Empty Bowl Project

EMPTY BOWL DINNER

was held on

FEBRUARY 24TH, 2008

A huge crowd of diners came to Westview to enjoy Good Food, a Good Cause and Good Company! Lively music, talented dancing, delicious soup, tasty bread and a bevy a beautiful bowls greeted them. Tremendous thanks go to a huge corp of teacher, student and parent volunteers that made the evening such a success.

Dear Friends,

Sunday, February 24, 2008 was a truly wonderful night. The Sandy Spring Friends School Empty Bowl Dinner provided our community with a chance to come together, eat delicious soup, and, most importantly, raise money for Second Harvest. While hunger seems a distant concern for many of us in Montgomery County, the reality is that 11.7 million American children go to bed every day having missed at least one meal because it was not available to them. The Empty Bowl Project and Second Harvest try to make sure that no child goes to bed with an empty stomach.

Two years ago Kate Santorineos approached me with the idea of participating in an Empty Bowl Project, an event already embraced by many other schools. After our first successful evening in 2006, Kate and I began planning ways to allow all members of our community -- students, faculty and staff, and families -- the joy of doing something for others less fortunate. We started by offering “Sundays in the Art Barn” at the Parent Auction and ended by opening the art rooms for many weekend and late afternoon bowl making sessions. By the time we unloaded our last kiln in late February, we had 889 wonderful bowls!

The evening brought a continuous stream of diners—approximately 650—who were entertained by the SSFS Faculty Jazz Ensemble. Ari Preuss’ student dance troupe performed many numbers that kept the place hopping, all under colorful art from the three divisions.

For us, the art teachers, the bowl making process was easy, intense, but easy. Planning, advertising, and finding sponsors were the challenges. The PA Community Service Committee helped solve those problems with their eagerness, guidance, and availability. They found and organized all of the awesome community and student volunteers. They helped decorate; set tables; cleaned, peeled and cut all of those generously donated veggies and oranges; oversaw the parking; then worked through the night monitoring the tables and serving the soup. The incredible evening couldn't have been done without each and every one of the organizers, volunteers, students, and soup eaters.

Kate, Lori, Alison and I would like to thank the entire community. The total donation to be sent to Second Harvest will be posted soon. We are truly blessed to be in such a kind and giving community. Our growing school is getting bigger. That just allows us to invite more Friends to the party!

Michelle, Kate, Lori, and Alison

Faculty and Family Bowl making January 8th

Family Bowl making November 29th

US students come to make bowls in November

Georgia O'Keefe inspired bowls

Cave painting designed bowls

Vincent Van Gogh inspired bowls

Dorm Students busy making bowls on Nov 11

Colorful bowls start to emerge from the kiln, waiting for soup.

Family Bowl Making Session ---- Sunday, October 28th, 2007

On a sunny day in October, after days of rain, grandparents from New Mexico, cousins and friends gathered together to make bowls.

Art Department members take an afternoon in October to try their creative hand at making bowls.

Family Bowl Making Session ---- Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

Pretty bowls waiting to be fired, glazed and then filled with soup!

Fun in the Middle School art Room on another sunny May afternoon 2007

On a sunny May afternoon

Everyone got into the swings of things, from little to big, to create bowls on a Thursday in May!

Sunday afternoon in May

Lots of bowls were made and others glazed as a sunny Sunday afternoon in May was filled with creative and generous energy.

Sunday afternoon in March

Everybody had fun working with clay and glaze to make beautiful bowls.

Even Max the cat wanted to help.

Empty Bowl Making Session 2007

Lori Gravley-Novello (Us English teacher) brought her US advisee students to the art barn after they requested to learn how to make bowls. They wanted to help teach others as a form of community service in preparation for the next Empty Bowl dinner in 2007-8.

Empty Bowl Dinner

On January 29th, 2006, the community came together to enjoy warm soup in handmade bowls, to listen to beautiful musi, to see beatiful art and to help the hungry. A good time was had by all and quite a bit of money will be sent to Second harvest to help the hungry. From over 600 bowls, few remain sadly left unclaimed, but they will be saved to be filled with soup in a future event. Thanks to the whole community for their support of this endeavor and to the many who pulled together to make this evening come together.

The soup tasted even better than possible in these beauties.

Colors, shapes, personality abound.

So many to choose from!

Each one prettier than the one before!

Oh, making a choice was hard

Auction bowls

Carved drape bowl

Textured fluted drape bowl

Underwater scene draped bowl

Bee and Sunflower draped bowl

Composite slump bowl

Coil bowl

Keeping ones hands out of the bowls was hard

Wheel thrown, splatter glazed, dipped, painted, sponged...oh the variations!

People enjoying the evening

Fun crowd

Music brought to us by talented staff and students

Soup ladled out by a cadre of helpful parents working overtime!

Michael Ackerson oversaw the dinner making process to help create a delicious soup from vegetables brought in by students and cleaned by parents.

From old to young, all enjoyed the soup.

Community Bowl Making Session

Faculty and family members were invited to the barn to make bowls and/or to experiment with glazing as our Empty Bowl Evening of the Arts on January 29th quickly approaches.

Drawing and painting students add their artistic hand to ceramic bowls.

Even the PK class came to barn to make bowls. With a twinkle in their eyes, they carefully formed the clay around the mold and then decorated the bowl with stamps, adding personal touches all around. They then focused with determination to glaze.

Working, working, working hard!

Oh, the fun!

Upper school kids lending their creative hand

Teamwork!!!!

A Family effort to help others!

Hot out of the kiln.....a new bevy of beauties!

Flying elephant bowl.

Personality plus!

First kiln load emerges... oh how good the soup will taste in these beauties!

Empty Bowl Fundraiser, an All-School Event

Imagine yourself this winter, sipping nourishing soup in a beautiful, handmade bowl in the company of friends and family. To your delight, you can even take this wonderful piece of ceramic art home with you at the end of the night for a small donation. Please join us on Sunday evening, January 29 th, for a simple meal to help the hungry.

Started in Michigan by an art teacher who wanted to prove that art could make a social change, the project has grown from one school to hundreds worldwide. Linking to the movement, the SSFS Art Department is sponsoring our own “Empty Bowl” night this winter.

Reflecting our community, it is no surprise that students in all grades, PK-12, will be making bowls of every shape, size, color and personality for this special event.

On the evening of the event, January 29th, homemade soups will be on hand with which to fill the unique bowls. With a little fresh bread and fruit to round off this simple meal, all in the community are invited to dine together to help others. Proceeds from this fundraiser will go to the hurricane Katrina hunger relief efforts.

“A beautiful bowl to be purchased, a warm cup of soup to be eaten, a cold winter evening with community spirit, funds for the hungry --- all are ingredients too delicious for words.” (ld)

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact either Alison Baker at # 332 or Kate Santorineos at #338.

From careful making.....