December 03, 2020
Penn State Ceramics students get creative to battle food insecurity on campus
![Stack of bowls and a bowl on a wooden box](https://arts.psu.edu/assets/uploads/news/_860xAUTO_fit_center-center_80_none/harrison-037-scaled.jpg)
In spite of a global pandemic, our student artists did what artists everywhere tend to do—showcase resilience and rise up to meet the challenges." -Kris GreyUndergraduate B.F.A. student Anna Graef and 2020 M.F.A. alumnus Andrew Castañeda, now an instructor, transformed a home garage into an offsite ceramic studio and began production for Bowled Over in the summer of 2020. This fall, when students and faculty were able to safely return to campus, the unfired bowls were transferred back to the ceramic studio where they could be glazed, fired and finished. Graef said working on the Bowled Over team has provided her with a sense of relief and purpose during a challenging time. “Throwing bowls for this community engagement project gave Andrew and me reason to set up our own makeshift garage studio space, and reason to return to clay for a cause,” noted Graef. “The repetition of throwing so many similar, though not identical, bowls was an interesting parallel to the repetitive general monotony of quarantine life. Knowing that the bowls were destined to help our community, though, helped to make our bowl production feel more meditative and productive than monotonous or taxing.” Second-year graduate student Audrey An designed a series of interchangeable decals based on drawings and images produced by ceramic students. First-year graduate student Harrison Boden helped glaze and apply decals to the surface of the bowls, and second-year grad student Austin Bradshaw designed and milled custom wood boxes to house each of the unique pieces. According to Shannon Goff, associate professor of art and co-director, with Grey, of Bowled Over, the project has been akin to an antidote for the coronavirus. “It has been a joy to witness how the process has emboldened and bonded the students. We foresee Bowled Over growing and changing based on students’ interest in cross-collaboration across the University and local area,” said Goff. “We look forward to in-person events and scaling the project up to create even more community connectivity, engagement and an even greater contribution to ending food insecurity in the region, all while making art accessible.” Individuals interested in supporting Bowled Over can purchase a bowl for $100, or make a donation, at https://clayc0ven.com/bowledover. The project is supported by the Arts & Design Research Incubator, and also benefits, in part, clay c0ven.
![Stack of bowls and a bowl on a wooden box](https://arts.psu.edu/assets/uploads/news/_680xAUTO_fit_center-center_80_none/harrison-037-scaled.jpg)
![Placing a decal on a ceramic bowl](https://arts.psu.edu/assets/uploads/news/_680xAUTO_fit_center-center_80_none/Decal-Party-13-scaled.jpg)
![Table full of ceramic bowls waiting to be fired](https://arts.psu.edu/assets/uploads/news/_680xAUTO_fit_center-center_80_none/bowls-glazing-anna-harrsion-4-scaled.jpg)
![Poster for Bowled Over project](https://arts.psu.edu/assets/uploads/news/_680xAUTO_fit_center-center_80_none/FINALFINAL_BOWLEDOVER-ColorEdit-scaled-e1607035630210.jpg)
Schools and Departments:
School of Visual Arts
Unit Research:
A&A Sustainability, Arts and Design Research Incubator
Architecture Clusters:
Sustainability (SUS)