The Legacy of Bruce Bishop

Was ever such joy carved into a mass of clay? You may have failed to notice the details on the undersides of this bowl, but if you have been to Holden, you have seen the bowl. It is in plain sight on "the island" in the dining hall nearly every day of the year and always filled with fruit. In a very real sense, it is the Village's favorite fruit bowl.

The bottom of the bowl indicates that the piece was originally named "The Forgiveness Bowl" and the eight panels encircling it depict the story of the prodigal son. When he had squandered his inheritance and had nothing to eat, the pods he fed to the swine and desired for himself as food, form a border around the lip of the bowl.

The bowl is but one of the many creations that potter Bruce Bishop left behind as a legacy to Holden Village.

This Bruce Bishop cat was not so much in evidence. It was found on a high shelf in "the pot shop." The cat is so elaborately carved and the details of the carving flow so unobtrusively one into another that what at first appears to be a simple decorative line is actually a word or a part of a word or a phrase.



The "New Beginnings Kitty," so-called because that is the title that graces and curves over one of kitty's haunches, has been "rescued" from the pot shop and now makes a wondrous addition to the living space of Agape where it can be seen and enjoyed by all who live there and their guests.

Beneath one of the cabinets in the dining hall, and stored with other communion pieces are several elaborately carved chalices and patens. The individual pieces are still used for Sunday night Eucharist services.

Meanwhile, residing front and center at the Holden Bed and Breakfast is a Bruce Bishop bear.

Another bear, of a similar design, sits atop a shelf of books in a very prominent place in the Holden Library.

In 2005, while he was on short term summer staff as potter, Bruce used 25 pounds of clay to create this unique baptismal bowl. The bowl, situated in a simple wooden stand, was placed at the entrance of Koinonia Fireside where the winter community holds worship services.

Words around the lip of the bowl read, "Jesus Is the Living Water," and the bottom of the bowl is meant to have the look of water that is flowing.

Since its very beginnings, Holden Village has been a place in which artists with every conceivable talent have pursued their individual gifts and left behind a legacy of beauty and of usefulness to the rhythms of village life. Bruce Bishop's work continues to delight and inspire all who look upon it.