Happy patrons eating their salads on a sunny Seattle evening.
The community on San Juan Island is very supportive of all the arts organizations on this island.
From Stage Left, Island Museum of Art, The San Juan Island Community Theater, The Whale Museum, The San Juan Historical Museum and The San Juan Nature Institute to list a few.
This island is composed of a generous, well educated compassionate and caring artistic community.
Yet all of these organizations struggle to find new ways to help raise funds for their organizations.
Last week, I traveled with Linda Lighton to attend the Seattle Pottery Northwest's Annual Fundraiser, Salad Bowl 2010. This organization Pottery Northwest is celebrating it's 45th year at Seattle Center.
Pottery Northwest is a 501c-3 not for profit organization that develops and promotes excellence in the ceramic arts.
Funds raised at Salad Bowl support the Artists' Residencies Program, helping artist to develop their practice and portfolio by defraying studio costs, materials and exhibition costs; Going Greener by acquiring a new energy efficient kiln to fire larger scale work; and the Professional Artists' Project, allowing artists in other mediums to cross over the bridge to ceramics.
The Salad Bowl fundraiser is held on a summer's evening as a celebratory supper featuring gourmet salads, and delicious deserts from some of Seattle's best restaurants. One should arrive early to choose your personal salad bowl. The salad bowls are created by the students and instructors of Pottery Northwest.
There are large painted platter created for the Salad Bowl auction by area artists [some who have crossed over to to ceramics for this event] Juan Alonso, Charles Kraft,Anne Grgich, Marge Levy, Akio Takamori, Claudia Fitch and many others. These pieces were fabulous, making me wish I had the additional funds to support this part of the event.
I liked the newness of the event, the spirit of the volunteers all pulling together to create an event a FUNdraiser that was fun. Well Done!
How fabulous, what a great group of artists with such lofty and yet functionally adaptable ideas and goals.
Cheers
