Superintendent’s Spotlight: WVHS Empty Bowls Club

Empty Bowls is a global grassroots movement. It is led by artists who sell their work and give the money to food-related charities providing for the hungry, right in their own communities. There are Empty Bowls groups all over the world, including our active club right here at Warwick Valley High School. Student artists – advised by art teacher Nicole Sisco – make up the Empty Bowls Club, which shares the same vision and goals. They spend their free time creating for the cause, making handmade pieces that are sold at school and community events to raise funds for food-related charitable organizations serving our community.

The Empty Bowls Club is made up of some of the high school’s most enthusiastic and dedicated art lovers and creators, and their interests and skills cover a range of different disciplines. Some have taken a ceramics class and some have not. Some come to the club right out of courses like Foundations in Art. There are students who love to draw and conceptualize designs, and others who like to focus on the wheel and ceramics. All together, the group dynamic sparks lots of collaborative energy!

This year, the club has been selling their handmade items at the popular Warwick Makers Markets, including some successful pre-holidays sales.

“For the Makers Market, I created a spoon rest,” said sophomore Helene Wires. “I’ve created family-oriented things, and also ornaments during Christmas, which was a big seller!”

Currently, the Empty Bowls students are working on restocking the inventory with one-of-a-kind pieces for some upcoming events. One of those events is The Warwick Great Cut, on March 2, 2024. The event is inspired by the national Great Cuts program, which helps children with hair loss by inviting people to have their long hair cut and donated for wigs. The charitable aspect of Empty Bowls is inspiring and motivating for many of the artists who choose join the club.

“I joined the club because I really love art, and I also wanted a way to get to know some upperclassmen,” said freshman Sophie Quicke. “And I love the club’s focus on charity!”

As for creative inspiration, Empty Bowls students shared that they find inspiration from just about anywhere, from their surroundings to a quick Pinterest search.

“I love vintage color schemes,” explained Sophie. “I love old aesthetics and early 2000’s work, so I use that a lot in my own designs.”

Arlo Moller, also a freshman, took ceramics in her first semester. She enjoyed the class so much, that she decided to join Empty Bowls. She said that she draws inspiration from bright color palettes.

Both Sophie and Arlo were a part of the Crochet Club in middle school. In fact, you can read about that right here. Teachers and administrators even got involved and learned the craft from their students! There was also regular inter-school collaboration the high school fiber arts club and their advisor, WVHS music teacher Elissa Maynard. 

Ms. Sisco is proud of the hard work this year’s Empty Bowl group has been putting in, and the help they’ve been able to extend to the local charities they support. With such creativity, collaboration, and civic-mindedness, the students in the Empty Bowls Club embody key qualities of our district’s Portrait of a Graduate. Working together on their projects, and working to hone their skills with Ms. Sisco, the members of the Empty Bowls Club  practice conscientious creativity every day.