Fifth-grade students at 17 schools in the Plant City area are using their artistic talents to make a difference in their community. These budding artists are creating clay bowls for United Food Bank of Plant City’s (UFBPC) annual fundraiser, Empty Bowls Project.
Volunteers delivered the clay, glazes and instructions to schools in the area and art teachers quickly got to work helping students create their masterpieces. Under the guidance of Cassi Lemonidis, art teacher at Lincoln Elementary Magnet School, young artisans started handcrafting their bowls last week from a small block of clay.
Lemonidis, who taught students the different parts of a bowl (the lip, the body and the foot) said they have to work fast because clay dries out quickly. Students formed the clay into a ball then, using their thumbs, pushed it in the center of the ball to make an indentation then began pinching and turning until a bowl-like shape formed. In upcoming class periods they’ll carve words and add texture to the bowl and then glaze them.
While some of the students want to keep the bowls they’ve created, Lemonidis is quick to point out the clay was donated to them and the bowls symbolize all the bowls that go empty every day and it’s their way to give back to the community. “It’s really cool for the kids to be able to see that they can give back,” said Lemonidis. “They’re handcrafting this bowl that somebody is going to take home and probably keep for years and years.”
She encouraged her students to attend the event and watch as people select the bowls they’ve crafted. “I want them to see that people want their art and it’s going to a good cause so it’s awesome all around,” she said.
For UFBPC Director Mary Heysek, the service the students provide is immeasurable. “The kids don’t realize that they are being compassionate by making the bowls because it seems to come naturally to them, they take great care in making the bowls,” she said. “Some of the students have also volunteered with their families at the food bank.”
The Empty Bowls Project, in its thirteenth year, will take place November 11 at the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The community is invited to attend and, with a ticket purchase, select a unique clay bowl, with all the proceeds going directly to the UFBPC.
For more information about the Empty Bowls Project visit ufbpc.org.