Empty Bowls Project
Paint brush in hand, Labette Community College Assistant Professor of Art Burt Bucher sat in quiet solitude at the workbench in the college’s ceramics studio, applying coats of glaze to 25 bisque bowls he had thrown on the pottery wheel and fired days prior.
When a visitor arrived, he raised his head from his work and smiled, welcoming them. His face lit up as he began to share about the project he was working on, and how those very bowls he was making will help feed the hungry after he donates them to the Empty Bowls project organized by Watered Garden Ministries in Joplin, Mo.
The Empty Bowls project is an international, grassroots initiative started by art teacher John Hartom in 1990 to fight hunger through the art community. Bucher has been using his artistic talents to contribute to these projects for years in various communities in which he has lived and worked.
“I first encountered the Empty Bowls project when I was an undergraduate at Eastern Kentucky University. Joe Molinaro, my professor in ceramics, encouraged all of us students to participate in the Empty Bowls project in Richmond, Kentucky. He provided the clay, the glaze, and the studio for all of us students to work as much as we wanted, Bucher recalled.
“He hosted overnight throwing parties where he would provide pizza and snacks, and some of us would come in and work. Now, thinking back to it, he was getting us to practice the techniques that we learned in class while also providing a much needed contribution to such a worthy project.”
Bucher explained that Empty Bowls was developed to feed the hungry not just with money, but with literal food, served out of artisans’ handmade bowls with the intention of symbolically feeding the needy and the hungry.
“This project has been, and could be, associated with churches, food banks, or simply community outreach by individuals,” he said. “What happens is, once the bowls are created they are delivered to an organization. Then volunteers will cook food, usually soup or stew, and serve it to the public in the handmade ceramic bowls. Each person pays between $25 and $35 for this lunch or dinner provided by the host organization. Those who donate enjoy a wonderful meal and keep the artisan’s bowl the meal came in. All the money generated then goes to specific charities and or outreach partners to directly help those in need.”
Last year as the director of Henderson Art Gallery at Labette Community College, Bucher invited ceramic artist Mark Strayer to have an exhibition.
“As Mark and I connected while installing his exhibition, we were talking about Empty Bowls and he invited me to participate in Joplin through Watered Gardens. I connected with the organization, and volunteered to create 25 bowls made here at LCC in the ceramics studio. Last year was their biggest year to date, and I was thrilled to participate with such amazing artists, some of whom I have taught over my 20-year career as an art professor in higher education,” Bucher said.
This year, the 14th Annual Empty Bowls fundraiser will take place Thursday, Nov. 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m at Suzanne’s Natural Foods, 3106 Connecticut Ave., in Joplin, Mo.. Donations are a minimum of $25 a bowl. You can also get your bowl in advance for a minimum $30 donation. The higher presale price gives you first pick of all the beautiful pottery designs, and anyone who buys early can still stop by Suzanne's Natural Foods on Thursday, Nov. 12, for a serving of soup. Available pottery for the project can be viewed at the Joplin Greenhouse & Coffee Shop, 2820 E 32nd St., Joplin, Mo., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19; 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 2; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21 through Saturday, Sept. 26.
This is Bucher’s second year to help Watered Gardens’ Empty Bowls project. but not his last.
“I fully intend to continue my participation,” he said. “I look forward to all of the great people I will get to work with, the support I can provide, and like my professor, Joe Molinaro instilled in me all those years ago, continue the hard work and dedication in perfecting my craft and my skills while serving others.”
His efforts have also been focused on localizing the project. Last year, his second at LCC, Bucher replicated the Empty Bowls project on a miniature scale during spring in-service.
“Kelly Kirkpatrick (LCC Vice President of Student Affairs) and I had a discussion and decided to promote the idea for our faculty/staff cook-off, which generates support for the campus food pantry,” he said. “We sold all of the bowls and raised a really good amount for the pantry and helped support our students.”
While he would like to do that again, he said that he hopes to also connect with the local food banks to host Empty Bowls projects as future fundraisers.
“My goal is to continue growing this initiative on campus by training our ceramics students to develop strong wheel throwing skills so they can make dishware such as mugs, plates and bowls that they can donate to the food pantry,” Bucher added. “This not only helps develop their skills, but will teach them about how art can support their community and also be a source of income for them as developing art professionals.”