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Students and Faculty ‘get their hands dirty’: Junior Caleigh D.’s Ceramics Bowl-A-Thon Workshop Makes its Debut By: Lauren C.

On December 3 and 4, Caleigh D. ’23 prepared clay and pottery wheels in the Ceramics room for her first Community Action Project (CAP) workshop, also known as the Bowl-A-Thon workshop. The preceding workshops before the final event involve Westridge student and faculty volunteers who make handmade ceramic bowls and soup. The final Bowl-A-Thon event will take place on February 25, where Caleigh and a handful of volunteers will sell their handmade bowls with a chosen soup made from the workshops to buyers. Proceeds will be sent to a hunger-based non-profit organization. Through her CAP project, Caleigh hopes to raise awareness about food insecurity while bringing the community together.

In the leading workshops before the final event, volunteers make bowls by the wheel or coil method. After the bowls are made, they are trimmed, glazed, and fired for the final event. Then, soup is prepared by volunteers during the final Bowl-A-Thon event on February 25th. “People buy the bowls that they like and then they get the soup that they want in the bowl that they want, and all the proceeds go to a hunger-based non-profit,” Caleigh explained.

Making a bowl in the Friday workshop! (photo credit: Lauren C.)

Caleigh hosted workshops on December 3 and 4 and will hold another two-day workshop on January 29th where people will make the ceramic bowls that will be sold at the final event. Although she was worried about how many people would attend, volunteers started to file in before the workshop even started. “I was a bit scared that no one was going to show up, but I was really impressed with how many people showed up, how many bowls we got, and how people had as much fun with it as they did,” Caleigh said. Over the course of two days, Caleigh had 85 bowls to be trimmed, fired, and glazed.

All the bowls completed for both Friday and Saturday! (photo credit: Daria H.)

Caleigh originally had the idea to do the project through her CAP advisor, Juanita Jimenez, a retired Art Department Chair at Westridge. Lorri Deyer, the Upper School Art Teacher and Caleigh’s mother, had done a similar workshop in the past and was able to guide Caleigh as well. “We did a Bowl-A-Thon at my old school back on the East Coast, Miss Porters School, where we donated the proceeds there, too, and the students each year enjoyed seeing their artwork benefit others,” said Lorri. “It's a real gift to give something creative of yourself that both feeds those in need and gives [you] a chance to break bread together.”

Caleigh was excited about the turnout for the first workshop of the year, but she noted that some things didn’t turn out as expected. She had wanted volunteers to make bowls on Friday and come back to trim on Saturday, but instead, there were different volunteers throwing bowls for both days. “We encourage people to come back and do the whole bowl themselves, like trimming and glazing, but a lot of people have not gotten back to me.” She realized that not a lot of people came back to finish their bowls because it wasn't clearly stated, and she hopes that more people would do so in the next workshop. “I really want them to experience the whole process of making a bowl: throwing, trimming, and glazing.”

The perspective of a volunteer making a bowl! (photo credit: Lauren C.)

At the first workshop in January, Juanita Jimenez, Lorri Deyer, a few professional ceramicists, ceramics class students, and Caleigh herself all helped instruct the students and faculty in making the bowls. Some students with experience in ceramics, like Nitya C. ’23 and Chloe Q. ’24, also helped at the workshop.

All the volunteers and teachers at the Saturday workshop. (photo credit: Daria H.)

Juanita Jimenez visited Westridge from her home in Joshua Tree to help out with the workshop. She said that Caleigh had a “great CAP project involving the Westridge community to get off the computer and get their hands dirty with the earth/clay.” When Juanita was helping out around the workshop, she said, “I could see and feel the energy from everyone's hands, [which was] a lovely sight to take in.” She was happy with how the workshop worked out and considered the first two-day workshop a success.

The sign-in sheet filled up next to some handmade bowls! (photo credit: Daria H.)

“It was unbelievably fun. When you start to open the clay to make it a bowl, it seriously feels as though some magic is involved. And it is all the more joyous knowing you are doing this for a good cause,” said Willa Greenstone, an Upper School History teacher.

Volunteers working on their bowls. (photo credit: Daria H.)

“It was a cheerful atmosphere, and we all enjoyed ourselves,” said Sarah Yoder, Lower School Teaching Assistant.

“I can’t imagine going to a Bowl-A-Thon at any other school, and being given this opportunity without the great people, like Caleigh, at Westridge,” said Stephanie C. ’25. “I’ve never done anything like it, and I’m really grateful to have been able to attend!”

“I thought the Bowl-A-Thon was a fun and educational event!” said Kiera S. ’24. “It was great to learn how to use the wheel and to be able to know that I was working towards a good cause.”

Kiera S. working on her bowl! (photo credit: Daria H.)

Caleigh explained that it was a unique experience to teach her own teacher at the event. “[Ms. Greenstone] showing up to my event was really cool, and also seeing her continue coming back to ceramics to finish trimming her bowls and seeing how interested she was because of that and how she had never done ceramics before, so I was giving her the opportunity to find something she was interested in. It really meant a lot.”

Willa Greenstone agreed. “It was pretty great reversing roles, and having Caleigh as well as other students that were around teach me. I was the novice, and they were great teachers.” Mrs. Greenstone was also happy to learn so much in such little time and hopes to continue coming back to make more bowls. “I want to do this more,” she said.

Credits:

Lauren C., Daria H.