Students hand-build AAI youth scholarship fund

SEELEY LAKE – The last week of school, six Seeley-Swan High School industrial art students gathered around the back of Carrie Darrah's vehicle after being treated to lunch. Their faces lit up as Darrah carefully handed them their finished pottery bowls that would be sold filled with huckleberry ice cream at the Alpine Artisans, Inc.'s Loon and Fish Festival Aug. 19 and Aug. 20.

"The look on their faces was the best for me – they were all excited, talking to each other... That was the most excited I've seen those guys since we started this," Darrah said. "I told them 'You did that! It is functional and sellable.' That was awesome."

Since 2000, the Loon and Fish Festival has sold hand-thrown bowls filled with soup for lunch. Swan Valley Potter Bob Korn of Kornutopia and his wife Ruth introduced the idea to support the Seeley-Swan Community Food Bank. Korn donated his time and material to make 100 bowls. AAI artists decorated the bowls. Local businesses donated the soup.

In 2019, Darrah assisted Korn when he came out of retirement to make the bowls. She has continued this tradition for the past few years. AAI artist Kris Gullikson recruited members of the community to come and decorate them.

This year, Gullikson said the project has come full circle. Since joining AAI, she has had a heart for providing youth scholarships and grants to students for art-related education and camps.

"When it started the leaders Bob and Ruth Korn's hearts were for the food bank and it was a big need," Gullikson said. "Now there is not such a need for the Food Bank but there is a need for scholarship money."

Gullikson shifted the project to support AAI's youth scholarships and grant program. She reached out to SSHS Art Teacher Thomas Boelman and asked if he had students that could make 70 bowls to sell at the Loon and Fish Festival. Boelman was teaching an industrial arts class with six boys. He felt that would be a great project for them and appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with community members.

"I learn the process alongside as they are learning and then I have more time to practice," Boelman said. "The community has been embracing me and I want to give back."

Darrah was excited to continue helping. Since her expertise is on the pottery wheel, Darrah reached out to Dodie Wood in Condon to get some pointers on hand building with clay.

Following spring break, Darrah came in to Boelman's class 15 days for one to two hours a day to teach the students the process of hand building.

"It started out exciting but hand building is tedious and boring," Darrah said.

After wedging the clay 50 times to get rid of the air bubbles, the students rolled out the clay using a rolling pin or slab roller. Once it was the correct thickness, they sprayed the bowl forms with releasing agent and pressed in the clay.

The bowls had to be the right thickness and the right height or they did not come out. Boelman said the students would get frustrated when they did not work out.

Gullikson and Darrah tried to keep the students motivated by keeping a big treat bowl filled with fruit, donuts, candy and other goodies and bringing in homemade cookies. They also got the pottery wheels up and running for the students to use for practice.

After the bowls were built, Gullikson stepped in to help teach the students how to decorate the bowls.

"I told them to make them look like Seeley Lake, the stuff you see everyday, paint pine trees, paint water, paint fish, paint loons," Gullikson said. "You don't have to be an artist to paint these, just be creative."

"Loon and Fish is the name of the Festival so that is what we went with," Boelman said.

Darrah and Gullikson brought in stamps, they showed the students how to do textural inlays on the bowls and underglazing.

"They did some really cool things," Darrah said.

To finish decorating the bowls by the end of the school year, Boelman requested help from other SSHS classes. A few other teachers offered their students when it fit their schedule.

Once the bowls were decorated, Darrah fired them in her studio in Seeley Lake.

"They did really well and came out with some really nice work," Boelman said.

Darrah and Gullikson donated all the materials, time and equipment for the project. They spent nearly eight weeks to keep the students on track.

"I still had my hand deep in it even though I didn't make these bowls," Darrah said. "It all goes back to the school [for art scholarships and grants] and now the school has clay for next year to play with."

"Who knows if any of them will go into art at all but I know a couple of them are pretty creative kids," Gullikson said adding they each received the information about how to apply for a youth grant and a list of all the artists in the area that teach classes. "The bowls are student-grade but they are bowls that those boys are proud of and the money is coming back to the school."

Gullikson and Darrah agreed it would be ideal to keep it with the school in the future because it is for the youth scholarships and grant. However, it needs to be a small class with motivated students or could be an after school program.

"Tom was a huge help and we are very thankful for him," Gullikson said.

Darrah added, "It was a great cause and I love the school part of it."

The bowls are food safe and microwave safe. They will be sold filled with huckleberry ice cream for $20 at the Loon and Fish Festival held in the Seeley Lake Foundation Building Aug. 20 from 12 – 4 p.m. All proceeds benefit the AAI Youth Scholarships and Grants Program.