The Clay has Arrived at Thompson!

That’s 1,350 pounds of terra cotta clay and 36 pints plus one gallon of glaze. Soon to be 400 bowls!

Thank you to everyone who assisted or offered to assist with the clay delivery. We couldn’t have done it without your help.

Giving Back

A bowl embodies the human capacity to give and receive. In ceramics, bowl making is the most popular project because it holds this metaphor.

Clay is perhaps the world’s most responsive medium. It will do what you ask of it, within reason.  Pushed and squeezed by muddy fingers, a pot is transformed into hard, durable ceramic by the heat of the kiln. When we heard about hunger in the Thompson School Community, inspiration struck. Creating ceramic bowls with the kids and donating them to Arlington EATS for a food centered event integrates art, food and community.

 Art.

In keeping with the mission of the Thompson School, the project is inclusive–every student at the Thompson School, from kindergarten to 5th grade, will participate. Each class will receive two sessions of a ceramic arts integration workshop specifically tailored to their curriculum by the grade level teachers.  Each student will make two bowls– one to keep and one to donate. Workshops will start in February 2015. The finished projects will be returned to the students in April. All classes will discuss the process as a class with the artists when the pieces are presented.

Food.

Remember the story of Stone Soup? Hungry travelers arrive at a village with only an empty cooking pot, fill it with water, and add a stone. The villagers, curious, ask how do you make soup from a stone? We only need a bit of this or that, the travelers answer. When the villagers have each given something from their cupboards, a nourishing soup is served to all.

Children have been coming to school hungry. Clay vessels hold food. Holidays and celebrations center around food. By making the bowls for a community meal, the kids of Thompson become active participants in raising awareness of food scarcity while filling their bellies! One small gift multiplied by many becomes plenty for all.

Arlington EATS will be hosting a community meal and Empty Bowls event on May 16, 2015.

Community.

This project will bring together the efforts and gifts of students, teachers, families, local organizations and citizens of the Town of Arlington.