Huntington community members from diverse backgrounds collectively made more than 200 Empty Bowls at the March 7 Open Studio at Marshall University’s Art Warehouse.
The event pushed the ceramics count over the Empty Bowls 1,000-bowl goal for 2015, said Frederick Bartolovic, assistant professor of ceramics at Marshall’s School of Art and Design.
“This year’s event was just perfect,” Bartolovic said. “We had just the right number of more experienced throwers and beginners.”
Novices behind the wheels Saturday ranged from Marshall students to Huntington Mayor Steve Williams.
“This is going to be a total learning experience for me,” Williams said. “Frankly, not many times can I just go and have fun, and this is for a really great cause.”
Rachele Burgess, development and communications coordinator for Huntington Empty Bowls’ beneficiary, Facing Hunger Foodbank, said she had no idea just how many bowls were produced for the initiative, nor how difficult each bowl was to make.
“I attempted seven, but I came out with three sellable bowls,” Burgess said. “The work being done here for Facing Hunger Foodbank is incredible.”
Experienced throwers included Bartolovic and his ceramics class and area potters, including Noelle Horsfield, local potter and owner of a ceramic art studio downtown. Horsfield said she’s seen the initiative in several states across the U.S., but none like Empty Bowls in Huntington.
“It’s just exciting,” Horsfield said. “I’m from here and I just recently moved back, so it’s so wonderful to see how big it is here. The concept elsewhere is basically the same, but people seem to be behind it more (here).”
Charity Baker, a long-term substitute teacher for Meadows Elementary and an art education graduate of Marshall University, said she returned to campus to support Empty Bowls through functional art.
“I really like the tactile closeness in taking something from nature and making something that’s functional,” Baker said.
Huntington’s Empty Bowls will take place 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 17, at First Presbyterian Church at 1015 5th Ave. in Huntington, West Virginia. There, patrons can choose from hundreds of bowls on sale for $15 each. Each bowl sale includes a modest lunch from donated soups, breads and drinks, served in a single-file line and meant to emulate a soup kitchen. All proceeds from Empty Bowls benefit Facing Hunger Foodbank, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves a client base of 115,000 in 16 counties across the Tri-State.
For more about Empty Bowls, visit www.marshall.edu/EmptyBowls. For more information about Facing Hunger Foodbank, visit www.facinghunger.org.
