Dabbling in ceramics for a cause

Community invited to make and decorate bowls to help Joliet Junior College students

By Denise M. Baran-Unland

March 29, 2019 at 5:30 am CDT

Eric Gorder, clay artist and associate professor of art at JJC, is offering the community the chance to dabble in ceramics for free as a way to help students in need at JJC on April 30. Here's how it works: Individuals from the community may make a clay bowl on April 3 to donate to JJC's Empty Bowls Project luncheon on April 30, which attendees may buy for $10 each. Proceeds will help combat food insecurities (lack of access to proper food) through the JJC Student Emergency Fund, according to a news release from JJC. Gorder feels the project has a second benefit. "By sitting down and breaking bread together, we also recognize how fortunate we are to have this opportunity to eat,” Gorder said in the release. The JJC Empty Bowls Project is patterned after the Empty Bowls movement. This grassroots effort, founded by The Imagine Render Group, strives to raise awareness of, as well as combat, hunger.

Gorder, who teaches Ceramics I and Ceramics II at JJC, said no experience in working with clay is necessary to make these bowls since participants won't be using the potter's wheel. Instead, they will drape slabs of clay over a plastic mold, he said. "They can add texture to them and glaze them after that," he added. Gorder noticed from past bowl-making events in February and March (the March group actually made 22 bowls, Gorder said), some of the participants were hesitant about tackling clay for the first time. But when they saw others felt the same, a sense of camaraderie developed. "There's always an innate sense of fear at having to perform," Gorder said. "And so when you go into a group of an expectation of having to make something, everyone gets a little nervous. "But when no one's done it and everyone is at the same level of experience, it makes it a little more fun." Even those with past experience felt at ease. "Individuals who hadn't worked with clay in 15 years said, 'I just had to come out and work with clay again,'" Gorder said. It didn't take long for attendees to smile and engage in conversation with each other, he said. And many were quite and happy and surprised with their results. "Everyone left with smiles on their faces," Gorder said. "It's been a lot of fun." Teaching 3D art in the age of 3D printers may sound high tech, but 3D art also includes mastering methods of that include wire, plaster, wood and found objects, as well as learning how to use a variety of woodworking tools, including hand and power saws. Navigating a 3D printer is new for Gorder. But since many colleges now have them, Gorder has developed, and still is developing, ways to incorporate it into some of his classes.

IF YOU GO WHAT: Empty Bowls Project WHEN: 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday WHERE: Joliet Junior College, K-0007, 1215 Houbolt Road, Joliet ETC.: Make and donate a ceramic bowl INFORMATION: Contact Gorder at egorder@jjc.edu. IF YOU GO WHAT: Empty Bowls Project Luncheon WHEN: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 30 WHERE: Joliet Junior College, J-Building, 1215 Houbolt Road, Joliet ETC.: $10. Includes choice of a handmade bowl, soup, bread, and drink INFORMATION: Register at jjc.edu/empty-bowls-project

Denise M. Baran-Unland

Denise M. Baran-Unland is the features editor for The Herald-News in Joliet. She covers a variety of human interest stories. She also writes the long-time weekly tribute feature “An Extraordinary Life about local people who have died. She studied journalism at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, now the University of St. Francis.