Lynn Jetton slaps a pound of wet clay onto her pottery wheel. With the gentlest of touches, she begins to shape the formless lump. In mere moments, a small perfectly designed bowl appears, almost as if it were pulled out of the clay.

Watching her work, one might conclude Jetton has been an artist for decades, not a fourth year pottery student. Though Jetton has obvious talent, it does not hurt that she is required to make nearly 100 bowls a month.

“That’s how you learn,” Jetton said. “You’ve just got to do it over and over. You can learn to do it fast.”

Jetton is one of eight potters who spend much of their free time making bowls in the art department of Wallace State Community College for the annual Empty Bowls of Cullman County fundraiser. For just $10, residents can purchase a handmade ceramic bowl full of chili. All of the money raised is donated to the Cullman Caring for Kids Food Bank.

“Helping the community, that’s what we all want to do … to help other people, not to be better potters or glazers,” Jetton said. “I’m proud to be able to get some bowls out there to help people.”

Jetton, who is now the chairman of Empty Bowls, got involved in the event shortly after she took her first pottery class. Jetton said her teacher, Sandra Heaven, was helping spearhead the event at the time.

“After I started learning she said oh, you’re doing good … come on,” Jetton said with a laugh.

Since then, Jetton has personally made hundreds of bowls.

“I would make bowls if I was involved in it or not,” Jetton said. “I like doing it.”

Jetton has loved pottery since she first put her hands into clay, despite that it once took her at least 30 minutes just to shape one decent bowl. A year before she began studying pottery, Jetton took a class in water colors but did not have much success.

“I thought gee, let me see what pottery is like,” Jetton said. “Man, I never touched a brush since then. You just fall head over heels. If you get bitten by the bug, everybody knows it.”

Though it now takes minutes for Jetton to shape a bowl, much more time is required to complete one for the fundraiser. From start to finish, a bowl takes two weeks to complete.

Once the bowl is formed, it is placed outside to dry, a process that can take several hours, depending on the weather. After the bowl has dried sufficiently, the maker trims off any excess clay and sometimes adds designs.

“Sometimes people change the style,” Jetton said. “People like seeing different shapes.”

The bowl is then fired in a kiln for several hours at 1,600 degrees. Jetton said after the bowl cools, it must be glazed.

“We have 33 different kinds … different shades of green and brown,” she said. “You might dip one color, two colors or three.”

After the glazing process, the bowl is cooked in the kiln for several hours again, but at temperatures in excess of 2,200 degrees.

Between Jetton and her fellow potters, nearly 800 bowls are produced for the fundraiser each year; a large amount to be sure, but not enough to fulfill the needs of the event.

That is where Tammy Franey’s sixth grade class comes into play.

Franey, a teacher at West Point Middle School, has involved her students in the Empty Bowl fundraiser for the last three years.

“They’re learning their curriculum while helping the community,” Franey said.

Her students were busy at their desks Wednesday, making a few more bowls for the event. Unlike Jetton, who has access to a pottery wheel, Franey’s students must use a method known as pinching to create their bowls. Still, the method used does not seem to matter to the children.

“It’s really cool,” said 12-year-old Daeshia Smith. “What I like most about it is that it helps people.”

Franey said her students learn far more than just how to make bowls. They also learn about disasters and other events that can cause families to be homeless and hungry.

“A lot of kids are homeless,” said 12-year-old Ryan Wallace.

In addition to making approximately 100 bowls for the fundraiser, Franey said her students write letters, asking people to come and support Empty Bowls.

“They also write narratives about the homeless,” she said. “They’ve been really good at being a part of Empty Bowls and telling people about it.”

Franey said she would continue to involve her students in Empty Bowls as long as there is a need in the community.

“Together we can make a difference,” Franey’s class said in unison.