Southport Magazine

In 1990, an art teacher in Michigan unwittingly started what is now a global grassroots movement to end hunger. For the past 33 years, schools, art associations, private artists, and civic organizations have held Empty Bowls events worldwide to raise money for their local food banks. Many pottery studios in southeastern North Carolina have participated in such events, along with local restaurants donating the soup. The events have been very popular here in Southport, sponsored by the Associate Artists of Southport on a rotating schedule for years, with the money going to local charities around Brunswick County. Past President and Potter Penny Omerod said the event in 2017 raised $16,200 and was divided up between Brunswick Family Assistance, Matthews Ministry, Food Bank, and the Southport-Oak Island Interfaith Food Pantry. 

The Associated Artists of Southport includes painters and potters who don’t usually get to create together. But for this event, they get together to make and decorate the bowls, creating some wonderful and unique pieces. Carrying out such a feat of making hundreds of bowls takes months to get ready, which is why Empty Bowls is often not a yearly event. “Our volunteer clay artists may produce from a dozen to many more bowls, each from 1 pound to 1.5 pounds of clay. The raw clay and glazes have been donated. Associated Artists of Southport also welcomes bowls donated for the Empty Bowls Events from area studios,  individual clay artists, and other clay groups and class studios,” said Omerod. “These finished bowls are all marked with the name ‘Empty Bowls’ instead of the artists’ name or date, and these functional bowls are reminders to all of us of the fight against hunger. Clay artists and painting artists participate in finishing the bowls by glazing, decorating, and prepping them for sale. Raw dried clay or greenware is fired to bisque ware and then is decorated and glazed, fired again, and finished for sale,” she said. 

This year, the Empty Bowls is being held a bit differently. With the world coming off of the pandemic and local restaurant staffing shortages, the bowls are still being sold and money donated, just without the soup. “Due to COVID precautions, AAS is offering just the hand crafted bowls, not the soup lunch. The plan is to return to the luncheon format in 2024 with donated soups from our outstanding area restaurants.” said Omerod. “The wonderful bowls are on display ay Franklin Square Gallery, Southport. They cost $20 each and can be purchased Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, cash, credit, or check. The Empty Bowl fund drive to feed the hungry in our area will run until October 16, 2023, when the World Food Day USA is celebrated.”

AAS has been an active part of the arts community in Brunswick County for more than 40 years, bringing artists together to create and also giving back to the community through events. “Associated Artists of Southport operates the Franklin Square Gallery in Southport. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit volunteer group of paint (2D) artists and clay (3D) artists founded in 1979,” explained Omerod. “AAS sponsors many Open Public events throughout the year. Among them are; Kids Day in the Park, two juried art shows, workshops in various media, weekly classes, an art lecture series, quilt shows, Brunswick Arts Council show, High Schools Art Show, clay artists challenges, Wood Boat Show activities, and a 4th of July Art Raffle. We also participate in First Friday Southport Arts each month, with an open house from 5-7 pm.”

All proceeds from the bowl sales are divided between Brunswick Family Assistance, Mathews Ministry Food Bank, and the Southport-Oak Island Interfaith Food Pantry.