Cheever, chili, c(h)eramics, oh my

The Ceramics Guild held their 2018 Fall Chili Bowl sale in the Dean’s Gallery on Nov. 7 and 8. All bowls were hand made by ceramics students and were available to purchase for $20. Although they did not take inventory of how many bowls were made in total, it was assumed that in a guild of 40 people, each person made about 30 bowls.

The students worked incredibly hard on crafting the bowls. Excluding the couple of days it takes to glaze and dry the ceramic, a bowl can take up to two hours to craft. When a student found a bowl they liked, they could purchase the ceramic and immediately use it to get some of the chili that was provided for the event.

There were seven different crock pots of chili available to attendees. Options included meat and vegetarian chilis, all home-made by the students, as well as President Cruzado’s special white-meat concoction. In addition, there was homemade cornbread, chips, soda and brownies available to purchase.

All proceeds from the event will be put to use in the MSU ceramics program, with the aim of raising money for the department so that they can buy more wood for firing, bring in more artists for demonstrations and have enough funds to send students to the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference in Minneapolis. This is the biggest ceramic conference in the United States and, in March, students from all over the country will travel to attend the annual convention.

The Chili Bowl is an annual event and takes place during the winter. So next year, when the temperatures begin to drop, be on the lookout for another round of good chili and even better pieces of art.