submitted by Judy Frost
Hoosick Falls High School art students have spent the past several weeks creating ceramic bowls, a focal point of the community’s first Empty Bowls fundraiser on Friday, March 14, from 6 to 8 pm at the Hoosick Armory, Youth Center and Community Coalition (HAYC3).
[private]With the price of admission, attendees of the event will get to choose a handmade bowl to fill with a hearty soup or chowder courtesy of volunteers from St. Mary’s Academy. The keepsake bowl represents hunger and serves as a reminder of the countless bowls that are empty in communities around the world. Proceeds from the event benefit the Hoosick Area Church Association (HACA) Food Pantry to help local families in need.
Project Gets Ceramics Students “Fired-Up”
Ceramics students are playing an integral role in the inaugural Empty Bowls event. In the weeks leading up to the fundraiser, the students have handcrafted 150 stoneware bowls.
“Students have used their growing knowledge of wheel-throwing and glazes to build and finish a beautiful collection of bowls,” said art teacher Megan Conner. “Through this project they are able to use their talent and skills to raise awareness about hunger and to make a difference in their own community.”
Many other students recently had an opportunity to participate in the effort during school lunch periods when they were invited to hand stamp designs on round clay slabs that they then shaped into bowls for the ceramics student to fire and glaze.
“These lunchtime mini-art workshops are intended to offer all students a chance to share in the effort and also help spread the word about the Empty Bowls event,” Conner said.
A selection of completed bowls will be displayed in the case outside the ceramics room for parents and school visitors to view prior to the event.
More About Empty Bowls
Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort determined to end hunger in the world. Together artists and educators work with others in the community – such as art students – to create bowls for a unique effort to raise funds for local organizations that work to alleviate hunger.
Tickets for the Empty Bowls fundraiser at HAYC3 cost $10 each and can be purchased at the door on March 14. The bowls will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Volunteers from St. Mary’s Academy will prepare the soups and bread. Desserts and beverages will also be available. The evening includes musical entertainment by the Hoosick Falls Jazz Band and marks the opening of the Hoosick Falls High School student art exhibit at the HAYC3’s 120gallery90, which runs through March 21.[/private]