'Empty Bowls' event at CLC helps feed the hungry

Visitors to the College of Lake County's ninth annual Empty Bowls carefully examined homemade ceramic bowls Wednesday, admiring the skill that went into creating them, before handing over $15 for each along with some chili.

The money, however, was less for the ceramic bowl, or even than food, as it was to help in the fight against hunger in the suburbs.

Members of the CLC Community Clay Association, consisting of both faculty and students, created more than 800 bowls for the event held in hopes of raising $5,000 for the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

"We sell the bowls and we serve soup, and in this case chili, and we use the funds to help feed the hungry," said David Bolton, ceramics department instructor at the college. "Students feel like they are helping the community by donating the bowls and then when people grab the bowls and begin 'Oohing' and 'Ahhhing' over them, it kind of helps your ego."

Among the student artists participating was Sebastian Jimenez of Waukegan. He also bought several of his peers' bowls.

"They are a lot cheaper and they go for a good cause," he said. "It's a great deal."

After art lovers purchased the ceramic bowls, the CLC Hospitality and Culinary Management program offered free chili and cornbread poured in separate cardboard bowls. After all, the recently purchased bowls were works of art.

The Empty Bowls project started in 1990 by art teacher John Hartom and his wife, Lisa Blackburn, as part of a high school ceramics class in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. It has since spread across the United States and to countries around the world.