A tidy clutch of ceramics teachers and students gathered in Green River Community College’s Salish Hall room 170 last week for the annual throwing of clay bowls.

Word from veterans of last year’s inaugural bowl-throwing spectacular, among them Auburn’s Gail Spurrell — stick around kiddo, it’s loads of fun.

But wait, what gives? Not a single bowl set a whizzing or spinning through the air during the entire, three-hour bowl-throwing event? Not a one of them smashed into tiny bits against … anything?

Truth is, the only spinning these bowls would do was on the pottery wheel. And the big thrill for those artisans was just getting together and volunteering their time and talent to make bowls for Auburn Food Bank’s Empty Bowls event.

What’s that?

Well, for a small donation, attendees at the Empty Bowls Event, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., May 1 at Grace Community Church, get a handcrafted bowl that these and other local artisans have made to keep, with lunch inside provided by Auburn area restaurants and schools.

Donations go to local food banks. Last year’s Bowl Throw raised almost $8,000.

Gotta admit, that’s a much better thing to do than slinging a bowl.

“It’s for a good cause,” said ceramics teacher Gustavo Martinez, spinning a bowl on his pottery wheel.

The GRCC throw-off started at 3 p.m., ending when everybody’d had enough.

“When they’re done, we’ll throw, fire and glaze the bowls and deliver them for the event,” said Paul Metivier, assistant professor of ceramics at GRCC. “This is the second one we’ve done. I tell students to throw as many as they can handle in terms of the short turnaround.

“… Donating your talent is a lot more satisfying than writing a check or something like that,” Metivier added.

Clay Art in Tacoma donated the raw material.

The Auburn Food Bank puts out the call every year for  local artists, businesses and restaurants to come together to help Auburn’s hungry.

The Auburn Food Bank this week  received a small grant from the city of Auburn Arts Commission to offer local residents the chance to create art for themselves, making their own bowl by throwing one, or painting bisque bowls.

Community members can create or paint dishes for Empty Bowls through the Community Drop In Pot Throw at Klay Crazy Ceramics and Gifts, at

720 A St. SE in Auburn. The ceramics studio is open Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday and Monday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Interested? Then go directly to Krazy Clay Ceramics and make a $15 donation to the food event. You can then choose a bisque bowls to decorate. In exchange you receive a lunch voucher sturdy enough to bring along with your bowl to the May 1 event.

But if you want to make more than one bowl and donate an extra one, that’s OK, too.

Green River students also donated bowls for the Enumclaw Empty Bowls event held March 2.