considered. All of the money raised through this project will be donated to the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen.

In addition to soup being served, the daylong event—11am -7:30pm – will feature live music, drinks, and plenty of community fellowship.

Empty Bowls is a national grass-roots program that started in 1990 in Michigan. Throughout the county, hundreds of communities have since held their own Empty Bowls projects that simply ask people to make bowls, restaurants to donate soup, and the public to enjoy the soup and keep the bowls for a modest donation. This year’s event coordinator is Jim Cullen, a pottery instructor at the Spartanburg Art Museum Art School from Campobello, SC, who first brought the concept to Spartanburg four years ago.

The major sponsors for the Hub City Empty Bowls 2012 are the Carolina Clay Artists (providing professional instruction and assistance), Chapman Cultural Center (providing location), the Spartanburg Art Museum (providing studio space and kilns), West Main Artists Co-op (providing studio space and kilns), and Clay-King.com (providing clay).

Here is a schedule of bowl-making events for the next few weeks…

• Saturday, Aug. 18, 10am-noon and 1-3pm, Chapman Cultural Center.
• Saturday, Aug. 25, 10am-noon and 1-3pm, Chapman Cultural Center.
• Thursday, Sept. 20, 6:30-8:30pm, West Main Artists Co-op.

More bowl-making events to be announced.

To be involved in this community event, please visit online (www.HubCityEmptyBowls.com) or (www.FaceBook.com/HubCityEmptyBowls2012).

For more information, please contact Cullen by e-mail at (jcullensc@gmail.com) or call at 864/320-5358.

 

 

 

Rock Hill Pottery Center Will be Open for the Gallery Crawl – Aug. 16, 2012, in Rock Hill, SC

The Rock Hill Pottery Center in cooperation with the Arts Council of York County is participating in the gallery crawl on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, from 5 – 8pm.  Drop in at the Gettys Center, 201 E .Main Street in Rock Hill, SC for wine and cheese and view the latest in our summer collection of pottery.

Work by Christine White

The Rock Hill Pottery Center features works by professional potters from the local region in a working studio setting. Come by and see potters working any time Monday through Friday 10am – 4pm.

Work by Christine White

For further info call 803/370-8109, 803/327-1294 or e-mail to (cwpottery@comporium.net).

 

 

 

Lynda English Studio Gallery in Florence, SC, Offers Pottery Show and Sale – April 16, 2012

Spring is here and the Lynda English Studio Gallery in Florence, SC, is bringing in lots of new pottery. In addition to having new pottery, the gallery is having a fantastic sale with 20% off selected pieces from Ardie Praetorius, Doug Gray and Marty Biernbaum.

Come early while the selection is good.

Work by Marty Biernbaum

The Lynda English Studio Gallery is located at 403 Second Loop Road in Florence.

For more information, visit (www.lyndaenglishstudio.net) or call 843/673-9144.

Thrown Together Group Will Hold A Fall Pottery Sale in Charlotte, NC – Sept. 24, 2011

Thrown Together members Ron Philbeck, Jen Mecca, Amy Sanders, and Julie Wiggins invite you to their Fall Pottery Sale to be held on Sept. 24, 2011, from 10am-4pm, at 1225 Dade Street in Charlotte, NC.

Guest artists for this show will be Jim Connell, Paula Smith, and Alyssa Wood. Each of the artists will have a beautiful selection of new work to choose from. They hope to see you and your friends on that day.

For further information or directions call 704/650-5662.

USC Lancaster in Lancaster, SC, Hosts Catawba Pottery Show and Sale – Aug. 27, 2011

Visitors will have the opportunity Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011, to view and purchase examples of one of South Carolina’s oldest art forms as potters from the Catawba Indian Nation show and sell their creations on the USC Lancaster campus in Lancaster, SC. Hosted by the USCL Native American Studies Program, this event will feature works by established and emerging potters from the Catawba Nation in Rock Hill, SC. Pieces ranging from small, inexpensive collectibles to large ceramic vessels and effigies, all handmade by Catawba artists, will be available for purchase. Arts and crafts by Native American artists from other South Carolina tribal groups will also be available.

Catawba Chief and acclaimed potter Bill Harris

Catawba Indian pottery, while less familiar than its Southwestern counterparts and many other traditional American Indian art forms, is recognized by scholars as, possibly, the oldest continuous ceramics tradition east of the Mississippi. Early European explorers in the Carolinas encountered Native Catawba, or Iswa, making pottery from clay gathered from the river which today bears their people’s name, as their ancestors had done for generations, and as their descendents continue to do today. Collectors recognize this pottery as a unique and significant art form that balances tradition and artistic innovation.

This artistry will be on display at the USC Lancaster event, which starts at 10am and runs until 3pm in the Carole Ray Dowling Center on the USCL campus. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Brittany Taylor, Curator of Collections, at 803/313-7036 or by e-mail at (taylorbd@mailbox.sc.edu) or call Stephen Criswell, Director of Native American Studies, at 803/313-7108.