Teachers try art for a cause
David Stuart's art room at Stevens Creek Elementary School was filled with activity after school recently, with a group molding clay into bowls.
Stevens Creek Elementary school teacher Juli Sherwood smooths out some clay before forming it into a bowl. A group of about 20 teachers at the school made bowls to be given out at Sunday's Empty Bowl fund-raiser in Evans, which benefits Golden Harvest Food Bank and the Augusta Jewish Community Center.
Photo by Charmain Z. Brackett
"Some of the teachers had mentioned they wanted to learn pottery," said the North Augusta potter, who decided to combine a class with a worthwhile project.
The teachers were not making the bowls for their own kitchens, but for Empty Bowl, a fund-raiser to be held Sunday for Golden Harvest Food Bank and Augusta Jewish Community Center.
About 20 Stevens Creek teachers signed up for the class. Stuart taught them how to make bowls using balloons and plastic bowls to help shape the clay.
"If you don't like the way it's going, then start over," he told them.
Some of the teachers decided to add their own embellishments. Spanish teacher Olga Biancheri made small balls to decorate the edges of one of her bowls. Other bowls had handles and braided finishes around the edges.
"I love all kinds of crafts," Debbie Pirkle, a paraprofessional, said as she applied glaze to one of her bowls. "I sew and crochet, but pottery is the one thing I've never done."
Restaurants and caterers will provide soups, bread and desserts for the fund-raiser's luncheon, and artists are creating bowls that will be given to attendees. There also will be a silent auction.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Empty Bowl
WHEN: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Augusta Jewish Community Center, 898 Weinberger Way, Evans
COST: $15 for adults; $5 for children ages 2 to 10
PHONE: 736-1199, ext. 208, or 228-3636