The new ceramics studio at the University of Pittsburgh at
Bradford has been bowled over – and the people there couldn’t be
happier.
Experienced artists, as well as artists in the making, have been
given the opportunity to have a hands-on experience in making
ceramic bowls to be used next week in the Empty Bowls Dinner, an
effort to fight hunger.
The dinner will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Mukaiyama
University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. Proceeds from the
event will go to the Friendship Table.
“I first learned about the program through a friend of mine who
works at Millersville University,” said Dr. Holly J. Spittler,
associate dean of student affairs and director of career services.
“I was intrigued with the concept so when Pitt-Bradford hired Dr.
Martie Geiger-Ho and built a ceramics studio, I suggested to the
Women’s History Month Committee that we sponsor an Empty Bowls
Dinner.”
Participants will be served a meal of bread and homemade soup in
a ceramic bowl, which guests can then take with them.
The purpose of the event is actually two-fold -ðto raise money
for the Friendship Table and to promote the arts.
And for Geiger-Ho, it was the perfect opportunity to showcase
the new ceramics studio, which opened last semester, and give
people a chance to lend help for a good cause.
Geiger-Ho said the handmade pinch pot bowls start out as a ball
of clay – about the size of a large orange or small grapefruit –
which is then formed into a bowl shape.
“We were going for some volume, a 3-D look,” she said. “When
people think about art, they don’t think about volume.”
This method was also easier since it didn’t require special
equipment.
“It’s the universal way of pottering,” Geiger-Ho said. “Many
cultures around the world use this method.”
But if volunteers thought they could do this in one day, they
were wrong.
Forming the balls into bowls took about an hour, and then the
bowl had to dry for a week. Then there’s the process of firing the
bowls in a kiln a few times and applying layers of glaze.
Many people have participated in the project, which started Jan.
25.
“I have been delighted and amazed with the response of staff,
students, faculty and members of the community in all aspects of
the Empty Bowls Project,” Spittler said. “Local merchants and
organizations have been extremely generous in their support. So
much of the success of this project rests with Dr. Geiger-Ho’s
willingness to work with the volunteers in the studio.”
This gave Linda Newman a chance to foster her interest in
ceramics.
“It was more of a way to indulge my ceramic (interest) then I
found out what it was for – great fun for a great cause,” said
Newman, who has made three bowls.
“The first two looked more like ash trays or cat dishes,” she
said, adding that no matter what people made, Geiger-Ho encouraged
them along the way.
“It was just a great experience and to see what you made,”
Newman said. “At the start it looked yucky, then it was painted and
looked yuckier.”
But then the final result left the artists awestruck.
“Oh my God, I made this,” Newman said.
Many of the participants were so taken with what they made, they
are buying their bowls back. Even still, there should be enough to
go around next week.
With this being the first year for the event, Spittler isn’t
sure what to expect the night of the dinner.
“With this being the first year, we really don’t know what to
expect. We are hoping for 100 people to attend but it is hard to
gauge the interest in a dinner such as this one,” she said. “It
makes for an interesting balance between hoping for a good turnout
but not wanting to disappoint people by running out of bowls or
soup.”
Some of the soups available include Italian wedding soup, clam
chowder, potato, chili and vegetable beef.
Gayle Pierce, a senior, said she hoped to do more bowls, but
didn’t have the time.
Pierce said she’s been involved in other activities and wanted
to show support.
Another special aspect of the experience for Newman was the
connection between the artist and whoever ends up with the
bowl.
Since the artist put their names or initials on the bottom of
the bowls, “there was connection made between the people who made
them and the people who use them,” Newman said.
Besides, “it was great fun for a good cause,” she said.
In the end, Spittler hopes the dinner will become an annual
event.
“I am optimistic that it will become an annual event. We’d like
to stress that each person can make a difference in the fight
against hunger,” she said. “At the local level: supporting The
Friendship Table with his or her time or resources and by realizing
that hunger need not exist.”
Other groups supporting the event include the Division of
Communication and the Arts, the Center for Leadership and Service,
the Art Club, American Association of University Women – Bradford
Branch, Alpha Phi Omega, Lambda Xi, Nontraditional Student
Association, Metz and Associates, Subway, Zonta Club of Bradford,
Pitt-Bradford’s Staff Association, First Presbyterian Church, Grace
Lutheran Church, Emanuel Lutheran Church, Wal-Mart, Parkview and
Tops Friendly Markets and Hog-shed Studio Pottery in East Otto,
N.Y.
Tickets for the dinner will be sold at the door.
