Good-hearted enthusiasm is once again fueling the talented potters of Indian River Clay, as come pandemic or high-water its members are in the midst of making more than 1,200 clay bowls for the annual Samaritan Center Soup Bowl fundraiser, scheduled to take place Thursday, Nov. 4.
“There’s a little bit of competitive spirit in the studio right now,” says Susan Scarola, treasurer of the nonprofit clay studio.
Fellow potter Beverly Swatt chirrups in, “A little bit, huh?”
Scarola laughs as she identifies Swatt as the instigator of a challenge to have each potter make at least their own age in bowls; preferably twice their age. Although committed to creating 1,200 bowls, the artisans hope to make 1,500 of the highly sought-after creations.
“I will never be an artist the way Beverly is,” Scarola says. “Last year I made about 20 bowls, each built by hand. I’ve already made 22 this year. I’m upping the ante.”
“Last year, I made 79 bowls,” says Swatt. “I was joking around to everybody to make double their age plus two. So, I’ve got 59 in the process of being made. I will try to get up to 150 bowls. We’ll see.”
It’s a time-consuming process. Between building, glazing, firing and decorating, Scarola says she spends about two hours on each of the coveted bowls. Swatt adds that there are some potters who make some 200 bowls for the fundraiser.
“We had a gal Tuesday night who made 37 bowls in three and a half hours,” Swatt says.
“She’s a wizard. She sits at the potter’s wheel and she’s just like a machine. She listens to music and makes pottery. So, there’s all levels of talent and efficiency and productivity.”
In addition to Indian River Clay members, other area potters contribute to the cause by working in their own private studios, many also using their own clay.
Some of the potters are experienced, good on the potters’ wheel,” Swatt says. “Some are novices, only been doing clay for a small amount of time. They hand build. We encourage anyone who wants to make a bowl to make a bowl. One Sunday, we had a mother, daughter and son-in-law come in just to watch. They ended up each making a bowl while they were here.”
A tremendous amount of support, sharing and encouragement fills the studio, Sarcola says.
Recently, her own self-confidence was bolstered when an “incredibly experienced” potter borrowed an idea from her.
“That made me feel really good,” says Scarola. “This potter, for whom I have incredible respect, looked at what I was doing and learned from it.”
Indian River Clay has turned out to be exactly the type of organization Scarola had hoped for when she helped establish it three years ago.
Like many transplants, she had retired from corporate life and moved from the Hudson River Valley area of New York to Florida. New to the area, she was looking for something to keep her busy and “kind of stumbled” into pottery.
“I leveraged my corporate skills and gained a whole world of art and friends and passion,” she says.
The success of the clay studio has both shocked and pleased Scarola. The nonprofit currently has 55 members, with a waiting list of potters wanting to join, and classes are selling out at 80 percent plus.
“We can’t fill all the demand,” Scarola says.
She says members have been doing some of their own fundraising in hopes of buying the building, which would enable them to bring in some additional equipment.
“There are different kinds of kilns and equipment that would allow artists to continue to develop skills,” she says. “But we’re hesitant. How far do we go without controlling our space?”
Swatt, a potter since the early 1970s, says she initially discovered pottery while living in Boca Raton, but it wasn’t until her children were busy with activities of their own that she got more involved with it. After a move to Miami, she opened a gallery in North Miami Beach and represented about 130 artists, before moving back to Boca.
She learned about the formation of Indian River Clay shortly after moving to Vero Beach and quickly contacted them.
“I said, ‘Me too, me too!’” Swatt recalls with a laugh. “After 5 p.m. the adult beverages come out. There’s a lot of giggling and silliness all the time; it’s not a serious place at all. There is always somebody laughing about something.”
Just as there are differences in oil, watercolor and acrylic paints, clay also has various qualities to it. Some clay works best for people who want to make pinch pots, while other clay works well for those potters who prefer to use the wheel.
What all varieties do have in common is that the clay in each of the 25-pound bags needs to be prepped. The potters who churn out dozens and dozens of bowls can do so more efficiently when someone else has cut the clay, kneaded the air bubbles out of it, and has formed it into uniformly sized balls.
The decorative bowls are a key part of the fundraising effort to benefit the Samaritan Center, which helps homeless families transition into living independently. The event annually raises about $100,000 for the charity, which equates to roughly 20 percent of its operating budget.
“Indian River Clay is instrumental; it’s a true labor of love,” says Renee Bireley, Samaritan Center program development manager.
While the date of this year’s Soup Bowl is planned for Nov. 4, Bireley says that given the current surge in the pandemic from the Delta variant, they are waiting before determining its format. The event could mirror last year’s event, which saw just bowl sales at one location, the Heritage Center. Or, if conditions allow, they will enlist the support of restaurants and businesses to once again prepare gallons of delicious soup, and hold the event at multiple sites.
“Indian River Clay and its awesome potters have committed to producing 1,200 bowls. We are so indebted to the potters who each year donate their time and talent,” said Bireley.
“Without Indian River Clay’s partnership, as well as the Heritage Center, there wouldn’t have been Soup Bowl last year. Whatever the future brings for this year’s event, our hearts once again will be full even if the bowls may be empty.”
For a while, anyway, everyone can play with clay and help the Soup Bowl project. And, while it’s a nice thought, nobody is expecting you to go full Demi Moore at a potter’s wheel. Indian River Clay members have forms over which you can drape rolled sheets of clay and, once it hardens a little bit, you can decorate your own masterpiece.
Indian River Clay is located at 1239 16th St., Vero Beach. For more information, call 772-202-8598 or visit IndianRiverClay.org. For more information about the Samaritan Center Soup Bowl fundraiser, call 772-770-3039.
Photos by Kaila Jones
