Ceramics course helps local Empty Bowls project

03/19/2008

Sign up for an advanced ceramics course at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, and you’d expect to make ceramic bowls and pots.

But Samuel Johnson, assistant professor of art at CSB and SJU, sought to integrate the idea of social awareness into the curriculum, with help from the Service Learning Office at CSB and SJU; the Peer Resource Program at CSB and SJU; the Art Club at CSB and SJU; and the Dean of Students at CSB.

“This is the first time we’ve included a service learning component in the class. I have always wanted to include a service learning component in the class, but I wasn’t sure how to do it until I hit upon the idea of joining the local Empty Bowls project,” Johnson said. “I wanted our students to think about their role in the world as artists, how they contribute to that and what are the burdens of that role.”

Suddenly, a great idea literally spun off the potter’s wheel – over 200 times.

When the Empty Bowls Benefit is held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 30 at the Paramount Arts District in St. Cloud, the CSB and SJU students will have contributed over 200 bowls to the fundraising event, as well as volunteering at the event.

Each attendee pays $10 (individual) or $30 (family) to receive a homemade bowl, soup, bread and a beverage while enjoying entertainment. They keep their bowls as a reminder that someone else’s bowl around the world is always empty. The event benefits the St. Cloud area Lutheran Social Service Crisis Nursery, where children from infancy through 12 years of age can be given safe care on a short-term basis when there is a crisis in the family.

“For the whole semester, we are devoting half of our time to the Empty Bowls project and the other half of our time toward our own independent projects,” said SJU student Steven Lemke, a senior from St. Cloud. “However, the two intersect in interesting ways – for example, elements from our independent projects can serve as inspiration for our bowl projects, and the social philosophies expressed in the service learning component can augment the meaning or intent behind our personal projects.”

Besides making the bowls, the students sponsored a gathering Feb. 16 at CSB inviting participants to make their own bowls. Over 200 participants – including CSB president MaryAnn Baenninger – used over 700 pounds of clay to make their bowls.

“The day was an absolute success in several ways: it raised awareness for the causes behind the Empty Bowls project; it spurred interest in the CSB/SJU ceramics program; and it allowed people from areas outside the art department to come and join in on the kind of learning that art students experience every day,” said Lemke, who is president of the Art Club.

Empty Bowls, started in 1990, is an internationally recognized program designed to draw attention to the problem of hunger in the United States and the world.

“The Empty Bowls project is worth supporting not only because it aids people in need, but also because it helps foster the idea that art can play a serious role in creating change in our society,” Lemke said. “I think the event is also important because it gives the art students at CSB and SJU an essential sense of purpose within the community.”