Handmade bowls help fund ceramics department

The Saddleback College Fine Arts department hosted Strawberry Shortcake Bowl, a fundraiser for the ceramics department, held in the Fine Arts quad last Thursday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“Students volunteered to make bowls and donated the bowls and we sold them for $10 a piece,” said John Ginnaty, adjunct instructor and senior fine arts lab technician. “So when people picked out a bowl, we filled them with strawberry shortcake.”

Hundreds of bowls for students and staff to purchase at the Strawberry Shortcake Bowl, a fundraiser for the ceramic department. (Angel Grady/Lariat)

There are about 175 students in the ceramics department that helped make over 500 bowls to donate to this event.  The bowls were all crafted differently, varying in size and shape. Under the glaze each one had its own design, choosing only one could not have been easy.

“Very difficult, very difficult, they’re all really really good,” said art major Ramon Hernandez.

Every dish was to come filled with shortcake, strawberries and whip cream, but because of the popularity, they ran out of strawberries and cake before the event was scheduled to end. However, this did not discourage people from purchasing the handcrafted bowls.

“There was a ton of people, especially when we opened,” said student volunteer Raynie Hoole. “There were probably 50 people waiting for us to open.”

Hoole said it takes about 30 minutes to make a bowl from start to finish and that she made over 100 bowls to donate to this event. She said this is a hobby of hers that she enjoys glazing the work and seeing how it comes out, “it’s always a treat.”

With unit sales high, it is interesting that the event is not held every year. According to Ginnaty, they like to keep it special, he said he does not want people to get sick of it. In doing the event every other year, “people are hungry for it.”

The department advertises for the event by posting fliers throughout the campus a week or so in advance. Expect to see these mini posters spread across the school again in the spring 2018 semester. Arriving early is the best idea to have first pick at the bowls and have a fresh filling of strawberry shortcake.

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