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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Support Urban Art Co-op at Scoops and Bowls

Urban Art Co-op will have 750 bowls for sale at its fundraiser, Scoops and Bowls. (x / Courtesy)

Beat the summer heat and join Urban Art Co-op for their fourth annual Scoops and Bowls Fundraiser on Saturday in Manito Park.

Members of Urban Art Co-op will be selling 750 handmade bowls at the event. Bowls start at $10 and are filled with free ice cream and toppings from Mary Lou’s.

Proceeds from the event will go to support the co-op, a nonprofit pottery studio focused on providing a place for local artists to create as well as bringing art to the local community.

The bowls are created and compiled through year-round “Create Day” workshops hosted by the co-op. Twice each month, community members, artists and studio members alike are invited to make and glaze bowls that will be used in the Scoops and Bowls sale to raise money for the co-op.

For the first year in 2015, there were 250 bowls, and it’s grown each year. Some years, they sell out, said JoDee Moody, one of the studio’s founders.

The idea for the fundraiser came from another of the studio founders, Autumn Bunton. A studio she previously belonged to hosted a chili feed in the winter, also selling handmade bowls.

Bunton, Moody, and the other founders – John and Sue Newman, Karen Mannino and Nick Lowe – decided to hold a summer event, and Scoops and Bowls was born.

While Urban Art Co-op, located at 3209 N. Monroe St., is primarily a pottery studio, members hope it is also a place where all kinds of artists can come to share ideas and learn from each other.

This vision is reflected by the series of workshops that the studio sponsors. Local artists can use the studio space for community classes. For instance, this month Urban Art Co-op will host an eco printing workshop and an enamel jewelry workshop.

“You can always learn from another artist,” Moody said.

The co-op is growing, with about 35 members. All members are given space and time to create, in addition to being expected to help out in order to keep the co-op running.

Moody compares the work put into the co-op to the labor it takes for a family to maintain their home. “It has to be a group effort.” she says.

All the workers are volunteers, joined together by a love of pottery and desire to help support the local arts scene.

In addition to Create Day, Urban Art Co-op has many other opportunities for community members to get involved. There is monthly open studio time, eight-week intensive classes, and Wednesday night classes for children 12 and older.

The co-op’s mission is to be a place where pottery artists of all levels can come together, create, and share ideas.

“We’re pretty excited that we can appeal to all levels of pottery artists,” Moody said. “Everybody learns from each other and that’s what’s fun.”