Bowl Glazing at Westbrook Public Library

So...we should be used to this story, but it surprises us every time.  Yesterday, the Westbrook Public library hosted a bowl glazing session, and during that two hours, almost 100 people joined us to glaze bowls.  The artists included children of all ages, parents, grandparents, library patrons, and friends from our community. EVERY BOWL WE BROUGHT TO THIS SESSION WAS GLAZED!  Thanks to all of you who joined us for a very special afternoon.

Children's Librarian Mrs. Mary Nyman was an extraordinary host for the event.  Thanks to Mary and to Lew Daniels for inviting us!  Liz Egan & Melissa Ryan provided their usual expert and kind guidance to artists.  Mrs. Ruth Rose, principal at Daisy Ingraham, brought many assorted pies as a gift to our glazers, AND she stayed and served the pies herself for the next two hours!  Thanks so much to Mrs. Rose and to Rose Orchards for their generosity.

Dawn, Jennifer, and I would also like to give our warmest thanks to the many volunteers who helped at this and our previous glazing sessions.  You did it all--assembled (and dis-assembled) tables, stacked chairs, washed brushes, served pie, made posters, organized glazes, scrubbed the floor, assisted guests, and spread the word about the event.  The Empty Bowls Committee has been a positive, generous, and dedicated team, and it continues to be an honor for us to work on this project with you.

The library event was our final open public glazing event.  We will hold two more smaller glazing sessions, one with the Daisy Ingraham Faculty and Staff (December 4th) and one at the Westbrook Senior Center (December 11th).

So enjoy this new collection of photos, and check out the rest of the blog for updates as well as for Empty Bowls dinner ticket information.  We hope you will join us on January 28th for the Empty Bowls Dinner!

Dinner Tickets Can Now Be Ordered

We are so excited to announce that pre-ordering of tickets for the Empty Bowls Dinner has begun!

The dinner will be held January 28th from 5:00 - 8:00 pm at Westbrook Middle School.  It will feature a variety of soup selections from renowned shoreline restaurants and caterers along with bread and a wide selection of desserts.

Ordering Tickets, Reserving Bowls and Holiday Gifts

To learn more about various ticket options, reserving a bowl and purchasing holiday gifts, please click here.

We are happy to have two options for ordering and paying for tickets.

1) Click here to print the Order Form - Follow the instructions on the form

Thank You to Friends of the Library

Many thanks to the Friends of the Westbrook Public Library for their generous donation to the Empty Bowls Project.  Their donation will help pay expenses for bowl glazing and for the Empty Bowls Dinner in January.  The Westbrook Public Library has always been a vital and unifying presence in our community; it truly serves all residents of Westbrook and the shoreline as an educational and social space.  We thank them for sponsoring the Empty Bowls Project, and we look forward to a wonderful bowl-glazing session in the library community room this Saturday, November 22, from noon - 2pm.

Empty Bowls Project Appreciates Student Council

Thank you to  Student Council members and to the many other students who have offered their energy and research skills to help the Empty Bowls Project.  We appreciate your energy and ideas as we continue our glazing sessions, our educational campaign, and our preparations for the empty bowls dinner in January.  Your research has made it possible for "fact cards" about food insecurity to be distributed on the cafeteria tables and the Student Council bulletin board.  You have also been wonderful assistants at our bowl glazing sessions.  We count on your help in the sketch design contest going on right now--designing the cover of our empty bowls gift card; and we also need your help in planning the Empty Bowls Dinner on January 28th.  Thanks again for all you've done, and for the help we know you'll give us during the next 3 months! 

Last Chance for Families to Glaze Bowls!

This Saturday, November 22, from noon - 2pm, the Westbrook Public Library is hosting the final public glazing session for the Empty Bowls Project.  We invite all members of our community--and all ages-- to come and glaze a bowl with us.  The session will be led by art teacher Liz Egan and a staff of helpers.  The event is free and no experience is necessary.  And if it's not exciting enough to just glaze a bowl, we have a special treat:  Daisy Elementary Principal Ruth Rose and Rose Orchards are donating pies for you to sample during this session!  So come out this weekend and support the Empty Bowls Project!

Unified Arts at WMS

As the WMS community prepares for tomorrow's Fall Arts Festival, the Empty Bowls Project would like to send one more thank you to the unified arts faculty at our middle school.  They have generously donated $250 worth of glazes for use at our bowl glazing sessions.  In challenging budget times for schools, this donation means a great deal to us.  In addition, members of the unified arts faculty have also donated their time, expertise, and assistance to us as we hold our glazing sessions and plan the empty bowls dinner.   To all of our Empty Bowls' supporters, please be sure to go out tomorrow evening to enjoy the fall arts displays and performances at Westbrook Middle School, beginning at 6pm.

Thank You to Our Newest Sponsor

The Empty Bowls Project would like to thank the Belz Family and Paper, Plastic & More for their generous donation of paper products for our glazing sessions and our January 28th Empty Bowls dinner.  We're happy to add them to our sponsor page and to the list of community businesses that are supporting this project!

Rose Orchards Becomes a New Sponsor

Welcome to Rose Orchards of North Branford!  Many thanks to Ruth Rose, our new principal at Daisy Ingraham, for offering pies from Rose Orchards for our November 22nd glazing session at the Westbrook Public Library.  We can't wait to sample delicious pies as we glaze bowls for the Empty Bowls Dinner.

Please remember to support all of our sponsors by visiting them often--and remember while you're there to thank them for supporting our community through the Empty Bowls Project!

Multiplying Bowls!

When are 250 bowls not enough?  Well, when we have over 200 glazed bowls by November 1st, it means it's time to order more bowls!  We just received a new shipment of bowls to meet the needs of our remaining glazing sessions.  Join us to get them ready for our January 28th dinner!

Education and Outreach at WMS

 Thanks to the great work of Monica Selmont, Tammy Overchuk, and interested students at WMS, we have a great educational campaign underway in our middle school.  Check out the cafeteria tables and the student council bulletin board for information, and stay tuned as students initiate other ways to help us think about the issue of food insecurity and our role as change agents.  Students have also been assisting new participants in our glazing sessions.  Beginning with our meeting tomorrow, we welcome students to attend our Empty Bowls committee meetings and to take a larger part in making our project a success.

Glazing at the Westbrook Library and the Senior Center

We're taking our glazing sessions on the road!  We have been invited to bring glazing sessions to the Westbrook Public Library on Saturday, November 22, noon-2pm; and the Westbrook Senior Center in Town Hall on Thursday, December 11, 3:30-6.  The Empty Bowls Project belongs to our community!  Stay tuned for news about how to join us as glazers and/or helpers at these sessions.