CERAMICS FOR A CAUSE: The Mercer County Community College (MCCC) Visual Arts Club and Hospitality Club teamed up for a fundraiser to benefit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK). With the contribution of about 150 bowls and mugs created by MCCC ceramicists, along with soup and hot chocolate from the Hospitality Club, the project raised more than $500 for TASK. Shown from left are MCCC Visual Arts Club President Anna Kaster, culinary instructor Frank Benowitz, and customer Lorena Abad, a student in the Health Professions Division.

The Mercer County Community College (MCCC) Visual Arts Club and Hospitality Club recently teamed up for a fundraiser to benefit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK). Approximately 20 ceramicists worked throughout the fall to produce close to 150 bowls and mugs in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. On the day of the fundraiser, culinary students joined in, preparing two kinds of soup (Mulligatawny and butternut squash) to fill the bowls and hot chocolate (made with three types of chocolate) to fill the mugs.

The fundraiser was the idea of Visual Arts Club President Anna Kaster, who began planning the event last spring with support from Fine Arts faculty members Kerri O’Neill and Michael Welliver.

“They gave us space to store the bowls and added to the total themselves. And they helped us organize as the day approached,” Kaster said. She notes that art students, including local artists who use Mercer as their studio, were very generous, contributing as many as ten pieces each to the project.

The cost was $10 for a bowl and $5 for a mug. “We wanted to make it affordable for everyone,” said Kaster, noting that some MCCC folks paid more than the asking price to up the proceeds, which totaled $515.

Kaster and O’Neill revitalized the Visual Arts Club in the spring, and now Kaster serves as its president. “One of my goals is for the community to understand the talent of the artists who pass through this college. It is really quite amazing,” she said.