BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Bellows Falls Union High School senior Shelby Stoodley had two needs: To come up with a senior project, and to foster her love of ceramics. So she combined them.
After doing some research, she recently delivered ten handmade bowls to Our Place Drop-in Center in Bellows Falls for use in their next Empty Bowl fundraiser, which will support the local food pantry.
“People don’t really know about my interest in ceramics,” she said in a recent interview. Her interest goes back to middle school, when she was introduced to ceramics by art teacher Mary Lou Massucco. “I still have that bowl,” she said.
As a freshman at BFUHS, she had a taste of the potter’s wheel with art teacher Anna Macijeski, but was disappointed she couldn’t fit the full ceramics class into her senior schedule. “Although, this devastation pushed me to achieve something else…to make this more than making ceramics, but making it to benefit the community,” she said.
With the help of Our Place board members Louise Luring and Sarah Campbell, Stoodley researched the event, learning that the first Empty Bowl fundraiser took place on a hot September day in 1998 at the former Rockingham Motor Inn, and that it has grown to become the organization’s major fundraiser. During the pandemic, Our Place had to switch to a remote Stone Soup event, but that they hope to get back to the in-person gathering this fall.
As part of the project, Stoodley will present to a panel at school, including research she did on the history and societal benefits of ceramics.
“I believe art and ceramics benefit society in many ways,” she said. “I believe that the thought of giving someone a homemade gift, made from your own artwork, really does make a difference for people, having them feel loved and cared for.”
She sees art as a way to relieve stress and as an opportunity for non-judgmental expression.
In addition to ceramics, Stoodley is active in cross-country and track and field events at BFUHS, and works at Village Square Booksellers. In January, she was named Elks Student of the Month, cited for her contributions to the school and for her community involvement with the American Legion, Chamber of Commerce, and Rockingham Free Public Library.
The daughter of Lee and Doreen Stoodley of Westminster, she plans to pursue studies as a dental hygienist at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine in the fall.