It was both the charming playfulness of the giant teacup and the horror of famine and hunger in the Gaza strip that gave me the satisfaction I found in bidding on one of 24 bowls at the June 14 Bowls for Gaza silent auction.
Hosted by 1078 Gallery, the auction showcased bowls made and donated by local artists, some well known, some not so much. The 1078 Instagram feed says $5,344.63 was raised for World Central Kitchen for Gaza relief. That’s the humanitarian food relief organization that lost seven members during Israel’s April 1 attack on Gaza.
It was fun to see a variety of bowls made by local artists, including small soup or cereal bowls and large salad or casserole bowls. Competition was fierce — but in the this-is-a-worthwhile-cause spirit — for Kristy Moreno’s bowl that had a woman with a purple tongue painted on the bottom. I bought poet Susan Wooldridge’s bowl-cup named “Alice in Wonderland.” Retired English professor Ellen Walker took home a set of bowls with a shallow dip, glazed only on the inside, that she’s using to float gardenias, made by ceramic and glass artist Tamara Murphy. The young woman behind me in line to pay was purchasing her first-ever set of handmade bowls, happy to be making the “donation.”
On social media, the gallery said bowls were chosen as a “shared symbol” for the fundraiser to show that “local community action can make an impact.”
I share the frustration that writer Emily Alma discusses in her guest commentary here, and with so many other people, who know that our tax dollars finance a war that isn’t likely to make Israelis or any of us safer. Thanks to 1078 for the introduction to local artists I didn’t previously know and that brought more than a hundred community members to the reception for a purposeful event. — Leslie Layton