KENNESAW, Ga. | Oct 1, 2017

The KSU Mudslingers Ceramics Club, advised by School of Art and Design faculty members Jeff Campana and Keith Smith, has been busy throwing, glazing and firing bowls to help KSU fight hunger as part of the Empty Bowls Project with KSU CARE. 

An international grassroots effort to raise both money and awareness in the fight to end hunger, the Empty Bowls Project will be featured as part of KSU CARE’s 10th Annual Homelessness Awareness Week event. This event will raise money to help KSU CARE fight hunger, raise awareness about the issues of food insecurity and to help bring about an attitude that will not allow hunger to exist.

Attendees purchased tickets that allowed them to choose a handmade ceramic bowl; the bowls will then be filled with a lunch provided by KSU Dining Services. Participants may then take their bowls home.

The students began planning the project when they returned to class this fall. Campana said, “They were very excited about the whole idea of this project; they were fully on board.”

The students used three different clay bodies: porcelain, stoneware, and a special one for soda-firing. “In addition to the charitable cause, there is a valuable experience for students to make work and put it in the public realm. They had the opportunity to fire in all of the varieties that our studio can offer, that were suitable for the function. The bowls were fired three ways: oxidation, reduction and soda fire. It was a very good event in the studio for our students,” said Campana.

While some seasoned pottery students participated, other artists had only done sculptural work, so it gave those students a chance to try something outside of their expertise. Other benefits included working together as a group, learning how to meet deadlines, and even how to calculate “survival” rates.

Campana explained, “Not every bowl that we make survives; some have glaze problems or cracks in drying, so the group planned on roughly 15% not being up to standards. This project gave them a chance to experience more of the professionalism side than would be normally seen in just a class project.” The students fired a total of 90 bowls, resulting in 75 available for the Empty Bowls Project.  

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Empty Bowls Project — Photo Gallery