Pots of generosity for night shelter
A DUNEDIN potter is aiming to release people from the ‘‘capitalist machine’’ one clay bowl at a time, while simultaneously helping the homeless.
Rye Senjen, of Northeast Valley, has donated 108 bowls she created to Sustain, which is a fundraiser for the Dunedin Night Shelter.
The bowl project was meant to ‘‘challenge the prevailing industrial system’’ at the ideological level, she said.
‘‘Basically, it’s about finding joy in humble but unique bowls.’’
In some ways, the items provided a ‘‘daily escape from the capitalist machine’’, she said.
‘‘The bowls are all similar, but each has a unique flavour to it.’’
Ms Senjen was a ceramics student at Otago Polytechnic, where she threw, trimmed and glazed the pieces.
‘‘Some days I would make 20 and they would disintegrate . . . some days they would just fly off the wheel.’’
She wanted all proceeds to go to the shelter, as homelessness was an ‘‘everincreasing issue’’ in the country, she said.
‘‘Poverty is a shocking situation in New Zealand. The night shelter serves an important function.’’
Fundraiser coorganiser Marion Familton said there were more than 200 ceramic pieces on offer from Dunedin potters such as Josephine Regan, Michael Tannock and Neil Grant.
They hoped to raise a minimum of $2000, she said.
The shelter did a ‘‘magnifi cent job’’ providing accommodation to those who needed it, she said.
The fundraiser will run from 10am to 4pm every day at St Paul’s Cathedral from tomorrow until noon, December 2, except during church services and the occasional other event.