Tit for tat

The dirt on Discovery Green farmers market takeover

Urban Harvest takes on Discovery Green on Earth Day.
Discovery Green gets a little greener.
Expect up to 100 vendors in the future.

On any given Sunday, Discovery Green is alive with music performances, couples walking among public art and children dancing in water sculptures. It's a vibrant scene — except for a scant row of stalls hawking wilted vegetables along the Andrea and Bill White Promenade.

This is the Downtown Green Market, a farmers market operated by Central City Co-Op, an organization that also manages a successful Wednesday Market at Grace Lutheran church in Montrose. The current downtown establishment may have been a sight for sore eyes, but there are seeds of change on the horizon, as the market will soon be taken over by the organization Urban Harvest, which is celebrated for their bustling Saturday market on Richmond and Eastside St.

The trade is the result of a plethora of colliding factors affecting Central City. Business at the main co-op has grown twofold over the past year, and the organization's permit at Discovery Green was up for renewal at the end of March. In the past three weeks, market operator for Central City Co-Op Sarah Eakens decided to resign from her position to pursue independent work in gardening and farms. Explains Central City Co-Op Chairman Tiffany Tyler, "Being involved in the Discovery Green market has been a tremendous adventure for us. Being a market manager is a tough job, and we don't have the power or resources to do both jobs well."

"For the organization, this was an opportunity to take a good look, and it was decided that there was not as much synergy to have a coop market and a downtown farmers market," says Susanne Theis of Discovery Green. "They don't make each other stronger.

"Central City's Tiffany Tyler was very sad about the decision, but heartily recommended that Discovery Green open discussions with Urban Harvest, which is in a very different place than when the park opened in 2008. It seemed like a nonprofit that already has a market was ideal originally, but Central City is now in a different administrative place."

Is that code for, "It's not me, it's you"?

"Central City's firm commitment to being completely organic was not accessible to Discovery Green's wide audience," Theis says. Urban Harvest works with both organic and conventional farmers, all within a range of 150 miles from the city. This domain includes 65 community gardens and a larger number of casual hobbyists. Discovery Green found appealing Urban Harvest's synergy of community initiatives, education classes for the public and transportation of green waste to a nearby facility at Jensen Dr. and Lyons Ave.

The market intends to work in conjunction with downtown and midtown restaurants, starting with a partnership with The Grove — think themed seasonal meals and roof-top cooking classes.

"Central City laid a very good foundation to build on," Urban Harvest Executive Director Mark Bowen says. "All of the current vendors are considered to be a very valuable part of the fabric going forward."

Adds Bowen, "Urban Harvest intends to slowly add vendors in a complementary way." By expanding operations beyond their Eastside market, Urban Harvest will be able to diffuse costs, develop more support and empower more farmers who are shut out of the current Eastside market simply due to space restrictions. Bowen envisions the expanded downtown satellite as a "farm incubator network," creating local jobs for the anticipated participation of 100 vendors. Urban Harvest is aiming for an "organic growth process" (pun intended?). The current artisan craft vendors at Discovery Green will remain.

The change in administration officially takes place this Sunday. The market will maintain hours from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays, complementing the Saturday morning schedule of the Eastside market.

"We're anticipating a comfortable, easy transition," Theis says.

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bowled over

Houston artist dishes on Food Bank fundraiser happening this weekend

Picture of several artists at a table with a bunch of handmade ceramic bowls.

Photo courtesy Paula Murphy

Ceramics professor Cori Cryer and her students from Lone Star College Kingwood and the bowls they donated to the 20th Empty Bowls fundraiser

On Saturday, May 16, shoppers have an opportunity to feed those in need by purchasing unique, handcrafted items. The 20th Empty Bowls event takes place at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards from 10 am to 3 pm. A preview party takes place on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm (buy tickets here).

The fundraiser is a collaboration between Houston-area ceramists, woodturners, and artists working in all media and Silver Street Studios.

Shoppers can purchase one-of-a-kind bowls for $25 each (larger bowls are priced accordingly). A simple lunch from Salata, a sweet treat from Ben & Jerry’s, and iced coffee from Katz Coffee is served until it runs out. Every dollar of the purchases goes to the Houston Food Bank, which estimates that for every dollar donated, it’s able to provide three meals to Houstonians in need. Since its inception, Empty Bowls Houston has raised $1,208,959 for the Houston Food Bank, which equates to more than 3.6 million meals.

The event also includes live music and art demos. More than 2,000 bowls will be available for purchase, donated by area artists.

Empty Bowls began as a grassroots effort started many years ago at a high school in Michigan and is now held all over the world. Nearly everything for Empty Bowls events, from the food served to the venues hosting events and the bowls for sale are donated.

Cori Cryer, a professor of ceramics at Lone Star College Kingwood, is one of those who, along with her students, donated bowls for the fundraiser. She’s been involved with the effort for all of its 20 years in Houston, and before that in other cities.

“When I started donating, I didn't have a whole lot of money,” Cryer tells CultureMap. “I was a graduate student, and so this was a way for me to give back to the local community. And I think my students today kind of recognize that same feel. You know, they may not have money to send a check off to someone, [but this is] an easy way for them to be able to contribute to the community.”

Cryer teaches Ceramics I and Ceramics II to a variety of dual-credit high school students, college students, and continuing education students. Those in her Ceramics II classes are required to create five bowls to donate to Empty Bowls. But her students in her introductory class often end up donating as well. This year, she and her students provided approximately 150 bowls for the event.

Cryer said that the style of bowls for sale range from something as small as a condiment bowl to much larger serving bowls As each bowl is an individual work, they represent a variety of styles and themes. One of her students this year designed a glazed, ceramic leaf-shaped bowl with ceramic insects on it.

“There's a ladybug and a caterpillar and a spider,” she says, each created out of clay and positioned around the bowl.

Cryer loves seeing how the artists use their imaginations and abilities.

“Most of my students do throw their bowls on the pottery wheel, but that's not required,” she says. “They can hand-build them. It’s completely up to them what kind of construction technique they use.”

Cryer loves knowing that this event is a way for students to see that their artistic efforts can have lasting impact on the community around them. In addition to being able to support the Houston Food Bank, the bowls her class donates, she knows, take on special meaning for those who purchase them.

“I tell my students there is a pot for every person and a person for every pot,” she says.

In fact, one of her personal favorite bowls is one she purchased from an Empty Bowls sale.

“It's a very small bowl, maybe like three inches in diameter, and two inches tall, and it's a little pink pig that I think an elementary student made,” she said. “He has no tail, and he has no ears, but he has a snout, and it is definitely a pig. And I love that little bowl. I have it sitting on my desk at home.”

Cryer knows shoppers attending the Empty Bowls sale will find similar, soon-to-be-beloved items.

The Saturday event is free. Those wishing to attend the preview party on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm, which offers light bites, beer and wine, and the first chance to purchase bowls, can purchase a $50 ticket online. In addition, Archway Gallery is hosting an exhibition of 30 one-of-a-kind bowls that can be purchased as part of the Empty Bowls fundraiser. The exhibit runs through May 30.